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l2intj's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
A good book, though not as good as the Merlin trilogy, partly because of the “absurdities” (the author’s term) inherent to the Mordred romance. Stewart does her best to iron out these problems, but is less successful here than in the Merlin trilogy. Merlin’s “magic” can be explained by natural causes as well as his prophetic potential. Certain elements in this story are less easy to resolve, particularly the inconsistent behaviors of some of the main characters, especially Arthur.
That’s not to say the author was unsuccessful with this story. In particular, I appreciate her re-working of the Mordred character. He’s not the Mordred we often see in movies or television who’s evil just because. (His name is Mordred for crying out loud! How could he be anything but? Incidentally, Stewart has an alternative explanation for the name, as well.) He’s ambitious and a bit cold, but he loves his father, and has no desire to be his “curse.”
Furthermore, in the telling of his tale, Stewart examines the workings of fate. What is the role of fate, and what of free will, and how does good and evil affect one’s life course? Morgause, as the “evil” force represents the binding, coercive, and persistent power of fear: "There will come a day, the wicked day of destiny, when all will come to pass..." While Merlin, the never seen and yet ever-present force of "good" whispers, "Live what life brings; die what death comes." Mordred, caught in the midst of all this must choose what philosophy to adopt. Will he choose to see his life as fated, as the cruel machinations of the gods, or will he accept the natural unfolding of his own life and choices? This really becomes the most important question of the novel, because the reader knows only too well, he can’t change what is to come.
That’s not to say the author was unsuccessful with this story. In particular, I appreciate her re-working of the Mordred character. He’s not the Mordred we often see in movies or television who’s evil just because. (His name is Mordred for crying out loud! How could he be anything but? Incidentally, Stewart has an alternative explanation for the name, as well.) He’s ambitious and a bit cold, but he loves his father, and has no desire to be his “curse.”
Furthermore, in the telling of his tale, Stewart examines the workings of fate. What is the role of fate, and what of free will, and how does good and evil affect one’s life course? Morgause, as the “evil” force represents the binding, coercive, and persistent power of fear: "There will come a day, the wicked day of destiny, when all will come to pass..." While Merlin, the never seen and yet ever-present force of "good" whispers, "Live what life brings; die what death comes." Mordred, caught in the midst of all this must choose what philosophy to adopt. Will he choose to see his life as fated, as the cruel machinations of the gods, or will he accept the natural unfolding of his own life and choices? This really becomes the most important question of the novel, because the reader knows only too well, he can’t change what is to come.
murmuration19's review
4.0
At first this volume was jarring because I was so used to Merlin's first-person voice, and the narrative moved to third-person omniscient with a focus on Mordred's POV. I don't know of many interpretations that cast Mordred as a sympathetic character; this one was feasible and still contained the major elements for which Mordred is known. It had the inexorable feeling of a tragedy in which no one is in control of their fate--depressing, but a good read nonetheless.
deckofkeys's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
kateshark's review against another edition
4.0
I devoured this series during my hardcore Arthurian phase in junior high. They influenced my writing and my illustration, and I remember them fondly. I'm afraid to revisit them, on the chance that they haven't held up...
stephaniaesoterica's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
veethorn's review against another edition
4.0
Ahhhhhhh this series. Favorite version of the Arthurian saga, favorite rewrite of complex source material, favorite redemption of someone who always seemed to be a caricature villain in most other versions. This is so good, and so sad at the end, and so beautiful, and I love that Stewart wanted a rewrite to make sense of it all.
sewingdervish's review against another edition
4.0
I am still living in book withdrawal after finishing The Wicked Day this morning. I have so many feelings, I am amazed that I can be so loyal to Mordred after only one book, with Arthur and Merlin it was 2 and 3 books. I wish that it didn't have to end the way it did, even more so after reading the author's notes at the end.
Looking back over the whole saga, I wish that we would have hear more from the women, especially Guineviere. I did appreciate how well (I thought as a woman) Stewart wrote the male characters.
I did not give it a 5 star rating because like the Merlin trilogy this was not squeaky clean like Stewart's other books, and this one was more racy than the trilogy.
Looking back over the whole saga, I wish that we would have hear more from the women, especially Guineviere. I did appreciate how well (I thought as a woman) Stewart wrote the male characters.
I did not give it a 5 star rating because like the Merlin trilogy this was not squeaky clean like Stewart's other books, and this one was more racy than the trilogy.
nicholas_matheson's review against another edition
5.0
Without a doubt the best of Mary Stewart's Arthurian legend novels. Mordred's characterisation is incredible. Despite the fact that from the beginning we know how this story ends, the way she writes means that we always have an inkling of hope that it'll finish off happily ever after. Mordred and Arthur's relationship is so we'll developed all throughout that it's hard to envision how they could come to be enemies, and yet that outcome doesn't feel forced. Because of this inevitability, the climax is absolutely tragic, and this is another book on that list that almost made me cry.
Not cool, Mary.
Not cool, Mary.
nate_s's review against another edition
5.0
So concludes Mary Stewart's masterful tetralogy chronicling the Arthurian legend as historical fiction. Unlike so many multi-volume series, this one is not weighed down by over-length, nor do the later books fumble around trying to repeat the successes of the earlier ones.
Sir Thomas Malory's epic romance "Le Morte D'Arthur," set the precedent for all future retellings, titled to invoke Arthur’s tragedy over even the early years of victory and triumph, beset from the beginning by Merlin’s vision of his eventual betrayal and death. And so Mordred, bastard son of the High King by his unholy union with his half-sister Morgause, looms in popular imagination as the "black villain" who brings down Arthur through treachery and cold ambition.
But not so in Stewart's retelling. In spite of careful attention to the sources (Malory, Monmouth, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and others), she has chosen to paint Mordred in a sympathetic light, massaging several of what she terms "absurdities" in the legend in order to make a more politically realistic portrait, replete with moral gray areas and lacking a single, all-culpable villain. Beginning the book, I found myself disoriented by the fact that not only are we seeing the story from Mordred's point of view, we are even sympathetic with him as a kind of alternate hero. My disorientation quickly disappeared, however, and I found Ms. Stewart to be weaving a profoundly compelling and plausible tale of the rise of an unlikely peasant bastard through the ranks of royalty and into the halls of power not so much by his own guile as by that of his mother, and aided by a healthy dash of the stupidity and villainy of his over-confident half-brothers, the Orkney Boys of Lothian.
The tale and the themes are old, but they are neither cliche nor tired in Mary Stewart's capable hands. Honestly, I could read her writing all day and not get tired of it. She is auteur of her subject matter and her handling of English. Few would dispute T.H. White's claim to the crown of modern Arthurian retellings. Stewart expertly makes a run at it, although the two are completely different in both interpretation and tone.
It's rare for a series to maintain its weight and excitement through its whole length. Mary Stewart's Arthurian Saga is one that does. I found the third book to be a slight anti-climax, but other than that the story keeps its shape and its luster through all four volumes, and is well worth reading all the way through. This final book, The Wicked Day, might even be the best except that nothing could really make up for the absence of Merlin.
Sir Thomas Malory's epic romance "Le Morte D'Arthur," set the precedent for all future retellings, titled to invoke Arthur’s tragedy over even the early years of victory and triumph, beset from the beginning by Merlin’s vision of his eventual betrayal and death. And so Mordred, bastard son of the High King by his unholy union with his half-sister Morgause, looms in popular imagination as the "black villain" who brings down Arthur through treachery and cold ambition.
But not so in Stewart's retelling. In spite of careful attention to the sources (Malory, Monmouth, the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, and others), she has chosen to paint Mordred in a sympathetic light, massaging several of what she terms "absurdities" in the legend in order to make a more politically realistic portrait, replete with moral gray areas and lacking a single, all-culpable villain. Beginning the book, I found myself disoriented by the fact that not only are we seeing the story from Mordred's point of view, we are even sympathetic with him as a kind of alternate hero. My disorientation quickly disappeared, however, and I found Ms. Stewart to be weaving a profoundly compelling and plausible tale of the rise of an unlikely peasant bastard through the ranks of royalty and into the halls of power not so much by his own guile as by that of his mother, and aided by a healthy dash of the stupidity and villainy of his over-confident half-brothers, the Orkney Boys of Lothian.
The tale and the themes are old, but they are neither cliche nor tired in Mary Stewart's capable hands. Honestly, I could read her writing all day and not get tired of it. She is auteur of her subject matter and her handling of English. Few would dispute T.H. White's claim to the crown of modern Arthurian retellings. Stewart expertly makes a run at it, although the two are completely different in both interpretation and tone.
It's rare for a series to maintain its weight and excitement through its whole length. Mary Stewart's Arthurian Saga is one that does. I found the third book to be a slight anti-climax, but other than that the story keeps its shape and its luster through all four volumes, and is well worth reading all the way through. This final book, The Wicked Day, might even be the best except that nothing could really make up for the absence of Merlin.