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chaoticquill's review
5.0
One of two books I've ever read more than once. An interesting portrait of a character often overlooked.
declaired's review
4.0
3.5 stars, rounding up
things I liked:
-ladies! Arthurian tale ladies with agency, that aren't Guinevere or Morgana (not that I would mind more Gwen or Morgana, just that they get real tied up in their own pinned down mythology)
-i think this is one of the very few (if any?) Vivian Vande Velde books I haven't read; I truly enjoy her as a storyteller and she succeeds here, using three narrators with three different arcs that tie together across the golden years and fall of King Arthur.
-and they are heroic stories with terrible monsters
things I care less for:
the overwhelming dread of fighting enemies who lie and lie and somehow keep winning is emotionally exhausting. and the dread of childhood, of having so much be out of your power. (like, it's rendered well, and in doing so it tears at the spirit)
Arthurian drama always tears at my spirit though, and even getting into the idea and the arc of a tragedy as something enjoyable, I find it hard to enjoy specifically this mythology.
things I liked:
-ladies! Arthurian tale ladies with agency, that aren't Guinevere or Morgana (not that I would mind more Gwen or Morgana, just that they get real tied up in their own pinned down mythology)
-i think this is one of the very few (if any?) Vivian Vande Velde books I haven't read; I truly enjoy her as a storyteller and she succeeds here, using three narrators with three different arcs that tie together across the golden years and fall of King Arthur.
-and they are heroic stories with terrible monsters
things I care less for:
the overwhelming dread of fighting enemies who lie and lie and somehow keep winning is emotionally exhausting. and the dread of childhood, of having so much be out of your power. (like, it's rendered well, and in doing so it tears at the spirit)
Arthurian drama always tears at my spirit though, and even getting into the idea and the arc of a tragedy as something enjoyable, I find it hard to enjoy specifically this mythology.
tichwi's review
Cover: I’ve admired this cover for a long time. The illustration is beautiful, and while I don’t always like faces on my covers (I am of the type who like to picture the characters for myself), these ones really worked. The front cover goes perfectly with the book and I feel it captured the characters and mood well. (I believe it is Mordred and Keira on the front cover.)
Characters: I knew most of the characters in this book already, as I enjoy reading Arthurian stories. Vivian kept true to their natures, while exploring different sides of their personalities. The biggest difference I saw was in Mordred, and I loved him in this book. Instead of causing all the problems intentionally, he is swept away by events outside of his control and is dealing with them the best way he knows how to. Kiera and her mother Alayna are new to the story, and both characters were well developed and believable. Their addition also made other characters feel more 3-dimensional, as the reader sees them through a fresh set of eyes. Finally, this is the first time I have read anything told through Nimue’s point of view, and it was refreshing to see her take on events.
Plot: The plot of this story is one that has been around for centuries, but Vivian still manages to make it feel fresh. All of the main components of the Arthurian legend are there, but it is the in the details where Vivian’s contributions to the story shine. Even though I already knew how the story would end, I kept reading to see just what path the characters would take to get there. I kept finding myself thinking “So that’s what really happened,” as though I was reading a first hand account and the other stories had been hearsay. There weren’t any slow parts of this book for me and I was always reluctant to close it in order to take care of life.
More reviews at sschpagepals.blogspot.com
Characters: I knew most of the characters in this book already, as I enjoy reading Arthurian stories. Vivian kept true to their natures, while exploring different sides of their personalities. The biggest difference I saw was in Mordred, and I loved him in this book. Instead of causing all the problems intentionally, he is swept away by events outside of his control and is dealing with them the best way he knows how to. Kiera and her mother Alayna are new to the story, and both characters were well developed and believable. Their addition also made other characters feel more 3-dimensional, as the reader sees them through a fresh set of eyes. Finally, this is the first time I have read anything told through Nimue’s point of view, and it was refreshing to see her take on events.
Plot: The plot of this story is one that has been around for centuries, but Vivian still manages to make it feel fresh. All of the main components of the Arthurian legend are there, but it is the in the details where Vivian’s contributions to the story shine. Even though I already knew how the story would end, I kept reading to see just what path the characters would take to get there. I kept finding myself thinking “So that’s what really happened,” as though I was reading a first hand account and the other stories had been hearsay. There weren’t any slow parts of this book for me and I was always reluctant to close it in order to take care of life.
More reviews at sschpagepals.blogspot.com
robincfarrell's review
2.0
Disappointing. The back-cover description held such a promising concept; the characters seemed so interesting. But the actual book seemed to skip over all the parts I was looking forward to. And I don't mean the classic parts of the legend, but the different women getting to know Mordred, and growing apart from him.
kelspe's review
4.0
I really liked this book because it explored a character that has always been known as evil and showed he was just human. Mordred has issues and those issues are brought to light in the book and not just brushed over, but they are issues you can sympathize with. I liked how the author explored everyone's hand in the downfall of Camelot and not just Mordred's. It's always easy to place the blame on one person without looking at the actions of others, regardless of how heroic you claim them to be. I actually found myself disliking Lancelot in this book (when normally I don't) and thinking of Arthur as bit of a wimp.
My only dislike was that it didn't explore Mordred's feelings enough. I came away not really understanding how he felt about the three women. This could be because it was written for YA and the author didn't want to go there. Maybe I am just used to my romance novels and so this left me feeling a bit empty.
If you are not open about the Arthurian legend you might not like the book. However if you enjoy exploring all angles, I think you'll really enjoy this book. I did. It's an extremely easy read.
My only dislike was that it didn't explore Mordred's feelings enough. I came away not really understanding how he felt about the three women. This could be because it was written for YA and the author didn't want to go there. Maybe I am just used to my romance novels and so this left me feeling a bit empty.
If you are not open about the Arthurian legend you might not like the book. However if you enjoy exploring all angles, I think you'll really enjoy this book. I did. It's an extremely easy read.
mayhap's review
3.0
Although this is ostensibly Mordred's book, he is presented through the eyes of a succession of female characters, all of whom come to love him but do not necessarily understand what is going on with him. The young Mordred is pleasurably prickly, if mildly woobified, but towards the end he becomes a withdrawn cipher. Morgan le Fey takes up his slack as the only malicious person at Mordred and Arthur's final battle, while Mordred is seemingly just confused, or even bewitched. Ultimately it seems like both Mordred and his female admirers/narrators get short shrift.
I probably would have eaten this up with a spoon at a younger and less discriminating age, but I find it unsatisfying.
I probably would have eaten this up with a spoon at a younger and less discriminating age, but I find it unsatisfying.
stellar_raven's review
4.0
Actual rating: 3.75 stars
I found this book to be an interesting take on a character who in Arthurian legend has pretty much always been seen as totally evil. In this book Mordred is a basically a good person (flawed, definitely, but overall good) who maybe doesn't always make the best choices or gets caught up in circumstances.
The story is told through the perspectives of three women who loved Mordred, Alayna and her daughter Kiera as well as Nimue from Arthurian legend. I think this works pretty well to give more depth to Mordred as all three women, naturally, don't view him exactly the same way. I wish there'd been a bit more characterization of both Alayna and Nimue, though. Their sections were so short as the Kiera section took up about half of the book.
I also would have loved a section from the perspective of Mordred himself as we had to guess about his motives throughout the book (or have our opinions colored by whichever of the three women's perspectives we were reading at the time), and I'd have loved to have known what he was thinking. Though...perhaps this was done on purpose so that each reader could make up his or her own mind about just exactly what kind of person Mordred was.
I'd say that fantasy fans or fans of Arthurian legend who don't mind reading different interpretations of the legend should take a look at this book.
I found this book to be an interesting take on a character who in Arthurian legend has pretty much always been seen as totally evil. In this book Mordred is a basically a good person (flawed, definitely, but overall good) who maybe doesn't always make the best choices or gets caught up in circumstances.
The story is told through the perspectives of three women who loved Mordred, Alayna and her daughter Kiera as well as Nimue from Arthurian legend. I think this works pretty well to give more depth to Mordred as all three women, naturally, don't view him exactly the same way. I wish there'd been a bit more characterization of both Alayna and Nimue, though. Their sections were so short as the Kiera section took up about half of the book.
I also would have loved a section from the perspective of Mordred himself as we had to guess about his motives throughout the book (or have our opinions colored by whichever of the three women's perspectives we were reading at the time), and I'd have loved to have known what he was thinking. Though...perhaps this was done on purpose so that each reader could make up his or her own mind about just exactly what kind of person Mordred was.
I'd say that fantasy fans or fans of Arthurian legend who don't mind reading different interpretations of the legend should take a look at this book.
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