Best Arthurian Novel?

[aarti]

Originally Posted by Culhwch

Then start The Winter King immediately! I shall say no more.

Haha- I do actually have it sitting here on my shelf :-) Though I don't have the second or third in the series. But I actually haven't read any Arthurian books in some time. I feel like I should finish off Stewart's The Wicked Day first, and then start on another series. Probably Bradshaw's, if only because those have been on my shelf longer.

[aarti]

Originally Posted by Teresa Edgerton

I've read the Gillian Bradshaw books, aarti -- in fact I read them again within the last year or so. I liked them a lot, particularly the first and third (although the third one is about Guenevere).

After Stewart and White, I think they're my favorite take on the Arthurian legend. I didn't care for Cornwell, which I know is blasphemy around here. Still, there it is.

Yes, I know the last Bradshaw book is about Guinevere. I do have it, but I don't know if I'll like it ;-) I have heard the most about Hawk of May in that series. I have also heard a lot about Rosemary Sudcliffe's Sword at Sunset, another one I have sitting on my shelf. (I have a lot of books sitting unread on my shelves).

I actually haven't read T. H. White's The Once and Future King at all. So maybe I should put that on my list, too!

And can you start a topic even if you're not a moderator? If so, I'll make an effort to do so now.

[Teresa Edgerton]

Anyone can start a thread, and members are encouraged to do so (although it's always a good idea to see if someone has already begun a thread on the same topic). New blood, new ideas, new threads -- that's how the forums grow.

I love T. H. White's Once and Future King. The early parts are rather whimsical (which may not be to everyone's taste, although it was to mine) but as the story progresses the characters become more and more complex and parts of it are quite heart-wrenching.

[GOLLUM]

I'm not big on Arthurian stories but I'd say T.H. White's Once and Future King is a must read for those so inclined. Mary Stewart's novels ring bells but not sure if I've read them.....

[j. d. worthington]

Originally Posted by GOLLUM

I'm not big on Arthurian stories but I'd say T.H. White's Once and Future King is a must read for those so inclined. Mary Stewart's novels ring bells but not sure if I've read them.....

I think you'd remember. These were accepted as Literature long before nearly any other fantasy except Tolkien, Eddison, Dunsany and Cabell....

[carrie221]

Originally Posted by GOLLUM

I'm not big on Arthurian stories but I'd say T.H. White's Once and Future King is a must read for those so inclined. Mary Stewart's novels ring bells but not sure if I've read them.....

I would disagree Once and Future King I though was not good at all, may even be the worst of the group. There are many other books out there about King Arthur that are a lot better and more entertaining.

[elvet]

I got into Arthurian fantasy by reading The Once and Future King. I just loved it. I've since read The Warlord Trilogy and Stewart's 3 books, but I didn't realize there was a fourth - The Wicked Day. I also liked Molly Cochran/Warren Murphy's modern day take on it (The Broken Sword, The Forever King, World Without End and The Third Magic).I have recently picked up Queen of Camelot by Nancy McKenzie. Any comments on that one?

[jackokent]

Have to agree the Once and Future king is a fantastic book. Also, isn't Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmerbradly Arthurian. I read that years ago and remember really liking it.

[Ptar]

Hmmm...no mention of Jack Whyte's Dream of Eagles?
...bit of a 'twist on the norm' Jack actually starts his series about 50 years before Arthur is born.
A great read!
Peter

[hipeee]

hello to all,
i have not been on the computer much the last 3 or 4 months, been busy
working.
As far as the best arthurian novel, i would have to say the 8 books by the englishman jack whyte, i really loved the saxon shore and the two volume s on the sorcerer ,along with clothar the frank.
the last book i ordered in this seres was a 900 pager the eagle, it was a tad dry compared to the early novels



peace
mr. hippy.

ps.
about 10 or so years ago, there was a buzz going around that, king david
was a myth, a myth not unlike king arthur, well they have since found proof
that king david was not a myth, hopfully they will one day find proof of king
arthur some where near hadrians wall..

[Rosemary]

I much preferred Mary Stewart's Merlin series...not too much about Arthur which made a nice change.

Marion Zimmer Bradley wrote the Avalon Series - The Mists of Avalon, The Forest of Avalon, Lady of Avalon, Priestess of Ávalon and Ancestors of Avalon.

Rosemary Sutcliffe wrote about 50 books of which Sword at Sunset was one, I remember enjoying that particular story. She also wrote The Hound of Ulster, a story about Beowulf and many other Celtic stories which I loved.

The one I haven't read is The Saxon Shore by Jack Whyte...hopefully I will be able to find a copy, so thanks for that information as I do prefer pre-Arthurian stories.

You might find a thread or two in the History Thread about Arthur, if you are interested Hippee...

[Riselka]

Rosemary,

Have you read the other books in Jack Whyte's Arthurian series? If not, I would highly recommend you start from the beginning. The order of his books are as follows:

1. The Skystone
2. The Singing Sword
3. The Eagles' Brood
4. The Saxon Shore
5. The Sorcerer: The Fort at River's Bend (Canadian title)
The Fort at River's Bend (US and International title)
6. The Sorcerer: Metamorphosis (Canadian title)
The Sorcerer (US and International title)

7. Uther {companion volume to the series, written in a different voice (third person rather than narrative), parallels the timeline covered in "The Eagles' Brood"}

8. Clothar the Frank (Canadian title)
The Lance Thrower (US and International title)
9. The Eagle (so far, only a Canadian printing available but Tor/Forge supposedly has intentions of publishing a US and International version)

In Canada, the first six books are a cycle known as "A Dream of Eagles", and the eighth and ninth books comprise a miniseries called "The Golden Eagle". In the US and Internationally, I believe the entire series (including "The Lance Thrower") is known as "The Camulod Chronicles".

"A Dream of Eagles" begins generations before the birth of Arthur, and culminates with his crowning as High King of Britannia. It is narrated first by Publius Varrus, Uther's grandfather (thus Arthur's great-grandfather), and then by Merlyn himself. "The Golden Eagle" is a recounting of the life of Arthur as King, told by Clothar, who is the equivalent to the character usually referred to as Lancelot in other Arthurian tales.

Jack's tenth book, "Knights of the Black and White", has just been published this month. It is the first book in a Templar Knights trilogy.

You should check out his website, there's lots of information there, as well as a message board for any questions you may have. He even has a blog on the site that he posts to.

I'd post a link to his website but the system here won't let me post a link until I've reached 15 posts on the site.

[elvet]

Great information, Riskelka. I've often picked up Whyte's recent books, but thinking they were a stand alone, didn't really get drawn in. Now that I know about the series, I'm tempted to give them a go. Hopefully the early books are still available.

[Riselka]

One of the things I like about Jack's series is that it is, in fact, historical fiction - rather than fantasy. (Even though Chapters, for some bizarre reason, insist on putting them in the Fantasy section of their stores.) They read as if they are a recounting of actual events that happened in this point of Britain's history. There's no "magick" involved with the character of Merlyn. His reputation as a sorcerer comes about in a grounded in reality way.

But the best thing I like about the series is how Jack has been able to make you really care about the characters in the series. You mourn deeply when beloved characters pass away. Even non-human characters become like old friends. When one of the character's horses passes away, it hits you just as hard as if he were one of the most beloved human characters.

Even non-living objects aren't spared a reader making a true "connection" with them. One of the characters has a long-bow that was acquired in Africa when he was with the Roman Army - it's passed down as a family heirloom in the series. When it meets a rather unfortunate end, the shock of it hits you as if one of the most beloved characters in the series has passed away unexpectedly.

[beenorthern]

I read through all the posts twice and then I googled various authors and I came across this extremely interesting interview with Jane Yolen -- http://www.lib.rochester.edu/Camelot/intrvws/yolen.htm

Like many of you, I read Mallory ... Pyle ... T.H. White ... Cooper ... Tennyson ... Sutcliff as a child. (I think it was Sutcliff that fostered my taste for fiction set in classic Rome and Roman Britain!)

I went on to Victor Canning, Mary Stewart, Vera Chapman, Molly Cochrane & Warren Murphy, Jack Whyte ... And especially Gillian Bradshaw, whose trilogy was once my very favourite, and which I highly recommend ... But there is no end to Arthurian fiction and I got to the point where I couldn't read one more piece of it! So I still haven't read Cornwell or Bradley (although, since I've enjoyed so many of his novels, his Arthurian trilogy has gone on my To Read List).

But then I discovered Alice Borchardt ... Her werewolf books were so enjoyable that I had to read everything ... So I picked up *The Dragon Queen* and I was enthralled! Her portrayal of post-Roman Britain, her depiction of the revived Celtic tribes, her characterization of the young Guinevere and Arthur, and most especially her transit from "real" history to the Celtic otherworlds -- superb! My new favourite Arthurian author!

Since then, I picked up some of the others: I found Parke Godwin's *Beloved Exile* excellent -- but I couldn't really get into Sharan Newman's *Chessboard Queen*. *For King and Country* by Robert Asprin & Linda Evans used a SF time travel frame, went off in an interestingly different direction and turned into an alternate history! Anne McCaffrey's *Black Horses for the King* is another minor YA work, but quite entertaining. Judith Tarr's *Kingdom of the Grail* is mostly a retelling of The Song of Roland, but Merlin is a main character -- another favourite of mine! I read Jack Whyte's *Uther* right after Borchardt's *The Raven Warrior* -- I realized I just didn't like it! And Whyte was out the door!

I say "real" history because we know so very little about post-Roman Britain (we have no idea where Badon Hill was!) that any Arthurian novel, even if it eschews magic and explains everything rationally, is so much a work of the author's imagination that it IS fantasy. Camelot, Ruritania, Gondor ... they are all beyond the fields we know.