King Arthur, Riotimus: The Story of King Arthur’s Last Years, Following His Disappearance on the Isle of Avallon in Burgundy, France

GAUL circa 470 AD He has been betrayed by an unknown enemy within. He has been defeated by the all-powerful Visigoths. He has watched his young recruits being massacred as the barbarians flouted the rules of war. He was let-down by the Romans who promised back-up, which never materialised. He has carried his mortally wounded kinsman halfway across France to the safety of his Burgundian allies in Avallon. He is King Arthur, Riotimus - mighty warrior, supreme king of Britain and Brittany. This much is true. Now the story begins. King Arthur is heading for the Sanctuary of the Salt Springs, in the valley of the River Cure in Burgundy, where he knows that his first love, his half-sister Morrigan, will heal him and his broken men. After a lifetime apart, will his passion for her be rekindled? What is the shocking truth about the past that he discovers? This is Arthur as we’ve not seen him before. He is an ageing, reclusive King, obssessed with his own mortality, and lack of an heir. His royal status slowly dissipates before us, until the moment when he knows that he must undertake his final battle, mano-a-mano, against his most feared enemy. Then, in his finest hour, all that he has learnt on the Isle of Avallon, informs his actions, and the man that was a king, becomes a legend. This exciting and hauntingly beautiful epic is a people’s poem, and a page-turner. It’s a clever story in a form which cries out to be read aloud, around a fire, with good food and company. This is a fabulous, gorgeous, exceedingly special work. I felt thrilled from first line to last. I loved reading it, and could not put it down. Dr. Patricia Ashe