Excalibur Rising, Book 1: Book One of an Arthurian Saga

Eileen Enwright Hodgetts gives us an interesting twist on the Arthurian legend, mixing past with present in a very literal way—through magical portals available only to those descended from the original figures or carrying original artifacts. Naturally, everyone is searching for Excalibur, and just like the Holy Grail no one knows exactly what it looks like—or what condition it’s in. Our protagonists find themselves in the midst of a frantic search for the legendary sword; on the one hand, someone has already been murdered over it; on the other hand, a wealthy gangster-like collector has our protagonists in his employ and he “don’t take no for an answer”; and on the third hand, if Excalibur is not reunited with Arthur, the alternative world will languish forever without hope or resolution, and the window of opportunity is closing. Their dubious search quickly becomes very real, and we are taken on a fantastic ride full of mysterious characters, unexplainable events, and clues that only fit together if our heroes suspend their disbelief. All they while they are dogged by the dangerous and efficient Mandretti, who is paying for this adventure and wants to get his money’s worth.Our protagonist Marcus Ryan, a has-been adventure hunter who used to have a television show, now finds treasures for Mandretti. Then we have Violet, a psychic that Ryan is convinced is a fraud: Violet grabbed the book from his hand. Had she read this book before? No, she would have remembered. She read quickly, taking in the words and their sickening familiarity. The text was familiar, and yet she was certain that she had never read the book. “That’s amazing,” she said. “I don’t always remember everything I say in a trance, but I do remember seeing the scene exactly as he describes it. I even remember the shrieking of the carthorses and the cracking of the whips; just as he says.” “Oh, balls, “said Ryan loudly. “You’re no psychic. You read this book before we arrived, and then you played it all back for Mandretti. You must really want this job.”Mandretti had ordered them to work together and sparks fly as they refuse to play nice. But each, in their own manner, is a vital part of the enterprise. In a strange way, I found myself rooting for everyone, even the selfish gangster. The outcome was far from predictable, all the way to the end. I found the story quite engaging, and the action never let up. Good reading!

Las Vegas, NV. Professor Marcus Ryan (PhD; history, Harvard) & Michael Mandretti (Mandretti Resort Hotel owner) were arguing whether King Arthur & Excalibur were real or fictitious.Professor Taras Quentin “TQ” Peacock (PhD; medieval history, Oxford) had been murdered.London, England. Crispin Peacock (heir Peacock estate) & Veronica (ex-wife, Marathon Key) must be notified.What did Marcus & Michael go see Violet Chambray (35, daughter) about?Their contact Sir Carlton Lewis (Society of Arthurian Scholars member) had been stabbed in the heart & left on the 1st. class railway carriage.Would Dr. Margaret “Molly” Walker (Society of Arthurian Scholars President, Medievalist) know anything?& what about the Griffinwood Document?Why had Barry Marshall’s children: Michael & Jenny been killed?Who are the sinister PPL behind these heinous murders?Will the mystery of Excalibur be solved?I did not receive any type of compensation for reading & reviewing this book. While I receive free books from publishers & authors, I am under no obligation to write a positive review, only an honest one. All thoughts & opinions are entirely my own.A very awesome book cover, great font & writing style. A very well written fantasy adventure book. It was very easy for me to read/follow from start/finish & never a dull moment. There were no grammar/typo errors, nor any repetitive or out of line sequence sentences. Lots of exciting scenarios, with several twists/turns & a great set of unique characters to keep track of. This could also make another great fantasy movie, an animated cartoon, or better yet a mini TV series. To be continued. Not my normal read but it all made sense & I enjoyed it. That said I will rate it at 5 stars.Thank you for the free Emerge Publishing; instafreebie; Author; PDF bookTony Parsons MSW (Washburn)

I received a free copy of this book and am voluntarily leaving an honest review.Book one of Excalibur Rising is a bit like an Indian Jones adventure mixed with 'The Da Vinci Code', if Indian Jones had been a washed up, present day treasure hunter thrust into a quest to find Excalibur. Filled with drama and adventure, this book is not another retelling of the Arthurian Legend, instead it begins nine hundred years after Arthur has fallen at Camlann. The king is still asleep and his people are awaiting his return, but that cannot happen without his sword.Most of book one takes place in modern day, beginning in Los Vegas with Marcus (our once upon a time famous treasure hunter) and his new employer (a mafia boss obsessed with treasure), moving to Florida where they obtain the help of Violet (a psychic with an uncanny ability to find things) and ending up in England. Marcus must work with Violet to not only uncover the whereabouts of Excalibur (a mythical sword he doesn't believe exsists) but also to solve a murder. This quest will lead them from England to Albion, an alternate world that never left the dark ages.This is not only a treasure hunt, it's also a race against time to wake the king in order to save a people who have been left waiting for far too long.

Not kindle unlimited, actually got 1 on a freebie day then was offered the 3 book set {#4 out soon} so took up the offer to get the free books, plus it was a set and that always helps the kindle for pc not go in to fits as much. Each book seems to pick up a bit more, but that means sometimes a little bit confusing in places, and there is to be a #4 so that might matter to some.A newscaster with falling ratings and a psychic under the control of the mob walk in to a bar...oh sorry, no, wrong joke and the legend of Excalibur might just be more than the stuff of legends. Almost makes dealing with the mob not so bad, right {wrong}, and going to England to check in to everything might just cause them to be 'checked out', permanently.Excalibur Rising books 1 2 and 3, 4 out soonish

Excalibur Rising is an edge-of-your-seat fantasy suspense novel laced with wit and history. If you like funny characters, dramatic plot twists, and the myth of King Arthur, then you’ll love the first book in Eileen Enwright Hodgetts’ Excalibur Rising series.I could not put it down. It had everything a great story should have. I will have to wait for the next book.Entertaining and beautifully written a little slow in the first chapter but in all.a must read for anyone who has a love for Arthur, Knights, and Excalibur.Looking forward to Book 2Buy the book to learn the real story behind history’s greatest legend!

Great story, written in a easy to read style, with an interesting storyline and characters. A enjoyable read that had me back on Amazon looking for the next book in the series.

So... kudos for creative spin on an old story. When you're taking a new spin on an old story, there's some steep competition you're up against... and this book didn't make the cut. I was intrigued enough to get most of the way through, to see where the author was going, but I found by the time it should have been a page-turner, I had kind of stopped caring what happened. I cared about the current world, and the crisis was to a world I knew nothing - and cared nothing - about, so it was hard to finish.

Las Vegas hotel owner Mandretti collects artefacts, and ex-TV personality (and Dr) Marcus Ryan finds them for him. When Ryan’s old university professor tells him he knows where the ‘holy grail’ of history is—Excalibur—Ryan and Mandretti head to Florida Keys to seek the advice of mystic Violet. With her ability to read the past of any object, soon Violet and Ryan are sent off to England to hunt down the famous sword.This book was great at exploring the unexpected. Reimagining the legend of King Arthur’s prophesied return to fit with missing historical documents to confirm the existence of Camelot and his knights, Hodgetts weaves an entertaining tale involving mobsters, academics, artefacts, murder and magic. All characters were well defined, each an individual from the next: the side characters held their own ground just as much as the main characters. The twist Hodgetts gives to the Arthurian legends is an entertaining one, and seems entirely logical through her prose despite the inclusion of magical portals and parallel worlds.The only let-down in this book was the need for a keen-eyed proof reader—there were several missing commas, full stops and incorrectly positioned speech marks throughout, and at times the indentation was incorrectly formatted on my Kindle. As it was, the tale was so engaging that these errors didn’t detract from my enjoyment, but they should’ve been rectified to continue the quality of the prose. There were a few clunky sentences with morsels of information missing, leaving me to fill in the gaps, but this faster narration kept the pace going. I’d have liked the book to perhaps end a few chapters later than it did, but I guess I’ll have to read the next one if I want to find out what happens next! This was a great story and was a book that was worth picking up: I stormed through it from beginning to end.

Sucker for Arthurian stuff. Interested to try a different spin on it. Story builds in a very satisfactory way, establishing the characters and letting the author's world (s) reveal itself, steadily building the tension to a dramatic ending.Looking forward to book 2. Made me want to go back and read The Once & Future King again, which is high praise.