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A review by theliteraryapothecary
The Winter King: A Novel of Arthur by Bernard Cornwell
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
4.5
I was really excited to finally get to this audiobook - I heard great things about the book years ago from The Library of Allenxandria's Youtube channel. One little known fact about me is that I used to love the Arthurian legend tales and retellings - I even took a college course on them. Cornwell brought that love back in a different way for me. This retelling is a darker, grittier version of the Arthurian tales that I'm used to.
Characters: 5/5 - Although it took me a bit to acclimate to the main POV in this book, (For some reason I thought it was going to be a different POV), I loved seeing these classic characters in a different light. It deromanticized (is that a word? that's totally a word) some that are often showin a much better light, like Lancelot, and gave us a closer look at others that are often only seen at a distance like Nimue.
Atmosphere/Setting: 4/5 - I loved the atmosphere. I felt it at all times. The setting was less of a focus point for Cornwell. I would have liked more.
Writing Style: 3/5 - This is a category that could definitely change on reread - especially if I read in physical format. I read through the audiobook only this time and there were a few things that were difficult for me to follow: 1) the timeline - while it felt like it jumped times, the narrator didn't specifically say that, so it was confusing trying to follow when things happened; 2) the pacing felt inconsistent which made it hard to follow at times on audio - and maybe that's why it felt like it jumped timelines also. So maybe that is Cornwell's writing, maybe that was the narration of the audiobook, maybe both.
Plot: 4/5 - Taking a half point here for pacing (see Writing Style above), but I loved where this plot took us. Another half point for the ending, which was very climatic but didn't really have any falling action. It felt like we stopped at the top of the cliff instead of coming down. I needed at least a paragraph or two afterwards to kind of calm down in my reading when finishing a book.
Intrigue: 5/5
Logic: 5/5 - Once I got used to this POV and narrative, it all made logical sense to me.
Enjoyment: 5/5 - Enjoyed it and I want to continue the series, though maybe as an immersion read instead.
Audiobook Narrator: Jonthan Keeble - 5/5 - He did a fantastic job!
Total: 36/8 = 4.5
Characters: 5/5 - Although it took me a bit to acclimate to the main POV in this book, (For some reason I thought it was going to be a different POV), I loved seeing these classic characters in a different light. It deromanticized (is that a word? that's totally a word) some that are often showin a much better light, like Lancelot, and gave us a closer look at others that are often only seen at a distance like Nimue.
Atmosphere/Setting: 4/5 - I loved the atmosphere. I felt it at all times. The setting was less of a focus point for Cornwell. I would have liked more.
Writing Style: 3/5 - This is a category that could definitely change on reread - especially if I read in physical format. I read through the audiobook only this time and there were a few things that were difficult for me to follow: 1) the timeline - while it felt like it jumped times, the narrator didn't specifically say that, so it was confusing trying to follow when things happened; 2) the pacing felt inconsistent which made it hard to follow at times on audio - and maybe that's why it felt like it jumped timelines also. So maybe that is Cornwell's writing, maybe that was the narration of the audiobook, maybe both.
Plot: 4/5 - Taking a half point here for pacing (see Writing Style above), but I loved where this plot took us. Another half point for the ending, which was very climatic but didn't really have any falling action. It felt like we stopped at the top of the cliff instead of coming down. I needed at least a paragraph or two afterwards to kind of calm down in my reading when finishing a book.
Intrigue: 5/5
Logic: 5/5 - Once I got used to this POV and narrative, it all made logical sense to me.
Enjoyment: 5/5 - Enjoyed it and I want to continue the series, though maybe as an immersion read instead.
Audiobook Narrator: Jonthan Keeble - 5/5 - He did a fantastic job!
Total: 36/8 = 4.5