PORIUS

Among those who enjoyed the author's previous novels in this historical sequence, there may be some who will find themselves at home in the midst of the tangled beliefs and superstitions of the Persians, the Romans, the Greeks, and the Druids with which these early Welshmen spiced their Christianity. But others will find the obscurities of both diction and dogma almost impenetrable. The story, if such it is, occurs in eight days at the end of October in the year 499, and largely concerns young Prince Porius, great grandson of a giantess, grandson of a Roman patrician, son of a fanatical Christian, and second cousin to King Arthur- and that's just on his mother's side. During this time Porius, thrown into the leadership of this ancient Welsh kingdom upon the death of his father, comes to the realization that if his people are to survive, he must turn his back upon the forces of reaction and superstition and lead them toward responsible Statehood. The publishers point out an obvious parallel to our times, and for those who like their parallels the hard way, this one is replete with encounters with giants, a battle with knights in full armor, a sinister posthumous rape, and several passages of primitive lovemaking. Somehow, it all seems to be ""dimmed by mist and obscured by distance"", as Powys describes the countryside about which it was written.