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4.07 AVERAGE
4.07 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
There's only so much I can stomach of the female characters being raped, "taught their duties", and kept as sex slaves.
Not a book I was enjoying so I decided to call it quits.
Not a book I was enjoying so I decided to call it quits.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Rape
[This review is for the entire trilogy] I was very close to rating this five stars. The characters were interesting, the pace and plot were good, and the excitement was top notch (audiobook narrator was great). Some issues, from least to most important:
1) The story is a little too high-level. While not a 30,000ft view like some stories, it’s maybe a 5,000ft view. I want situations described in more detail. What happened in the journey from X to Y? What conversations did they have around the campfire? What interesting side characters did they come across? What were the guards like at the castle entrance? What did they think about as they nodded off to sleep? Not to say deluge the reader with meaningless description, but spend as much time fleshing out the subtleties of the characters and the world as you do describing the battles.
2) The story’s intent, in a way, was to glorify Arthur as a great man, but he just came off as incredibly naive. I think the author too often created conflict by having Arthur show mercy or irrationally follow an oath and then in both cases be betrayed for it. You can only do that so many times before the reader starts looking at Arthur with the mindset of “this guy is incredibly naive and, in a way. weak.”
3) I don’t buy the “love ruined everything” motive - especially with Arthur. This was someone setup to the reader as cherishing peace, honor, and self-sacrifice above all things, absolutely and with no exception, even if it ended his life. And yet, he suddenly sees a pretty girl across a room and throws all of this out the window? Maybe some people, but not the Arthur you’ve been describing. It really subverted a lot what we were told and made no sense.
4) The main character, who is telling the story, is extremely...maybe not boring, but...unnoteworthy. He has no real personality traits and is generally just there as a vessel through which to view all the other characters. This is common with main characters in books and I don’t like it.
5) The ending was a huge letdown. Despite all the above, I was ready to give this five stars, but the ending was so bad I could not. A lot of foreshadowing was given of the present day Saxon invasion with the reader left anxious on what will happen. Nothing. Nothing happened. Arthur disappeared over the horizon and that was the end of the book. A huge opportunity was wasted in flashing forward once more to the present day, decades later, and bringing these characters together again, or else bringing final resolution to the story, or at least something. As it is, there was no point at all in having the present day flash-forwards and I felt betrayed by the author.
(Note: I understand why the ending was done the way it was done [the book was over and the author wrote no more] but there were ways to bring a bit more closure. So many things were left hanging.)
1) The story is a little too high-level. While not a 30,000ft view like some stories, it’s maybe a 5,000ft view. I want situations described in more detail. What happened in the journey from X to Y? What conversations did they have around the campfire? What interesting side characters did they come across? What were the guards like at the castle entrance? What did they think about as they nodded off to sleep? Not to say deluge the reader with meaningless description, but spend as much time fleshing out the subtleties of the characters and the world as you do describing the battles.
2) The story’s intent, in a way, was to glorify Arthur as a great man, but he just came off as incredibly naive. I think the author too often created conflict by having Arthur show mercy or irrationally follow an oath and then in both cases be betrayed for it. You can only do that so many times before the reader starts looking at Arthur with the mindset of “this guy is incredibly naive and, in a way. weak.”
3) I don’t buy the “love ruined everything” motive - especially with Arthur. This was someone setup to the reader as cherishing peace, honor, and self-sacrifice above all things, absolutely and with no exception, even if it ended his life. And yet, he suddenly sees a pretty girl across a room and throws all of this out the window? Maybe some people, but not the Arthur you’ve been describing. It really subverted a lot what we were told and made no sense.
4) The main character, who is telling the story, is extremely...maybe not boring, but...unnoteworthy. He has no real personality traits and is generally just there as a vessel through which to view all the other characters. This is common with main characters in books and I don’t like it.
5) The ending was a huge letdown. Despite all the above, I was ready to give this five stars, but the ending was so bad I could not. A lot of foreshadowing was given of the present day Saxon invasion with the reader left anxious on what will happen. Nothing. Nothing happened. Arthur disappeared over the horizon and that was the end of the book. A huge opportunity was wasted in flashing forward once more to the present day, decades later, and bringing these characters together again, or else bringing final resolution to the story, or at least something. As it is, there was no point at all in having the present day flash-forwards and I felt betrayed by the author.
(Note: I understand why the ending was done the way it was done [the book was over and the author wrote no more] but there were ways to bring a bit more closure. So many things were left hanging.)
3.5 stars. Having read several books by Bernard Cornwell, I begin to see the formula he uses in writing novels, which I learned from Cornwell himself (big battles at the beginning, middle and end of each book, with minor skirmishes mixed in). However, I really enjoy his keen eye for historical detail. His characters are well-grounded in their age and pretty free of anachronistic beliefs and traits. This book is a retelling of the Arthurian legend, set in Dark Ages Britain, replete with druids, violence, Roman ruins, Dark Ages Christianity (so different from modern - or even medieval Christianity!), and even some human sacrifice!
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
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
It's well written, and maybe I'd like it some other time, when I'm in a "mood", but it feels very typical with all the fake magic and casual r*ping. I wanted to like it, just couldn't get through it.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I loved this book! What an amazing version to Arthur & Camelot! I was a bit skeptical that I would be lulled into a stupor by archaic dialogue that would take me hours to understand, but NO! Cornwell’s use of modern language was wonderful & the pacing of the book was perfect. Found Cornwell’s making Merlin a Druid instead of a wizard fits better in the mythos. Both Guinevere & Lancelot are shown in a much different light, more Lancelot than Guinevere. There are several areas of the book I really wanted someone to punch Lancelot in the nose.
Overall if anyone is wanting a King Arthur story that isn’t dry, then this is your series.
Overall if anyone is wanting a King Arthur story that isn’t dry, then this is your series.
I'm interested in the subject matter, so I enjoyed it. I think the attraction of this book lies in the historical knowledge of the author. However, I often found myself having difficulty caring about any of the characters; none of them is all that likable. A number of scenes made me feel that characters were jumping through plot hoops as well.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes