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3.07 AVERAGE
3.07 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
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:
Complicated
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
What a very strange book.
I can't figure out why Wheeler bothered to make this book Arthuriana. None of the characters who bear the names from the legends bear any resemblance whatsoever to their legendary counterparts. And I'm not being pedantic -- Arthuriana is extremely malleable, which is part of its strength and joy. You make a lot of exciting changes without breaking the foundations of the canon-such-as-it-even-is. But this book... I dunno, it doesn't even seem to try? It's like Wheeler wrote a completely different, competent-if-uninspired fantasy novel, then slapped Arthurian names on a few characters. It's not in any way that's clever or elucidates meaning or recontextualizes the older stories.
The worldbuilding also feels sloppy and all over the place. It's part reality and part not-even-slightly. It's ostensibly set in... something resembling England? But when? Who knows. Long after the Roman withdrawal. There are Viking raiders. But there's also some place called "Minotaur Valley"? There's The Church, but no actual recognizable church structure -- Wheeler has substituted in malevolent "Red Paladins" in place of any historical group. Again, it makes it feel like he wrote a secondworld fantasy and then decided "Arthuriana sells better" and changed a few things.
I could forgive more of that if the characters were compelling, but they're not. Nimue volleys wildly between inexplicable hyper-competence and utter foolishness. Her relationship with Arthur is flat as dry toothpaste. Morgan is woefully under-conceived and under-used. Not enough time is given to any side characters to really make them breathe, and Wheeler introduces far too many tertiary figures, especially among the horde of Fey Folk, to allow us time to care about any of them.
Honestly the best thing I can say about the book is that it was a quick read, allowing me to get on to other things.
I can't figure out why Wheeler bothered to make this book Arthuriana. None of the characters who bear the names from the legends bear any resemblance whatsoever to their legendary counterparts. And I'm not being pedantic -- Arthuriana is extremely malleable, which is part of its strength and joy. You make a lot of exciting changes without breaking the foundations of the canon-such-as-it-even-is. But this book... I dunno, it doesn't even seem to try? It's like Wheeler wrote a completely different, competent-if-uninspired fantasy novel, then slapped Arthurian names on a few characters. It's not in any way that's clever or elucidates meaning or recontextualizes the older stories.
The worldbuilding also feels sloppy and all over the place. It's part reality and part not-even-slightly. It's ostensibly set in... something resembling England? But when? Who knows. Long after the Roman withdrawal. There are Viking raiders. But there's also some place called "Minotaur Valley"? There's The Church, but no actual recognizable church structure -- Wheeler has substituted in malevolent "Red Paladins" in place of any historical group. Again, it makes it feel like he wrote a secondworld fantasy and then decided "Arthuriana sells better" and changed a few things.
I could forgive more of that if the characters were compelling, but they're not. Nimue volleys wildly between inexplicable hyper-competence and utter foolishness. Her relationship with Arthur is flat as dry toothpaste. Morgan is woefully under-conceived and under-used. Not enough time is given to any side characters to really make them breathe, and Wheeler introduces far too many tertiary figures, especially among the horde of Fey Folk, to allow us time to care about any of them.
Honestly the best thing I can say about the book is that it was a quick read, allowing me to get on to other things.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
medium-paced
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I came across this book at Ollie's and was intrigued so I decided to pick it up. I had heard of the Netflix show but hadn't seen it and honestly didn't know a ton about Arthurian legend so I really had no idea what I was getting into. I really enjoyed this story and really felt for the Fey Kind. I love the idea of a really strong FMC but there were definitely times that Nimue really annoyed me. I could overlook look that though because I was so invested in the story and desperately wanted revenge for the Fey. If this ever got a sequel, I would definitely read it.
This book counts for Popsugar 2023 for a modern retelling of a classic and for Magical Readathon Spring Equinox 2023 for Spells and Incantations, a book with a target length of 389 - 415 pages.
This book counts for Popsugar 2023 for a modern retelling of a classic and for Magical Readathon Spring Equinox 2023 for Spells and Incantations, a book with a target length of 389 - 415 pages.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry
An Arthurian story with female lead? Yes, please. I love the description of this book. CURSED is really different than the original story of Arthur and Merlin. I like a lot of the ways the characters and story are reimagined, though.
Merlin is this flawed man who’s hundreds of years old, thanks in part to his magic. Arthur hasn’t really become the hero yet, but you see glimpses of his potential through the story. And then there are all of these really fascinating minor characters in the story, too. With some of them, as their names get revealed, it makes so much sense how they will fit into the story.
Nimue is another great character. I love her adventurous spirit and the way she begins to embrace her role as a leader to her people.
The only part of the book that I really struggled with was the amount of violence. It’s just really not my thing. I’m way too squeamish for a lot of battle gore and torture is way too over the line for me. So I skimmed a few places where the violence got to be too intense.
Other than that, I think it’s a super imaginative tale with lots to offer to fans of the Arthur story and fantasy fans alike.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
Merlin is this flawed man who’s hundreds of years old, thanks in part to his magic. Arthur hasn’t really become the hero yet, but you see glimpses of his potential through the story. And then there are all of these really fascinating minor characters in the story, too. With some of them, as their names get revealed, it makes so much sense how they will fit into the story.
Nimue is another great character. I love her adventurous spirit and the way she begins to embrace her role as a leader to her people.
The only part of the book that I really struggled with was the amount of violence. It’s just really not my thing. I’m way too squeamish for a lot of battle gore and torture is way too over the line for me. So I skimmed a few places where the violence got to be too intense.
Other than that, I think it’s a super imaginative tale with lots to offer to fans of the Arthur story and fantasy fans alike.
Note: I received a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I was able to read Cursed by Thomas Wheeler for free from Netgalley via NetGalley for the ARC copy of this book. From the cover and the description it seemed that the story was going to be about a strong female protagonist. This book in on high demand and I wanted to be in the 'know'. I tried and I was unable to get into the story.
