Reviews

I liked this one more than The Witch in the Wood, it chronicles the life of Lancelot, from young boy in love with Arthur, to a neglected young teen, to the best fighter in the court, to raving madmen, and always throughout as a lover of Queen Guinevere. Although at times the endless love triangles got a bit preachy on the meaning of true love, it represents the consequences of being pure versus tainted in the eye of God. The religious elements were more prominent in this chapter while Arthur is a lot more of a background character in this tale. He is slowly building a world system, while continuing to ignore the possibility of his wife's infidelity. Despite three fights of honour over this fact. Arthur still chooses to believe in the word of his wife and best friend.

Lancelot is described as ugly, which I'd never heard before due to his usual handsome depiction in dramatic translations. He always tries to do the noble thing, but often falls short.

russell183's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny reflective medium-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

5.0

hgvam's review against another edition

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4.0

Far less grim and dark than The Witch in the Wood, but not as charming as The Sword In The Stone. I really liked The Ill-Made Knight. It was an interesting and compelling look at the character of Lancelot and the ways in which his interests and concerns affected his behaviour. The way he was occasionally very torn between what he wanted to do and what chivalry and his loyalty to Arthur dictated he should do was always compelling.

pandagopanda's review against another edition

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[Reading The Once and Future King]
Okay, so this is where TOAFK finally really gets going for me (a mere 340 or so pages in...). Focusing on Lancelot's life and lot, we are treated to a proper mythic-historical saga. There are interesting episodes of jousts and tournaments and misadventures, but also time passing in sweeping descriptive montages, and excellent, tender dialogue between the main characters. I also noticed that the narrator (and his obtrusive "contemporary" similes and perspectives) were mostly absent for this whole book, which made it so much more immersive and alive.

sharppointysticks's review against another edition

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2.0

I wanted to like this story abut Lancelot and Guinevere, but I found them to both be sort of unlikeable characters.

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