A review by seanml
Excalibur: A Novel of Arthur by Bernard Cornwell

adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative reflective tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Finally, I come to the end of The Warlord Chronicles, Bernard Cornwell’s wonderfully historically entrenched retelling of the legend of King Arthur. Not much to say, other than it’s great. We follow the narrative through the eyes of a foot soldier that luckily is just as interesting as the other primary characters, Guinevere’s arc is one of the best in the series, and despite the series being billed as “historically accurate (as it can be) and gritty” among other things, it never loses its sense of hope, and ends about as perfectly as it could. 9.5/10.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Gore, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Vomit, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation

Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment