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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Genocide, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Blood, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Colonisation, War
One of the best versions of the Arthur story I have read simply because it's something different.
I didn't really expect this when I started. A pretty real take on Arthur complete with almost no magic. Lots of violence and the brutality you'd expect out of a real 5th century Britain. Yikes.
Damn good stuff, though.
2023 review: STILL so good but so dark
Damn good stuff, though.
2023 review: STILL so good but so dark
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
tense
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
An incredible retelling of Arthur that places him in the appropriate historical setting. It's fun to see the various classic characters introduced as just normal Britons.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence
Moderate: Infertility
A realist telling of the Arthurian legend. With the Romans gone, Britain is failing: its gods weak, its kingdoms squabbling, beset on both side by the conquering Irish and Saxons. Life is squalid & brutal, with Arthur a shining hope, but neither he, nor anyone else, is as perfect as he seems.
This book is a tricky one to review. There were things I liked and disliked. Quite a challenging read due to the sheer amount of characters and the old Briton place names - thank goodness for the map and the character list at the start of the book. What I liked was the character Derfel and his own story within the perspective of the Arthurian legend. What I didn't like was the feeling that the book was dragging, I couldn't read it for a long period of time in one sitting as there wasn't flow to the story. I am glad I persisted in reading to the end as all in all it was a good book and I would have regretted not finishing it.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-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
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Very accessible rework of a legendary story that creates unexpected twists and turns.
Si tenéis ganas de epicidad plasmada en todos los aspectos posibles de una novela, pero sin magia potagia y dragones, vuestra estantería está falta de estas Leyendas Artúricas, libres de mierdas y mitos manidos.
Whilst I found the characters intriguing and the storyline engrossing, I just did not enjoy the reading experience. Chapters were few and far between and it felt clunky and heavy in parts.
Playing Devil’s advocate, it didn’t help that I started reading this during the current Ukraine-Russia crisis which has limited my concentration. I’d definitely suggest being patient when reading this, there are many characters with similar sounding names and it was sometimes hard to keep track of, although there is a dense character list at the beginning.
Bit of a miss for me, though I may pick it up and try rereading at some point in the future.
Playing Devil’s advocate, it didn’t help that I started reading this during the current Ukraine-Russia crisis which has limited my concentration. I’d definitely suggest being patient when reading this, there are many characters with similar sounding names and it was sometimes hard to keep track of, although there is a dense character list at the beginning.
Bit of a miss for me, though I may pick it up and try rereading at some point in the future.