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alysiarobinson 's review for:
The Winter King
by Bernard Cornwell
I read and loved the last kingdom series so much that I avoided reading another series of his for fear I would not like it. I’ve been itching for another great historical fiction series and decided to give this one a try since it’s only a trilogy. It feels different enough from the last kingdom series that I didn’t find myself trying to compare them and just enjoyed the story!
This series is telling the story of Arthur, though we don’t meet Arthur until maybe a quarter of a way into the book. I was surprised that the story was not being told by Arthur, but instead is being told by Derfel, who was a ward of Merlin, warrior of Arthur, and now presumably a Christian priest, though I wasn’t mad about it. I feel this decision allows Arthur to keep that air of mystery, and Derfel’s connections to both Merlin and Arthur and life as a warrior allow for a more fulsome story to be told. The story did not progress as I thought which really kept me hooked to know what would happen next or how some situation would turn out. I also appreciated that the characters were not so black and white, and honestly you both like and dislike most of them at the same time.
This book hooks you from the start. It does slow down after the first few chapters where you’re just learning a lot about the characters and the context, but does pick back up and finished really strong. I’m excited to read on!
This series is telling the story of Arthur, though we don’t meet Arthur until maybe a quarter of a way into the book. I was surprised that the story was not being told by Arthur, but instead is being told by Derfel, who was a ward of Merlin, warrior of Arthur, and now presumably a Christian priest, though I wasn’t mad about it. I feel this decision allows Arthur to keep that air of mystery, and Derfel’s connections to both Merlin and Arthur and life as a warrior allow for a more fulsome story to be told. The story did not progress as I thought which really kept me hooked to know what would happen next or how some situation would turn out. I also appreciated that the characters were not so black and white, and honestly you both like and dislike most of them at the same time.
This book hooks you from the start. It does slow down after the first few chapters where you’re just learning a lot about the characters and the context, but does pick back up and finished really strong. I’m excited to read on!