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williamsdebbied 's review for:
Sword of the Rightful King: A Novel of King Arthur
by Jane Yolen
I have always loved the legend of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. When I was a kid I read everything I could get my hands on about this topic.
In this retelling, Queen Morgause is deliciously evil and is constantly plotting to overthrow young King Arthur and put one of her sons on the throne.
Arthur is already king when the story begins, but Britain is not united. The whole sword in the stone thing turns out to be a trick that Merlinnus uses to convince the people of Britain that Arthur is the "once and future king" and to stop the assassination attempts.
Arthur's knights are barely mentioned; the only one who gets any real face time is Gawaine, who also happens to be Morgause's eldest son. Merlinnus also takes in a young boy, Gawen, who has a secret and holds a grudge against Gawaine.
This book will appeal most to middle and high school readers who enjoy myths and legends.
Another book by this author that is one of my favorites books OF ALL TIME is called Briar Rose and retells "Sleeping Beauty" as a Holocaust story. Sounds bizarre, but it is wonderful. Briar Rose is a tale that teen and adult readers will love.
If you can't get enough of King Arthur, another of my favorite books OF ALL TIME is The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. The King Arthur legend is reimagined and told from the women's perspectives. This is a huge book (about 1000 pages). The book is complex and there are many different characters and stories, all intertwined. Beautiful, with a decidedly feminist slant. I first read this when I was in college. I would most strongly recommend it to readers in high school and beyond. Younger readers will probably be intimidated by the book unless they are already passionate about the topic.
In this retelling, Queen Morgause is deliciously evil and is constantly plotting to overthrow young King Arthur and put one of her sons on the throne.
Arthur is already king when the story begins, but Britain is not united. The whole sword in the stone thing turns out to be a trick that Merlinnus uses to convince the people of Britain that Arthur is the "once and future king" and to stop the assassination attempts.
Arthur's knights are barely mentioned; the only one who gets any real face time is Gawaine, who also happens to be Morgause's eldest son. Merlinnus also takes in a young boy, Gawen, who has a secret and holds a grudge against Gawaine.
This book will appeal most to middle and high school readers who enjoy myths and legends.
Another book by this author that is one of my favorites books OF ALL TIME is called Briar Rose and retells "Sleeping Beauty" as a Holocaust story. Sounds bizarre, but it is wonderful. Briar Rose is a tale that teen and adult readers will love.
If you can't get enough of King Arthur, another of my favorite books OF ALL TIME is The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. The King Arthur legend is reimagined and told from the women's perspectives. This is a huge book (about 1000 pages). The book is complex and there are many different characters and stories, all intertwined. Beautiful, with a decidedly feminist slant. I first read this when I was in college. I would most strongly recommend it to readers in high school and beyond. Younger readers will probably be intimidated by the book unless they are already passionate about the topic.