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A review by samkb
The Cleaving by Juliet E. McKenna
2.0
2.5 stars
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
“The Cleaving” retells Arthurian legend from the perspective of the sorceress Nimue as she serves first Ygraine, then Morgana, then Guinevere. The author is an expert on this era and thus the book is incredibly rich in historical detail. There are also some deeply beautiful passages amidst the rapidly moving plot.
However, Nimue’s role as a passive observer does not situate her well to be the narrator of the entire story; she mainly chooses not to engage in mortal affairs and instead tells the events in a bland, factual tone that along with the somewhat episodic nature of the plot caused me to rapidly lose emotional investment in the story and the characters. I may have preferred a multi-narrator setup where we also heard from Ygraine, Morgana, and Guinevere, all of whom are more interesting characters. Nimue’s inner world is not particularly robust or complex, and hearing from the other women may have enriched the experience of reading.
The story was also told in chunks, skipping large swaths of time in order to cover everything contained in the legend. This really prevented me from becoming invested because even while approaching the end, it didn’t ever feel like the story was leading to anything important. Everyone’s motivations were either unclear the entire time, confusing, or implausible (especially Merlin). At many points not a single character was behaving logically. Entire plot threads were introduced and then dropped partway through. This book had real potential, but there are so many other issues that really got in the way of being able to appreciate it.
My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
“The Cleaving” retells Arthurian legend from the perspective of the sorceress Nimue as she serves first Ygraine, then Morgana, then Guinevere. The author is an expert on this era and thus the book is incredibly rich in historical detail. There are also some deeply beautiful passages amidst the rapidly moving plot.
However, Nimue’s role as a passive observer does not situate her well to be the narrator of the entire story; she mainly chooses not to engage in mortal affairs and instead tells the events in a bland, factual tone that along with the somewhat episodic nature of the plot caused me to rapidly lose emotional investment in the story and the characters. I may have preferred a multi-narrator setup where we also heard from Ygraine, Morgana, and Guinevere, all of whom are more interesting characters. Nimue’s inner world is not particularly robust or complex, and hearing from the other women may have enriched the experience of reading.
The story was also told in chunks, skipping large swaths of time in order to cover everything contained in the legend. This really prevented me from becoming invested because even while approaching the end, it didn’t ever feel like the story was leading to anything important. Everyone’s motivations were either unclear the entire time, confusing, or implausible (especially Merlin). At many points not a single character was behaving logically. Entire plot threads were introduced and then dropped partway through. This book had real potential, but there are so many other issues that really got in the way of being able to appreciate it.