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nicosta_music's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Half Sick of Shadows was a really great retelling of Arthurian myth. It kept a lot of the adventure and magic that is typical of the genre, but added a few more modern sentiments like strong female characters and discussions of what it meant to be a strong female in that time period. I really enjoyed how the book was themed around how far one is willing to go to protect their friends or achieve a certain destiny. My only complaints are that knowing how the story was supposed to end made the book slog at times (especially with it jumping between past, present, and future), and I also wasn't a huge fan of the trope where women have to give up their power in order to further a man, but I guess that was the whole point the book was making anyway.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Murder, Bullying, War, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Blood, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Child abuse, Grief, and Misogyny
Minor: Classism, Infertility, and Alcohol
lizziemarie01's review
adventurous
dark
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Violence, Death of parent, War, and Suicide
writingcaia's review against another edition
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I love to go back to Camelot and Avalon! And, it was no different here, it was actually pretty amazing seeing it all through the eyes of a new character, one rarely mentioned on the story tales, Elaine, the Lady of Chalot.
When young she feels cursed by her ability to see the future, her mother stifles it fearing for her as magic, which only the fae or fae descendants have, is banned from the kingdom by Uther Pendragon, father of Arthur and Morgana, who have been long away from the court of Camelot raised by the fae in Avalon with their two friends Lancelot and Guinevere. Until, one day Morgana, in a visit to court, meets Elaine and convinces her she’s blessed and should go back with her to Avalon.
You all know of Arthur being the foretold king, of his mad witch sister Morgana, of Guinevere and Lancelot’s betrayal, of Merlin, but not like it’s told in this tale.
Here the women have voices, have reasons, they’re the force of the tale, specially our lady of Chalot, and love and betrayal, going mad or sad is not as simple as you may think.
The narrative is complex as it’s being told solely by Elaine, it starts as the friends are about to leave Avalon in their twenties finally returning to Camelot to fulfil their destinies. And, it starts with her knowing all the events that will come to pass in their near future, and they’re not good, not at all, then she goes back to the past to explain how it all started, their friendships, Arthur and Gwen’s love story, Morgana’s magic, and Lancelot… but, then she’s having a vision into the future in the past, then in the present, the visions are always similar but evolving, as Nimue, the lady of the lake, has taught her the future changes, but as you follow Elaine back and forth, they don’t really seem to, and she knows it all. Living and loving with the knowledge she has is not easy, the decisions she has to make harder still, and that’s mostly the plot of the book, the arc of this one character as she juggles how to lead Arthur to his destiny without the “bad” things having to happen even though she doesn’t see a way to avoid them.
I really enjoyed the book, but the strange narrative the going back and forth, the repetitive visions, knowing only the other characters by how she sees them and tells them (not shows) was sometimes a bit too much, still if that doesn’t bother you I definitely recommend it.
It was a refreshing take on the mythical stories of these characters, if dark and sad.
When young she feels cursed by her ability to see the future, her mother stifles it fearing for her as magic, which only the fae or fae descendants have, is banned from the kingdom by Uther Pendragon, father of Arthur and Morgana, who have been long away from the court of Camelot raised by the fae in Avalon with their two friends Lancelot and Guinevere. Until, one day Morgana, in a visit to court, meets Elaine and convinces her she’s blessed and should go back with her to Avalon.
You all know of Arthur being the foretold king, of his mad witch sister Morgana, of Guinevere and Lancelot’s betrayal, of Merlin, but not like it’s told in this tale.
Here the women have voices, have reasons, they’re the force of the tale, specially our lady of Chalot, and love and betrayal, going mad or sad is not as simple as you may think.
The narrative is complex as it’s being told solely by Elaine, it starts as the friends are about to leave Avalon in their twenties finally returning to Camelot to fulfil their destinies. And, it starts with her knowing all the events that will come to pass in their near future, and they’re not good, not at all, then she goes back to the past to explain how it all started, their friendships, Arthur and Gwen’s love story, Morgana’s magic, and Lancelot… but, then she’s having a vision into the future in the past, then in the present, the visions are always similar but evolving, as Nimue, the lady of the lake, has taught her the future changes, but as you follow Elaine back and forth, they don’t really seem to, and she knows it all. Living and loving with the knowledge she has is not easy, the decisions she has to make harder still, and that’s mostly the plot of the book, the arc of this one character as she juggles how to lead Arthur to his destiny without the “bad” things having to happen even though she doesn’t see a way to avoid them.
I really enjoyed the book, but the strange narrative the going back and forth, the repetitive visions, knowing only the other characters by how she sees them and tells them (not shows) was sometimes a bit too much, still if that doesn’t bother you I definitely recommend it.
It was a refreshing take on the mythical stories of these characters, if dark and sad.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Minor: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
truthaurdare's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Death, Violence, and Toxic friendship
readwithde's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
I'm still trying to decide how I feel about this book, but maybe that's a good thing.
Let me start with the good parts, the loyalty and camaraderie and love between the main characters, the difficult choices and grey areas of life, the weight of power and responsibility for the future, the interwoven fates of Gwen, Elaine, and Morgana... it was so rich with detail and life and possibly.
As for the not-so-great parts, Elaine became a bit annoying to me. She is constantly aware that knowing the future can have adverse effects, but she often finds herself steering the group into the wrong paths, the choices leading to a dark and painful ending. While I appreciate how she removed herself from the cycle, she still caused collateral damage, primarily to Lancelot.
I also felt like I needed 2 extra chapters, just to detangle what may have changed, if anything. I would have loved to get a glimpse of how Arthur and Lancelot survived Camelot without the girls being there to counsel, heal, aid, and generally keep them safe and functioning.
Overall, I love this version of the story, and I love the focus on how the women of Camelot could not be themselves, how Gwen, Morgana, and Elaine spent their entire lives being trained to sacrifice themselves for Arthur's sake. How they slowly eroded over time, and would have become even worse versions of themselves if not for choosing their own lives over Arthur's.
Let me start with the good parts, the loyalty and camaraderie and love between the main characters, the difficult choices and grey areas of life, the weight of power and responsibility for the future, the interwoven fates of Gwen, Elaine, and Morgana... it was so rich with detail and life and possibly.
As for the not-so-great parts, Elaine became a bit annoying to me.
I also felt like I needed 2 extra chapters, just to detangle what may have changed, if anything.
Overall, I love this version of the story, and I love the focus on how the women of Camelot could not be themselves, how Gwen, Morgana, and Elaine spent their entire lives being trained to sacrifice themselves for Arthur's sake.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
Minor: Alcohol, Blood, Cannibalism, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, and War
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