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A review by sarahndipity
The Wicked Day by Mary Stewart
3.0
I picked this up in a free bin, and I didn't read the rest of the saga. I figured that I didn't need to; the Arthurian legends outlines are so well-known, everyone already has the back story, right? After reading this book, I can't say that anything here depended so heavily on the previous books in the series that it didn't make sense without having read them. It may be best to read the whole series in order. It may not matter. I didn't, and I don't regret it.
Spoiler: Stewart's Mordred is a basically good guy. He's a bit selfish and he's ambitious in a way that not everyone will care for, but he's not a traitor. He and Arthur are friends, they understand each other, and they end up fighting not through enmity but through events they cannot control. In her afterward, Stewart explains why she sees Mordred this way and why she wrote his story in this way and how the source material supports this view of Mordred. I find her reasons compelling, though as with any legend or myth, many interpretations are compelling and even valid.
Spoiler: Stewart's Mordred is a basically good guy. He's a bit selfish and he's ambitious in a way that not everyone will care for, but he's not a traitor. He and Arthur are friends, they understand each other, and they end up fighting not through enmity but through events they cannot control. In her afterward, Stewart explains why she sees Mordred this way and why she wrote his story in this way and how the source material supports this view of Mordred. I find her reasons compelling, though as with any legend or myth, many interpretations are compelling and even valid.