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iamsammie27's review against another edition
adventurous
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? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Infidelity, Genocide, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal cruelty and Homophobia
lastcomment314's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It was almost so good. I love me a good gay Arthurian fantasy, and this one had a cool twist with being set in space, and some nice found family vibes, but the overall delivery on this one held it back. Stylistically, it wasn't quite my cuppa tea. There were also certain scenes that seemed forced, and the focus on sex and bodily functions was a bit much for my tastes. To summarize discussion with group I read this with, we don't care about Merlin relieving himself in the crystal cave, we care about the quest to overthrow the unjust, tyrannical king company.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Genocide, Excrement, Colonisation, Violence, Cursing, Death, War, Classism, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Alcohol, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Torture, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Grief, Death of parent, Racism, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy
martin27's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
fast-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? Yes
5.0
An insanely fun sci-fi adventure is does exactly what it claims to be: a queer female King Arthur in space. For those familiar with the Arthurian legend, it might fall short for you if you go in expecting a retelling that remains faithful to the themes of the original, but if you take it for what it actually is (a pretty standard YA sci-fi plot that uses the legends as set dressing), it’s extremely entertaining. Once & Future is also, unsurprisingly, based very heavily on T.H. White’s The Once and Future King more so than anything else. If you can’t stand White’s work then some of the choices in this book will be very hit or miss for you.
The characters are lovely, though how much they actually have in common with their medieval counterparts varies a lot. One of the plot twists near the end is simply that Merlin was wrong about which role Jordan fulfills in the legend, and it was in my opinion the weakest plot point. Some of the characters are very strong (Ari and Merlin, for example), but some of them really fall by the wayside at times. I think having even one more good scene with Jordan as the focus would have improved the character significantly.
The relationships are the highlight of the book in my opinion. The friendship between Merlin and Ari is wonderful and such a joy to read, and the fiery romance between Ari and Gwen is captivating. The slow burn romance between Merlin and Val is my favorite part of the book.
The world building isn’t super strong but it is interesting most of the time. The hook for the sequel kind of comes out of nowhere, but it does set up an interesting premise and I definitely will be looking at book two.
The characters are lovely, though how much they actually have in common with their medieval counterparts varies a lot. One of the plot twists near the end is simply that Merlin was wrong about which role
The relationships are the highlight of the book in my opinion. The friendship between Merlin and Ari is wonderful and such a joy to read, and the fiery romance between Ari and Gwen is captivating. The slow burn romance between
The world building isn’t super strong but it is interesting most of the time. The hook for the sequel kind of comes out of nowhere, but it does set up an interesting premise and I definitely will be looking at book two.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Genocide, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, War, Infidelity, Violence, and Death
Minor: Sexism, Homophobia, and Racism
I can’t think of anything that’s just implied or alluded to. Everything I tagged occurs on page, but I don’t want to make it sound like the book is a lot heavier than it is. It’s still overall a very hopeful adventure story, it just also talks about a lot of intense themes.qteabeans's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
An interesting retelling of the King Arthur that fully embraces that it is a retelling. If you want younger, queer gallantry, this is a read for you.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Death
Moderate: Infidelity and Genocide
lim's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
Cheating with spouse's sibling, glorifying teen pregnancycaitlynleahy's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Colonisation, Infidelity, and War
Minor: Rape and Suicide attempt
longlost's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
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? Yes
4.0
this is the superior king arthur mythos adaptation
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Murder, Violence, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Genocide, and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief, Confinement, Kidnapping, Racism, Pregnancy, and Cursing
Minor: Sexual content and Rape
violet_pages's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
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? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Genocide, and Animal death
Moderate: Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Grief, Confinement, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, and Torture
Minor: Rape and Sexual content
confusedmuse's review
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, and Sexual content
caidyn's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
So, after going on an Arthurian kick, I decided to revisit this book. Still hate James Patterson no matter how irrationally, but I did enjoy this book when I decided to give it another go. I still wish there was a bit less banter and sex -- that's just not my jam at all. I still felt it was a bit contrived. But, I wanted to revisit it for the diversity and a unique Arthurian tale. I fully intend to give the sequel/final book a try to see how everything concludes!
ORIGINAL REVIEW
This review can also be found on my blog!
DNF @ 39%
As I said in a First Lines Friday I did about this book, I was very wary of this book. Mainly because James Patterson put his name on it. First, I know that this isn’t by James Patterson. I completely realize that. However, it has his mark on it.
And his mark, to me, says that everything’s going to be nearly the same with slight changes made so it’s not 100% the same. The characters are all going to fit a certain archetype. The main character is going to be bold and reckless. The rest of the team are going to fade into the background and barely be distinguishable from each other. The plot is going to be contrived. The series will never end and just go on and on and on for eternity.
That’s James Patterson’s brand and the brand of people he works with.
And, I can say, I wasn’t wrong.
The only thing that this book has going for it is the diversity. And, damn that diversity was great! Gender-bent, Arabic, female Arthur (aka Ari) who’s totally queer. Merlin’s gay. There are black siblings; one is genderfluid and missing a hand, and the other is queer. Gwen is a queer woman of Asian-European heritage. Then, there’s an ace character but I didn’t get to the point where she was actually called ace.
Like, I loved how naturally the diversity came and how it was on the page. It wasn’t mentioned once and forgotten. It came up again and again and again. I enjoyed that because it just shows that diversity can be done right.
However…
The story wasn’t anything special. In the almost 40% that I had read, nothing happened. Lots of banter and flirting and sex. When I decided to throw in the towel with this book, I had just gotten to meeting the bad guy in person. And the bad guy? Basically like any other James Patterson bad guy. Humorous, sarcastic, a part of a huge company.
Nothing to impress me.
So, this book isn’t by James Patterson. But it felt like it was. Which is exactly what I thought would happen when I saw he had a publishing company. I’m very glad that these diverse books are out there, but I don’t like it that James Patterson is pumping them out. I know that from this experience, I’ll be staying away from his publishing company.
ORIGINAL REVIEW
This review can also be found on my blog!
DNF @ 39%
As I said in a First Lines Friday I did about this book, I was very wary of this book. Mainly because James Patterson put his name on it. First, I know that this isn’t by James Patterson. I completely realize that. However, it has his mark on it.
And his mark, to me, says that everything’s going to be nearly the same with slight changes made so it’s not 100% the same. The characters are all going to fit a certain archetype. The main character is going to be bold and reckless. The rest of the team are going to fade into the background and barely be distinguishable from each other. The plot is going to be contrived. The series will never end and just go on and on and on for eternity.
That’s James Patterson’s brand and the brand of people he works with.
And, I can say, I wasn’t wrong.
The only thing that this book has going for it is the diversity. And, damn that diversity was great! Gender-bent, Arabic, female Arthur (aka Ari) who’s totally queer. Merlin’s gay. There are black siblings; one is genderfluid and missing a hand, and the other is queer. Gwen is a queer woman of Asian-European heritage. Then, there’s an ace character but I didn’t get to the point where she was actually called ace.
Like, I loved how naturally the diversity came and how it was on the page. It wasn’t mentioned once and forgotten. It came up again and again and again. I enjoyed that because it just shows that diversity can be done right.
However…
The story wasn’t anything special. In the almost 40% that I had read, nothing happened. Lots of banter and flirting and sex. When I decided to throw in the towel with this book, I had just gotten to meeting the bad guy in person. And the bad guy? Basically like any other James Patterson bad guy. Humorous, sarcastic, a part of a huge company.
Nothing to impress me.
So, this book isn’t by James Patterson. But it felt like it was. Which is exactly what I thought would happen when I saw he had a publishing company. I’m very glad that these diverse books are out there, but I don’t like it that James Patterson is pumping them out. I know that from this experience, I’ll be staying away from his publishing company.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Kidnapping, Death, and Infidelity