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seandelliot 's review for:
Cursed
by Thomas Wheeler
I will probably always consider Marion Zimmer Bradley's The Mists of Avalon to be my favorite re-imagining, re-boot, re-telling, of the legend of King Arthur. As a matter of fact, if you haven't read it, do so, now! Of course, every telling of that legend is a re-imagination, isn't it? Since the legend really pre-dates written records. I read The Once and Future King in high school, and enjoyed it. I have read (and viewed) more than a few other tellings. It always intrigues me how the characters manifest in different roles, different motivations, different paths.
Cursed might not have made my reading list had Netflix not produced an adaptation that proved highly enjoyable in its own right.
Wheeler's imagining lacks the depth of Mists, it lacks the nuanced characters and richly described geography, and is also a complete departure in almost every way from the traditional Arthurian storyline. Wheeler has chosen the Lady of the Lake, Nimue, who in most traditional versions of the legend is barely a footnote as the mystical creature who bestows the sword upon Arthur, as his protagonist. In doing so he embraces the feminist premise that Bradley arguably first brought to the tellings of the legend, while also going on a very different journey from any of the traditional tellings. In many ways Wheeler's Merlin is the only character who seems recognizable, albeit different in ways from most versions, from the long tradition. Even then he is still a level of complexity from what might be the accepted norms. The world of Wheeler's tale is vaguely recognizable as taking place on the island of Britannia ... though the politics and religion of the time are an interesting twist, and the magic much less intentional (more of a natural force than one controlled and manipulated by the characters of the story).
Of course, this novel ends in a cliffhanger, so I will look forward to the sequel as much as I do the Netflix series.
Cursed might not have made my reading list had Netflix not produced an adaptation that proved highly enjoyable in its own right.
Wheeler's imagining lacks the depth of Mists, it lacks the nuanced characters and richly described geography, and is also a complete departure in almost every way from the traditional Arthurian storyline. Wheeler has chosen the Lady of the Lake, Nimue, who in most traditional versions of the legend is barely a footnote as the mystical creature who bestows the sword upon Arthur, as his protagonist. In doing so he embraces the feminist premise that Bradley arguably first brought to the tellings of the legend, while also going on a very different journey from any of the traditional tellings. In many ways Wheeler's Merlin is the only character who seems recognizable, albeit different in ways from most versions, from the long tradition. Even then he is still a level of complexity from what might be the accepted norms. The world of Wheeler's tale is vaguely recognizable as taking place on the island of Britannia ... though the politics and religion of the time are an interesting twist, and the magic much less intentional (more of a natural force than one controlled and manipulated by the characters of the story).
Of course, this novel ends in a cliffhanger, so I will look forward to the sequel as much as I do the Netflix series.