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spitefulgod's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
vartika's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
1.0
mrsbond's review against another edition
4.0
The first time I read this I was a college student immersed in literature. I loved the language and imagery, truly felt transported to another time and place. With this second reading I see James Bond. Arthur roams the countryside, bedding/leaving damsels, fighting/killing whatever gets in his way, getting himself wrapped up in conspiracies and evil plots, all without losing his smirk. OK, maybe Malory doesn't mention the smirk, but you know it's there.
danahuff's review against another edition
5.0
The gold standard for King Arthur stories. No one did it as good before, and not many people have come close to touching it since. Malory's King Arthur has been the model for every King Arthur since.
lddecker's review against another edition
adventurous
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
swoody788's review against another edition
3.0
Talk about a doozy. This is one of those audiobooks that makes me eternally grateful for the 1.5 speed button, so that I could listen to it in two-thirds of the time. Unfortunately I didn't remember that I could do this until after I had already made it through a third of the story, but alas, better late than never. This work makes me appreciate T.H. White and The Once and Future King so much more, for White's ability to take all of this dry information and weave it into the beautiful, captivating tale that Le Morte d'Arthur is not.
But...I appreciate Le Morte d'Arthur for what it is - the granddaddy of Arthurian legend, a catalog rather than a novel of the exploits of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Much of what we have today in the whole realm of fantasy would not exist without this work, so, if for no other reason, I like it for that.
Also, I find Monty Python and the Holy Grail to be even more hilarious now that I have this tome under my belt.
Hic iacet Arthurus, rex quondam, rexque futurus
But...I appreciate Le Morte d'Arthur for what it is - the granddaddy of Arthurian legend, a catalog rather than a novel of the exploits of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Much of what we have today in the whole realm of fantasy would not exist without this work, so, if for no other reason, I like it for that.
Also, I find Monty Python and the Holy Grail to be even more hilarious now that I have this tome under my belt.
Hic iacet Arthurus, rex quondam, rexque futurus
binny's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape
reasie's review against another edition
2.0
Have I read enough medieval romance to be able to judge this work with its contemporaries? I'm gonna go on a limb and say "Sorta."
There were a few frustrations with this work. First that the preface said that there is an earlier manuscript of it that they didn't use, so I'm all "Wait, why give us the later if there's an earlier? Why tell us about it just to tease us?" The translator's notes tended to be next to useless, leaving confusing words undefined and telling me for the fifth time that gules means red, which, dude, I know. Also don't need a definition for "Seneschal", kthnx.
Secondly, it reads like a summary. Malory was obviously summarizing several sources and trying to make them sort of fit together, which they don't. So there are lots of confusing bits - just how many sisters does Arthur have, for example. Many passages read like a sporting page for Jousts. Who was there, wins, losses, final results. YAWN!
And when he says "Richly arrayed, as they were in those days." you just know he's omitting a nice five-stanza passage of costume description!
Still, it's a lot of Arthurian backstory filled in, and I'm glad to have read it, and I'll read part two, just to complete my understanding of the Arthurian Legends as they stand.
There were a few frustrations with this work. First that the preface said that there is an earlier manuscript of it that they didn't use, so I'm all "Wait, why give us the later if there's an earlier? Why tell us about it just to tease us?" The translator's notes tended to be next to useless, leaving confusing words undefined and telling me for the fifth time that gules means red, which, dude, I know. Also don't need a definition for "Seneschal", kthnx.
Secondly, it reads like a summary. Malory was obviously summarizing several sources and trying to make them sort of fit together, which they don't. So there are lots of confusing bits - just how many sisters does Arthur have, for example. Many passages read like a sporting page for Jousts. Who was there, wins, losses, final results. YAWN!
And when he says "Richly arrayed, as they were in those days." you just know he's omitting a nice five-stanza passage of costume description!
Still, it's a lot of Arthurian backstory filled in, and I'm glad to have read it, and I'll read part two, just to complete my understanding of the Arthurian Legends as they stand.
sarswack's review against another edition
3.0
Let's return to titles that give away what happens at the end