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A Novel of King Arthur
by Lev Grossman
Book Reviewed by:The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Magicians trilogy returns with a triumphant reimagining of the King Arthur legend for the new millennium.
A gifted young knight named Collum arrives at Camelot to compete for a spot on the Round Table, only to find that he's too late. The king died two weeks ago at the Battle of Camlann, leaving no heir, and only a handful of the knights of the Round Table survive.
They aren't the heroes of legend, like Lancelot or Gawain. They're the oddballs of the Round Table, from the edges of the stories, like Sir Palomides, the Saracen Knight, and Sir Dagonet, Arthur's fool, who was knighted as a joke. They're joined by Nimue, who was Merlin's apprentice until she turned on him and buried him under a hill. Together this ragtag fellowship will set out to rebuild Camelot in a world that has lost its balance.
But Arthur's death has revealed Britain's fault lines. God has abandoned it, and the fairies and monsters and old gods are returning, led by Arthur's half-sister Morgan le Fay. Kingdoms are turning on each other, warlords lay siege to Camelot and rival factions are forming around the disgraced Lancelot and the fallen Queen Guinevere. It is up to Collum and his companions to reclaim Excalibur, solve the mysteries of this ruined world and make it whole again. But before they can restore Camelot they'll have to learn the truth of why the lonely, brilliant King Arthur fell, and lay to rest the ghosts of his troubled family and of Britain's dark past.
The first major Arthurian epic of the new millennium, The Bright Sword is steeped in tradition, full of duels and quests, battles and tournaments, magic swords and Fisher Kings. It also sheds a fresh light on Arthur's Britain, a diverse, complex nation struggling to come to terms with its bloody history. The Bright Sword is a story about imperfect men and women, full of strength and pain, who are looking for a way to reforge a broken land in spite of being broken themselves.
The Bright Sword is a vast, sprawling, entertaining adventure in true Arthurian tradition, encompassing influences from across the legend's immense spectrum. With its tumultuous depiction of a world in chaos, lacking in leaders of depth and vision, full of unreliable allies and unexpected enemies, and bereft of meaningful convictions, values, or moral compass, it can be argued that it reflects contemporary society's concerns. Some events that should be momentous are instead somewhat anticlimactic, such as the great battle between Morgan's fairy forces and the Christian knights. Futile actions and false endings can serve a valuable purpose in epic literature, but there are perhaps too many of them in this particular story. It is, however, a riotous, imaginative, and exciting series of exploits, and an overarching adventure imbued with Arthurian magic and mystery...continued
Full Review
(704 words)
(Reviewed by Jo-Anne Blanco).
Since the earliest texts of the 11th and 12th centuries (which in turn are based on much older narratives), Arthurian legend has been one of the richest sources of material available to authors. Over centuries, the tales, characters, and concepts of Arthuriana have lent themselves to a seemingly inexhaustible wealth of adaptations, interpretations, reimaginings, borrowings, and influences. The second half of the 20th century saw Arthuriana transcend genres, embracing everything from science fiction to feminist fiction, mystery thrillers to musicals, movies to comic books. Its hold on the popular imagination remains as powerful in the 21st century as it ever has been, and as society continues to evolve, so too does Arthuriana.
Some 21st-...
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George R. R. Martin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Game of Thrones
If you love King Arthur as much as I do, you'll love Lev Grossman's The Bright Sword, a fresh and engrossing take on the Matter of Britain featuring a colorful cast of Round Table knights who don't often get as much story time as they deserve. The creator of The Magicians has woven another spell.
