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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
"'Be wise as the salmon, crafty as the fox, valiant as the wolfhound, and fierce as the hawk.'" ~ Gwen's mother's blessing to her, on her training as a warrior (90).
In the Afterword, Lackey states that two Welsh legends about King Arthur specifically inspired the story: the Triad of "The Three Guineveres", which says that Arthur had three unrelated wives of the same name (Gwenhwyfar in Welsh), and a fourth false Guinevere, known as "little" or "lesser" Gwenhwyfach; and the Triad of "Three Harmful Blows" which says little Gwen struck another Gwen, causing the Battle of Camlann and the death of Arthur.
Whatever the historical basis, this is one of the best Arthurian tales I've read, despite having very little to do with Arthur himself!
The first two thirds of the story follow Gwenhwyfar, the third of the four daughters of Welsh King Lleudd Ogrfan Gawr, also known as The Giant. Gwen, unlike her two older sisters, longs for a different path than wife or wise woman, yearning to be a horsewoman and warrior. Her mother, Eleri, is powerful in the ways of the Old Gods; although Gwen has high potential for Power as well, one path negates the other as exposure to cold iron (in the form of weaponry) weakens the magic.
Gwen works very hard at learning to ride and earns a famed mentor who stands up for her, which gradually convinces her parents that she is blessed by the horse goddess Epona. Eventually, she is given leave to begin training and happily pursues her heart's desire.
The only bane of her existence is her year-younger sister Gwenhwyfach, "Little Gwen", who looks alike enough to be her twin, but who is inexplicably jealous, spiteful, petty and malicious, determined to take everything Gwen wants for herself or ruin it completely. She is horrid to her other sisters as well but no amount of punishment can mend her ways. And yet she has a sort of magic of her own, a glamour that draws men to her, and Gwen is warned against her wiles.
Over the years, Gwen grows into an almost supernaturally talented scout leader and fighter, but her life is lonely. Men are unable to reconcile the warrior with the woman, and Gwen is not content to give up her beloved horses and be a wife.
That is until King Arthur's second wife dies and Gwen is told it is her duty to become the third of the same name. The elders want Gwen to wed Arthur to keep the Old Ways in a Britain converting to Christianity, and thus maintain the Power. Gwen reluctantly agrees, but the marriage is a loveless, gilded cage. Although Arthur is a charismatic leader and loved by his men, he also does not know what to do with a woman who is a warrior, and does not seek her council or give her freedom.
Little Gwen, meanwhile, is determined to have Arthur and his crown from herself, and goes to twisted lengths with another character of loathsome ambition to accomplish her goal. But Gwen is not a silly vapid lady and she fights for her survival, and the good of the kingdom as well.
Although there is a Lancelot character, called Lancelin, there is no Happily Ever After. Darker than most of Lackey's romances, Gwen has to learn how to make her own happiness. A wonderful coming-of-age story that will resonate with anyone who loves horses!
In the Afterword, Lackey states that two Welsh legends about King Arthur specifically inspired the story: the Triad of "The Three Guineveres", which says that Arthur had three unrelated wives of the same name (Gwenhwyfar in Welsh), and a fourth false Guinevere, known as "little" or "lesser" Gwenhwyfach; and the Triad of "Three Harmful Blows" which says little Gwen struck another Gwen, causing the Battle of Camlann and the death of Arthur.
Whatever the historical basis, this is one of the best Arthurian tales I've read, despite having very little to do with Arthur himself!
The first two thirds of the story follow Gwenhwyfar, the third of the four daughters of Welsh King Lleudd Ogrfan Gawr, also known as The Giant. Gwen, unlike her two older sisters, longs for a different path than wife or wise woman, yearning to be a horsewoman and warrior. Her mother, Eleri, is powerful in the ways of the Old Gods; although Gwen has high potential for Power as well, one path negates the other as exposure to cold iron (in the form of weaponry) weakens the magic.
Gwen works very hard at learning to ride and earns a famed mentor who stands up for her, which gradually convinces her parents that she is blessed by the horse goddess Epona. Eventually, she is given leave to begin training and happily pursues her heart's desire.
The only bane of her existence is her year-younger sister Gwenhwyfach, "Little Gwen", who looks alike enough to be her twin, but who is inexplicably jealous, spiteful, petty and malicious, determined to take everything Gwen wants for herself or ruin it completely. She is horrid to her other sisters as well but no amount of punishment can mend her ways. And yet she has a sort of magic of her own, a glamour that draws men to her, and Gwen is warned against her wiles.
Over the years, Gwen grows into an almost supernaturally talented scout leader and fighter, but her life is lonely. Men are unable to reconcile the warrior with the woman, and Gwen is not content to give up her beloved horses and be a wife.
That is until King Arthur's second wife dies and Gwen is told it is her duty to become the third of the same name. The elders want Gwen to wed Arthur to keep the Old Ways in a Britain converting to Christianity, and thus maintain the Power. Gwen reluctantly agrees, but the marriage is a loveless, gilded cage. Although Arthur is a charismatic leader and loved by his men, he also does not know what to do with a woman who is a warrior, and does not seek her council or give her freedom.
Little Gwen, meanwhile, is determined to have Arthur and his crown from herself, and goes to twisted lengths with another character of loathsome ambition to accomplish her goal. But Gwen is not a silly vapid lady and she fights for her survival, and the good of the kingdom as well.
Although there is a Lancelot character, called Lancelin, there is no Happily Ever After. Darker than most of Lackey's romances, Gwen has to learn how to make her own happiness. A wonderful coming-of-age story that will resonate with anyone who loves horses!
Mercedes Lackey combines the various Guinevere myths into one fairly seamless story that explores the coming of Christianity, the passing of the Old Ways, and the legends of Avalon and the Chalice/Cauldron Well in Glastonbury. Familiar elements, such as the love triangle, Mordred, and the Sword in the Stone, are present, but it's all twisted together nicely. Told from the point of view of Gwenhwyfar (Ms. Lackey uses the Welsh spellings), Arthur and Merlin's roles are significantly smaller, and Gwen is compelling in her own right.
The language of the book is a little hard to get into at first with expressions and words that are unfamiliar. Plus, lackey's use of commas is really grammatically annoying and a distraction!!! But enough with the English gripes. There are also characters named Gwenhwyfar (times three), Gwenhwyfach (aka Little Gwen), and Gynath. Very similar unusual names makes things confusing for a while as well as you muddle through the new language. The store then moves along like "Harper Hall of Pern" but with more intrigue as the time period and some of the characters are familiar to the reader. Women in th book are strong and useful to a kingdome including as a warrior or a magic wielder. Lackey is proficient at writing in the midnset and using references of the time period she is bringing to life, but this can also be a barrier to readers until you begin to untagle the dialogue itself (i.e, "breaking the fast" means eating your first meal after a night's sleep).
The book explores the struggle of Christianity vs. pagen Celtic worship. I thought the dialogues between Gwen (a Celtic woman) and the abbot of Christianity were well done. It explored many aspects of differences and similarities that can drive people apart or bring them together. It also provided an explanation of the pagen dieties being angels who sided with neither satan or God and so were sent to live on Earth instead of Heaven or Hell. Very insightful idea. Very exciting part of the book that changes from predjudice to friendship and understanding.
Part 3 of the book, though bringing us face-to-face with King Arthur and his court was overall a let down. When Gwen is told she is Arthur's first choice for a third bride and part of a trade for horses with her father, she accepts as her role as a princess, but her father and family suddenly disappear. Gwen and her father had a special relationship that I thought was touching and honest in the book. Even when she leaves, her father is not there to say goodbye? Extremely disappointing. I was also let down by the end of the book when Lancelin and Gwen part ways. They had been in love with each other for years and then just seemed to forget about each other. I can see how after Arthur's death it would have been too difficult, but give us a little more story after the epic battle and show the characters happy in the end! Instead, its just like, "well, I guess I'll do this now." After all of Gwen's struggles and all that she learned and grew from, I really felt like her story just kinda stopped.
Overall, I did enjoy the book, but the last 1/3 was anticlimactic. I was hoping for more from the characters and their fates. What happened to the lands after Arthur's death? Arthur's illegitimate son mentioned having his own son... what happened to him? There were so many questions left at the end, and no they do not as the characters state sing about those moments after the battles in songs, I was hoping Lackey would provide us with a little more. Their stories did not end... but the book did for some reason.
The book explores the struggle of Christianity vs. pagen Celtic worship. I thought the dialogues between Gwen (a Celtic woman) and the abbot of Christianity were well done. It explored many aspects of differences and similarities that can drive people apart or bring them together. It also provided an explanation of the pagen dieties being angels who sided with neither satan or God and so were sent to live on Earth instead of Heaven or Hell. Very insightful idea. Very exciting part of the book that changes from predjudice to friendship and understanding.
Part 3 of the book, though bringing us face-to-face with King Arthur and his court was overall a let down. When Gwen is told she is Arthur's first choice for a third bride and part of a trade for horses with her father, she accepts as her role as a princess, but her father and family suddenly disappear. Gwen and her father had a special relationship that I thought was touching and honest in the book. Even when she leaves, her father is not there to say goodbye? Extremely disappointing. I was also let down by the end of the book when Lancelin and Gwen part ways. They had been in love with each other for years and then just seemed to forget about each other. I can see how after Arthur's death it would have been too difficult, but give us a little more story after the epic battle and show the characters happy in the end! Instead, its just like, "well, I guess I'll do this now." After all of Gwen's struggles and all that she learned and grew from, I really felt like her story just kinda stopped.
Overall, I did enjoy the book, but the last 1/3 was anticlimactic. I was hoping for more from the characters and their fates. What happened to the lands after Arthur's death? Arthur's illegitimate son mentioned having his own son... what happened to him? There were so many questions left at the end, and no they do not as the characters state sing about those moments after the battles in songs, I was hoping Lackey would provide us with a little more. Their stories did not end... but the book did for some reason.
2.5 stars. I really enjoyed the first part of this, and enjoyed it less as I progressed. I liked Gwen a lot, but agree with another reviewer who pointed out that most of the other characters were quite flat. An interesting take on the legends.
A fun read - an interesting take on the Arthurian myth, using information that there may have been more than one Guenivere. She includes the evidence/data from which she postulates the multiplicity, too - so it's definitely not only a fun read, but historical things worth exploring.
Calling this "A Novel of King Arthur" is a bit misleading. Almost all the stories we expect from an Arthurian novel take place offstage. Utilizing a lesser-known Welsh tradition of three different Queen Guineveres, Lackey's take on the Arthurian legend is to write a story about the third one. Gwenhwyfar, daughter of one of Arthur's war chiefs, grows to adulthood as the familiar events take place in the larger world around her, only becoming Arthur's third wife well towards the end of the book. So this novel is actually a story about a young woman who chooses to turn from the magical destiny running through her mother's family and become a woman warrior in her father's army.
I was surprised at how much I liked this novel. At first I kept waiting for the "real" story to begin—it's an Arthurian novel, after all—but after a while, I realized that I knew the old tales well enough to fill them in myself, and that it was a pleasant change not to just walk through a standard retelling. Unlike most of what I've read from Mercedes Lackey, while magic is definitely present throughout the story, it's subtle and not easily summoned. And while this world also has its conflicts between the Old Religion and the growing power of Christianity, I was pleased to see that it wasn't just a retelling of [b:The Mists of Avalon|402045|The Mists of Avalon (Avalon, #1)|Marion Zimmer Bradley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1300781420s/402045.jpg|806813]. Okay, the villains do come across as being evil for evil's sake—sure, you could say that one was a sociopath, but having four sociopaths strained my suspension of disbelief a bit too far. However, I found this to be a surprisingly mature novel compared to most of Lackey's works, and I hope she lets herself write at this level or better in the future.
I was surprised at how much I liked this novel. At first I kept waiting for the "real" story to begin—it's an Arthurian novel, after all—but after a while, I realized that I knew the old tales well enough to fill them in myself, and that it was a pleasant change not to just walk through a standard retelling. Unlike most of what I've read from Mercedes Lackey, while magic is definitely present throughout the story, it's subtle and not easily summoned. And while this world also has its conflicts between the Old Religion and the growing power of Christianity, I was pleased to see that it wasn't just a retelling of [b:The Mists of Avalon|402045|The Mists of Avalon (Avalon, #1)|Marion Zimmer Bradley|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1300781420s/402045.jpg|806813]. Okay, the villains do come across as being evil for evil's sake—sure, you could say that one was a sociopath, but having four sociopaths strained my suspension of disbelief a bit too far. However, I found this to be a surprisingly mature novel compared to most of Lackey's works, and I hope she lets herself write at this level or better in the future.
I enjoyed the story a lot. Gwen was a fantastic character, brave and determined but still realistic to me. The plot is not exactly solid since the book takes place throughout her entire life, but the pace was still good. The world building was absolutely phenomenal, and I really liked the idea of Arthur having three Gwens. My only problem with it was the two villains were flat and pretty boring-although Little Gwen had her moments.
Overall, a very enjoyable book that I would recommend to any fan of Mercedes Lackey or King Arthur.
Overall, a very enjoyable book that I would recommend to any fan of Mercedes Lackey or King Arthur.
As well as with mythology, I love reading stories about King Arthur. It's amazing how many different versions of the legend there are! One I had never heard of was that Arthur had three wives, all named Guinevere! This book focuses on the life of his third wife Gwenhwyfar, who is a warrior and horse rider. I thought that was pretty interesting. However, I was pretty disappointed with the overall book.
The author spent way too long describing Gwenhwyfar's childhood and training to become a warrior. Two hundred pages in and nothing really happened. I know this book is about Gwenhwyfar, but none of the other main characters of the Arthurian legend get any character development. The book just felt rushed and incomplete.
The author spent way too long describing Gwenhwyfar's childhood and training to become a warrior. Two hundred pages in and nothing really happened. I know this book is about Gwenhwyfar, but none of the other main characters of the Arthurian legend get any character development. The book just felt rushed and incomplete.