Review by kumquats87 - Legendborn

kumquats87 's review for:

Legendborn by Tracy Deonn

4.0

adventurous emotional mysterious fast-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: No

The legend of Arthur, reimagined with a female African American lead. The promise of a deconstructed colonised fantasy was the only incentive I needed to read this. And I am so glad that I did. I will admit that my exposure to Arthurian legend was limited - little more than hazy childhood memories of the Sword in the Stone on VHS, later supplemented by Monty Python and the Holy Grail. As such, some of the more predictable twists still managed to catch me by surprise.

Yet I still knew enough to be aware of the broad strokes; to understand it as a legend couched in heroism, magic, loyalty, and bravery. In essence, it was a story that portrayed colonisers as the heroes of history. Legendborn offers a much needed alternative; taking this legend of so-called heroism and injecting it with the reality of imperialism, exposing its horrendous impact upon marginalised bodies. If Arthur did exist, then he, his forebears, and his descendants would all be complicit in the subjugation of the oppressed.

Legendborn asks the reader to witness how imperial power harms - how those that benefit from these power structures act to preserve their privilege from even the slightest threat. (As an aside, it will be interesting to see how this aspect plays out in Bloodmarked, given the climactic events of legend born.)

Content Warnings