Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Series: Book 2 of King Arthur
Publisher: Atria
Date of Publication: January 7, 2014
Mogsy's Rating: 4 of 5 stars - "Hume takes her expertise on the legend and history of King Arthur and weaves in her own personal imaginings, portraying many prominent figures of the mythos in unique, intriguing ways"
Of the many re-tellings and interpretations I've read based on the
King Arthur mythos, I think M.K. Hume's is probably the most "scholarly"
version I've ever come across. As an expert on Arthurian literature
writing the series as more of a historical fiction than a fantasy, the
author clearly went to great lengths to find the most accurate accounts
of Arthur's reign. Still, she ultimately chose to tell the legends her
way, and there are certainly no shortage of surprises here.
This is the second book of Hume's King Arthur trilogy. The first
book Dragon's Child was about how Artor (Arthur) won his crown to become
High King of the Britons, while Warrior of the West takes place
approximately twelve years after that. The story almost feels like it is
split into two parts, with the first half of the novel focusing on the
war against Glamdring Ironfist and his army of Saxon invaders.
But while it was undoubtedly the right call for Hume to open the
book with the excitement and conflict of a war campaign, I personally
found the events of the second half of the novel more engaging. Having
driven back his enemies, the rest of the book centers around Artor's
efforts to establish his throne and his need for a legitimate heir.
This, of course, is where Wenhaver (Guenevere) comes in, and the
interesting part begins.
I have to say this book's characterization of Wenhaver is one of
my favorite portrayals of King Arthur's queen that I've ever
encountered. Simply put, she's a terrible, vicious person, little more
than a spoiled child accustomed to using her beauty to get what she
wants. In her afterword, Hume confesses that she has never much liked
Guenevere or her character's relevance as someone who could bring ruin
to an entire kingdom for the love of another man, and yet could still
retain her likeability as a person. I've never thought about it that
way, but the fact that Guenevere and her part in the legend has always
been heavily romanticized is true enough.
However,
in this story Wenhaver is a vile, jealous and sadistic character who
cheats on her husband out of spite. Hume also leaves the character of
Lancelot out entirely, which makes sense because she is staying faithful
to the older versions of the legend (Lancelot is thought to have been
absorbed into the Arthurian tradition after he was introduced by the
French romances). But while there's no love lost between king and queen,
Hume cultivates her character relationships in other places.
As
a counterpoint to Wenhaver, we have Nimue, known commonly as the Lady
of the Lake who enchants the heart of Merlin. Nimue is the polar
opposite of Wenhaver, being a sweet, kindly and down-to-earth young
woman -- which again is an intriguing portrayal of a key figure that is
very different and unique. I love the background Hume has written for
Nimue, while still managing to tie in a lot of the elements from the
more popular versions of the legend, including her relationship with
Myrddion Merlinus.
In spite of this, the story
also feels grounded in historical reality, which I'm sure is due
largely to Hume's research and academic expertise. The nature of the
writing style also puts you right there, and is quite effective at
emphasizing the brutality of the times. In some ways, the starkness of
the prose makes the violence seem so much worse, making me feel a lot
more squeamish. Indeed, the author does not spare us from the darker,
bloodier side of forging a kingdom.
As you can
see, the book veers off a great deal from the more "accepted" versions
of the King Arthur legend, but that is also what I love best about it.
The way Hume weaves her own personal imaginings into a framework which
brings together myth and legend with historical accounts is what's
making this series stand out for me. It's true that these novels lean
further into historical fiction territory than fantasy, making them
quite different than the type of books I'm currently reading now, but
I'm definitely looking forward to checking out the conclusion of this
trilogy.
4 of 5 stars
A review copy of this book
was provided to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I have to say, I completely agree with everything you've written in this review, but I do miss that you haven't spoken about the portrayal of Artorex, which I think is very interesting on its own.
ReplyDeleteWriters have always presented King Arthur as this sort of ideal monarch -very improbable given the times these characters lived in-, and in this book he's become a rather unlikeable and at times cruel man. It's true that Wenhaver is spoilt and vile, but Artorex also brings out the worst of her, constantly mocking and angering her out of sheer spite.
I believe that the portrayals of most characters (I especially love Nimue, she's delightful to read about) are beautiful and new, and what's most important, rather deep. Even Wenhaver has "reasons" to do what she does.