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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
A series I have read several times over despite knowing exactly what happens. A curiously interesting take on the legend of Arthur and his ilk. Robin Hood as well. A strong grasp of the narrative of each story used within these books to weave a greater one, a gorgeous tapestry expertly handled. The kind of thing I wish I could come up with. I guarantee I'll read them again.
As unsubtle as a broadsword to the head, possibly a good read for a fourteen year old boy - although I’d hesitate to recommend it, seeing as the “hero” of the book is by turns racist, sexist, homophobic, and classist. Even his “redemption arc” - not spoilers, it’s telegraphed almost from page one - doesn’t so much make him better as involve him confronting the idea that others are worse.
adventurous
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A fantastic, in every respect, novel, which manages the impossible and does something new and interesting with the Arthurian legends.
This book surprised me A Lot. I was all ready to dismiss it because of the way it treated some subjects but looking back on it, it seems like that was a risk Purser-Hallard took, making the reader agitated with the Circle to make them more likely to sympathize with the "terrorists." Whether that was on purpose or not, it worked, and I am very intrigued. I also did not expect that ending At All.
Sometimes you come across a book that so closely matches your tastes and interests that it feels that it could have been written just for you. This blend of contemporary thriller and medieval myth was one of those books for me.
I loved it, but it makes it slightly hard to review though since I know my reaction to it is even more personal and subjective than usual. Would this book work so well for someone who hasn't immersed themselves in the stories of King Arthur? I suspect that it's clever and canny enough to still be a good read and to fill in all you need to know regardless. But if you do know the stories, it will resonate all the more richly.
The main character Jory bears the device of Sir Gawain, which lends him a certain impetuousness and unfortunate habit for decapitation. The main characters are connected to figures from legend, but with clever shifts and reveals along the way. It's also fiercely and relevantly political - not in a narrowly party-political way, but in exploring what Britain can and should be. By the end, it establishes a fiendishly compelling conflict and concept that has me eager to read the rest of the trilogy.
I was reminded vaguely of Paul Cornell's London Falling, which similarly grounds extraordinary goings-on in a recognisable contemporary setting, with believable human reactions to the strange goings on. This goes further, in fact - there is nothing overtly supernatural here, with pseudoscientific explanations in terms of archetypes and the national psyche. You still have all the fun of a modern day Knights of the Round Table doing quests and secretly defending Britain, fighting against a far-right group under the influence of Hengist and Horsa, plus the modern day ecowarrior embodiment of the Green Knight, justified with clever layers of rationalisation.
If you're even vaguely interested in British myth and folklore, get this book now!
I loved it, but it makes it slightly hard to review though since I know my reaction to it is even more personal and subjective than usual. Would this book work so well for someone who hasn't immersed themselves in the stories of King Arthur? I suspect that it's clever and canny enough to still be a good read and to fill in all you need to know regardless. But if you do know the stories, it will resonate all the more richly.
The main character Jory bears the device of Sir Gawain, which lends him a certain impetuousness and unfortunate habit for decapitation. The main characters are connected to figures from legend, but with clever shifts and reveals along the way. It's also fiercely and relevantly political - not in a narrowly party-political way, but in exploring what Britain can and should be. By the end, it establishes a fiendishly compelling conflict and concept that has me eager to read the rest of the trilogy.
I was reminded vaguely of Paul Cornell's London Falling, which similarly grounds extraordinary goings-on in a recognisable contemporary setting, with believable human reactions to the strange goings on. This goes further, in fact - there is nothing overtly supernatural here, with pseudoscientific explanations in terms of archetypes and the national psyche. You still have all the fun of a modern day Knights of the Round Table doing quests and secretly defending Britain, fighting against a far-right group under the influence of Hengist and Horsa, plus the modern day ecowarrior embodiment of the Green Knight, justified with clever layers of rationalisation.
If you're even vaguely interested in British myth and folklore, get this book now!