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3.07 AVERAGE
3.07 AVERAGE
Extremely disappointing. The story structure is flawed and it never truly delivers on the promise of a reimagining of Arthurian legend. The characters names should have just been changed and the book released as an independent world with no direct ties to Arthurian story telling.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Cursed is a twist to the King Arthur/Merlin Universe, that follows Nimue (Lady of the Lake) as the main character. If you are looking for a novel that follows the true lure, this is not the book for you. I actually enjoyed this version, though I have honestly not read any of the other King Arthur books out there.
This was written by Thomas Wheeler who is known for writing screen plays (Puss in Boots anyone?). Does this read like a script? yes. Was this published just so it can be created into a Netflix series? Absolutely, and it shows. Despite that I actually liked the writing. It was a quick, easy read.
This was written by Thomas Wheeler who is known for writing screen plays (Puss in Boots anyone?). Does this read like a script? yes. Was this published just so it can be created into a Netflix series? Absolutely, and it shows. Despite that I actually liked the writing. It was a quick, easy read.
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
Nimue, an outcast young Druid, finds herself the reluctant leader of a revolution when the Sword of Power comes to her. Desperate to save her people from Church prosecution, she must decide who to trust and who to betray.
I really, really wanted to like this one. It should have been brilliant! But sadly, for me, the execution didn't live up to the promise. Plot elements were dropped in awkwardly, I never felt like I had all the background, and a couple of characters just vanished randomly. To me, it kind of felt like Tom and Frank had a really cool idea and tried to weld it to Arthurian myth. It might have done better as its' own thing.
That's just my opinion, though, and this is really well written. The art looks like it will fit perfectly with the story. I hope it does really well. It just wasn't for me.
“The Wolf-Blood Witch has arrived.”
A small Faun girl with tiny antler buds growing from her high forehead ran up to Nimue and touched her leg before retreating to the safety of her family shelter. A few more children of all different Fey clans swarmed around her , pushed to hold her hand or touch her, reach for her, pull at her torn sleeves. Some adults joined the children, encircling Nimue, a dozen at first, then dozens more, then a hundred, surrounding her in a worshipful circle of thankful survivors.
Nimue’s chest tightened with fear. Part of her wanted to run as the refugees pulled her away from Arthur to put necklaces over her head or to offer her scraps or charms of whatever eager gifts they could. Nimue said over and over, “Thank you, thank you, you’re so kind.”
She turned back to look for Arthur but could not see him in the crowd that had formed around her.
I really, really wanted to like this one. It should have been brilliant! But sadly, for me, the execution didn't live up to the promise. Plot elements were dropped in awkwardly, I never felt like I had all the background, and a couple of characters just vanished randomly. To me, it kind of felt like Tom and Frank had a really cool idea and tried to weld it to Arthurian myth. It might have done better as its' own thing.
That's just my opinion, though, and this is really well written. The art looks like it will fit perfectly with the story. I hope it does really well. It just wasn't for me.
“The Wolf-Blood Witch has arrived.”
A small Faun girl with tiny antler buds growing from her high forehead ran up to Nimue and touched her leg before retreating to the safety of her family shelter. A few more children of all different Fey clans swarmed around her , pushed to hold her hand or touch her, reach for her, pull at her torn sleeves. Some adults joined the children, encircling Nimue, a dozen at first, then dozens more, then a hundred, surrounding her in a worshipful circle of thankful survivors.
Nimue’s chest tightened with fear. Part of her wanted to run as the refugees pulled her away from Arthur to put necklaces over her head or to offer her scraps or charms of whatever eager gifts they could. Nimue said over and over, “Thank you, thank you, you’re so kind.”
She turned back to look for Arthur but could not see him in the crowd that had formed around her.
I shouldn’t be disappointed, but I am. While I knew Nimue’s fate likely would be the same as in the original tale, I wish we could have seen her in a slightly different light. The story had great potential to show a very powerful and capable female lead, but sadly we instead get a female lead who is too easily tempted by the power of the sword. I don’t understand why she was made to struggle so much with corruption, as I’ve rarely seen Arthur portrayed this way in other retellings.
A cool addition to the trend of retelling myths from female perspectives. The characters are vivid and nuanced enough, with a good adventure feel to the story. Also, the illustrations make it feel fun and more foreboding at the same time. Great YA-type book, but still enjoyable for an adult reader.
I really enjoyed the overall plot and direction the story took. LOVED the retelling of one of my favorite legends. LOVED the idea of a female taking over the traditional role as "the one true king". I enjoyed the story, but I did find it somewhat hard to read. there were a lot of characters and lore and I feel like, even though it was a thick book, I would have loved it if we got more general information. (i.e. world-building, character introduction, etc.) Like yes, the Character's name is Arthur, but his character doesn't follow the original character, so I want more explanation to this new guy, his own personal quirks, issues, etc, etc. BUT it was a pretty good story and there's not a lot I can say without spoiling, so here are the SPOILERS!!!
Okay, so I feel like Arthur and Nimue's relationship was very bizarre? I think the pacing for the overall story, but specifically, their relationship had a very strange pace. I assumed it would follow the general, if not overused trope of 'girl gets sword- girl uses sword-girl defeats evil-girl and lover are happy and ruling over lands they won back.' but this seemed confusing, but not because it didn't stick to the 'traditional trope' The whole 'Merlin is my dad' twist wasn't as shocking as I think it should have been. the sword turning people evil was a pretty cool idea, and Wheeler really did a good job of conveying that through Nimue's internal dialogue( her urges to get violent and then chopping off the guy's hands) I also want to shout out the whole sword-melding-with the dudes-arm thing, very cool idea, and I think that was probably my favorite illustration. Ultimately, the ending screamed sequel, but I'm not sure if I could read it. I feel like there was a good establishment of Nimue's character, but everyone else kind of fell to the waist side. Okay, Merlin is her dad. Arthur is her love interest. Morgan is Arthur's sister. cool. but it got really sticky with naming all the people of Nimue's village, then, later on, a lot of the Fey refugees. from similar names (Mogwan/Morgan) and occasionally insurting what i think were 'slurs' for each of the types of fey people. It was a struggle for me to track who was who, what type they were (were they a human dude or like a Fuan guy? I don't remember!)
To be honest, even though I was driving the struggle bus for this whole thing, I enjoyed it. I think Wheeler did a fantastic job at writing a leading character, and he did great depicting his characters and their struggles. I absolutely am watching the series on Netflix, and if there is a sequel, I'll definitely give it a go, but all I'm asking is a bit more clarification, and yes, this is already a giant book, but I would still read it for the price of a few more chapters explaining whats happening.
Okay, so I feel like Arthur and Nimue's relationship was very bizarre? I think the pacing for the overall story, but specifically, their relationship had a very strange pace. I assumed it would follow the general, if not overused trope of 'girl gets sword- girl uses sword-girl defeats evil-girl and lover are happy and ruling over lands they won back.' but this seemed confusing, but not because it didn't stick to the 'traditional trope' The whole 'Merlin is my dad' twist wasn't as shocking as I think it should have been. the sword turning people evil was a pretty cool idea, and Wheeler really did a good job of conveying that through Nimue's internal dialogue( her urges to get violent and then chopping off the guy's hands) I also want to shout out the whole sword-melding-with the dudes-arm thing, very cool idea, and I think that was probably my favorite illustration. Ultimately, the ending screamed sequel, but I'm not sure if I could read it. I feel like there was a good establishment of Nimue's character, but everyone else kind of fell to the waist side. Okay, Merlin is her dad. Arthur is her love interest. Morgan is Arthur's sister. cool. but it got really sticky with naming all the people of Nimue's village, then, later on, a lot of the Fey refugees. from similar names (Mogwan/Morgan) and occasionally insurting what i think were 'slurs' for each of the types of fey people. It was a struggle for me to track who was who, what type they were (were they a human dude or like a Fuan guy? I don't remember!)
To be honest, even though I was driving the struggle bus for this whole thing, I enjoyed it. I think Wheeler did a fantastic job at writing a leading character, and he did great depicting his characters and their struggles. I absolutely am watching the series on Netflix, and if there is a sequel, I'll definitely give it a go, but all I'm asking is a bit more clarification, and yes, this is already a giant book, but I would still read it for the price of a few more chapters explaining whats happening.