Reviews

Le Morte Darthur - Sir Thomas Malory's Book of King Arthur and of His Noble Knights of the Round Table -The Text of Caxton by Edward Strachey

rclyburn's review against another edition

This book is the first fantasy written in the English language. During the latter half, I could not stop comparing it to Game of Thrones. The forbidden and taboo love of Launcelot and Guenevere is paralleled with Jaime and Cersei. It made me think that George RR Martin needed to make the relationship incestuous to show how off-putting the adulterous relationship of Launcelot and Guenevere would have been. The narrative of the holy grail (sangreal) redeemed the end of Game of Thrones for me. I have heard people complain that the ending of GOT was anticlimactic. That the series should have ended with the defeat of the Night King, and not the petty human squabbles. But that is just what Malory does with sangreal. After the unearthly journey of the purest knights, the last couple of books focus on Launcelot, and the death and end of the knights of the round table. I think, when written, GOT will end on another parallel and perhaps a unique subversion that makes us rethink humanity.