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3.07 AVERAGE
3.07 AVERAGE
If I could rate a book zero, this would be the one. Bought it for the cover, had fairly low expectations for the content, still disappointed.
adventurous
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I did not finish this book. I got around 36% of the way through. I felt lost after roughly the 10th chapter and couldn't catch on to what was happening. The illustrations were fantastic but the literature wasn't for me.
Rating: **** out of 5 stars
Nimue, the lead charter in Cursed, is given the sword of power to wield and save her people. The book provides a reimagining Arthurian Legend with the lead a female instead of the king hero of Arthur. Overall, the book is entertaining, and I appreciated some of the plot twists. The prose is a mixture of TV script/fantasy writing, so not long-winded or ornamental in scope. The middle of the book is a bit slow, but it ramps up at the end. I don't see myself rereading it, but I want to read the sequel that does not exist yet as of this review.
Frank Miller's art style is stark and blocky, creating original and exciting scenes.
Cursed By Thomas Wheeler
Illustrator Frank Miller
Genre: Fantasy, a reimagining of Arthurian Legend.
Favorite Lines: Merlin, "A Carpathian king once sent 400 assassins to claim my head. Dacians. I burned them all in a lightning storm that lasted seven whole days. Tell Lord Gray River I'm insulted by this paltry show of force."
Would I reread it? No
Format read: Hardback
Published in 2019
Page Count 403
Cover Thoughts: Solid cover and good marketing. The book is beautiful to flip through.
Nimue, the lead charter in Cursed, is given the sword of power to wield and save her people. The book provides a reimagining Arthurian Legend with the lead a female instead of the king hero of Arthur. Overall, the book is entertaining, and I appreciated some of the plot twists. The prose is a mixture of TV script/fantasy writing, so not long-winded or ornamental in scope. The middle of the book is a bit slow, but it ramps up at the end. I don't see myself rereading it, but I want to read the sequel that does not exist yet as of this review.
Frank Miller's art style is stark and blocky, creating original and exciting scenes.
Cursed By Thomas Wheeler
Illustrator Frank Miller
Genre: Fantasy, a reimagining of Arthurian Legend.
Favorite Lines: Merlin, "A Carpathian king once sent 400 assassins to claim my head. Dacians. I burned them all in a lightning storm that lasted seven whole days. Tell Lord Gray River I'm insulted by this paltry show of force."
Would I reread it? No
Format read: Hardback
Published in 2019
Page Count 403
Cover Thoughts: Solid cover and good marketing. The book is beautiful to flip through.
Not a masterpiece by any means, but it introduces some interesting twists and ideas. Definitely not a gripping page-Turner, but not a horrible book either.
I received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review
Unfortunately, this King Arthur re-telling pales in comparison to others. It's marketed as a retelling of the famous myth with the Lady of the Lake at the front and center and shows what happens when the sword of legend chooses a queen. While this seems appealing, Wheeler fails to delve into the character and her development to make a true female-centric re-telling.
The story follows Nimue, who comes from the Sky Folk. She has always lived as an outcast because of her connection to dark magic, which the villagers view as a 'curse'. Her mother is the head druid and at one point, Nimue is chosen to succeed her. However, the villagers reject this and Nimue leaves her town behind for a little bit, but comes back when the Red Paladins, who work for the Church, slaughter everyone in the town.
Her mother dies with a request: take a mysterious package to Merlin. It is revealed to be the Sword of Power and as the story progress, Nimue wields it and meets familiar faces as the political turmoil of the land increases. There are several contenders vying for the throne, including Uther Pendragon and an Ice King, who Merlin dangerously pretends to ally with. His true goal is to reclaim the Sword of Power and give it to someone worthy, but it has already chosen Nimue, who must fight to keep it.
While the story seems promising with a female lead and perspective, I felt that the author really did not develop Nimue as a character. She has a pretty solid backstory but as the story progresses it falls to the wayside. It often feels overlooked with a focus on other character's perspectives, including Uther and the Weeping Monk. Furthermore, I find it problematic that Nimue's friend, Pym, dies off-screen pretty much (I went back and searched the document for her name and couldn't find the actual death scene - please point it out if you know where it is). The illustrations were nice, but it could not make up for the flat characterization of Nimue and even Arthur, who I wanted to be more evil in this version.
Unfortunately, this King Arthur re-telling pales in comparison to others. It's marketed as a retelling of the famous myth with the Lady of the Lake at the front and center and shows what happens when the sword of legend chooses a queen. While this seems appealing, Wheeler fails to delve into the character and her development to make a true female-centric re-telling.
The story follows Nimue, who comes from the Sky Folk. She has always lived as an outcast because of her connection to dark magic, which the villagers view as a 'curse'. Her mother is the head druid and at one point, Nimue is chosen to succeed her. However, the villagers reject this and Nimue leaves her town behind for a little bit, but comes back when the Red Paladins, who work for the Church, slaughter everyone in the town.
Her mother dies with a request: take a mysterious package to Merlin. It is revealed to be the Sword of Power and as the story progress, Nimue wields it and meets familiar faces as the political turmoil of the land increases. There are several contenders vying for the throne, including Uther Pendragon and an Ice King, who Merlin dangerously pretends to ally with. His true goal is to reclaim the Sword of Power and give it to someone worthy, but it has already chosen Nimue, who must fight to keep it.
While the story seems promising with a female lead and perspective, I felt that the author really did not develop Nimue as a character. She has a pretty solid backstory but as the story progresses it falls to the wayside. It often feels overlooked with a focus on other character's perspectives, including Uther and the Weeping Monk. Furthermore, I find it problematic that Nimue's friend, Pym, dies off-screen pretty much (I went back and searched the document for her name and couldn't find the actual death scene - please point it out if you know where it is). The illustrations were nice, but it could not make up for the flat characterization of Nimue and even Arthur, who I wanted to be more evil in this version.
DNF At page 94. I really liked it, but it didn't fit what I've been looking for lately. I plan on reading it all the way through soon!
I like the way they've portrayed Merlin here and the way Nimue is so secretive of her scars. As somebody with a lot of scars from various things it's very easy to be judged for the way you look. They portrayed a bunch of things extremely well in my opinion.
I like the way they've portrayed Merlin here and the way Nimue is so secretive of her scars. As somebody with a lot of scars from various things it's very easy to be judged for the way you look. They portrayed a bunch of things extremely well in my opinion.
I just want vining with the story and we brought in Merlin and then I really wasn’t giving with it cause Merlin is my dude.
This Arthurian adaptation is great. The story is abo Nimue and not Arthur, as much as anyone remotely familiar with the original legends would think Arthur would take center stage. She’s strong yet relatable, powerful yet doubtful. Other characters like Morgan, Merlin, Arthur, Squirrel, and the Weeping Monk play vital roles with connections for some not foreseen by me until I learned their true identities. Even Nimue’s name meaning traces back to the original legend.
Although the beginning confused me, story built up well. Action of the first chapter or so occurs after Nimue and Pym go to town, which hard to follow until everything caught up with itself. Their are no chapter headings to indicate “before” and “present” or something of the sort. Once the action got rolling, though, and more comprehensible, I loved following the multiple story arcs to see how Nimue would or would not help save Fey Kind. Some relationships between characters could’ve been better formed, but overall the relationships felt natural at least. I loved how pieces of the story slowly unfolded by different characters.
Based on Wheeler’s acknowledgements, I can tell he thankfully had a solid role in writing the Netflix tv adaptation AND book two is expected to happen. Yay! Now it’s time for me to read T. H. White’s The Once and Future King soon.
Although the beginning confused me, story built up well. Action of the first chapter or so occurs after Nimue and Pym go to town, which hard to follow until everything caught up with itself. Their are no chapter headings to indicate “before” and “present” or something of the sort. Once the action got rolling, though, and more comprehensible, I loved following the multiple story arcs to see how Nimue would or would not help save Fey Kind. Some relationships between characters could’ve been better formed, but overall the relationships felt natural at least. I loved how pieces of the story slowly unfolded by different characters.
Based on Wheeler’s acknowledgements, I can tell he thankfully had a solid role in writing the Netflix tv adaptation AND book two is expected to happen. Yay! Now it’s time for me to read T. H. White’s The Once and Future King soon.