Reviews with content warning for Islamophobia - Sword Stone Table: Old Legends, New Voices

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Sword Stone Table: Old Legends, New Voices by Jenn Northington, Swapna Krishna

3 reviews

talonsontypewriters's review

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adventurous medium-paced

3.0

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hflh's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

This is a mixed bag. Broken into past, present, and future retellings, some stories are good, some are fine, and some are less than fine. All stories take varying levels of inspiration from the Arthurian canon; some are more loosely inspired than others, but there’s only one that I’d say doesn’t relate at all. You can definitely enjoy this without knowing anything about the Arthurian canon; you’ll just need to Google some things.

Below are summaries of each story to help you decide if it’s worth the read. I’m also flagging which ones are explicitly queer because there was more straight romance than I was expecting (which was okay, just not expected).

PAST:

The Once and Future Qadi – Ausma Zehanat Khan:

A Qadi (an Islamic judge) is called to Arthur’s court to judge Guinevere’s innocence surrounding claims of infidelity with Lancelot.

3.5/5:

I would have liked this more if the story wasn’t so fixated on telling readers how hot the main character is. There was also a plot thing for me in the resolution that made the story contradict itself.

Passing Fair and Young – Roshani Choksi, straight romance:

A reimagining of Lancelot and the Lady of Shalott’s relationship with cool world-building and magic.

4/5:

Aside from being a bit bare in places, I really enjoyed this.

How, after Long Fighting Galehaut Was Overcome by Lancelot Yet Was Not Slain and Made Great Speed to Yield to Friendship; Or, Galehaut, the Knight of Forfeit – Daniel M. Lavery, mlm:

A brief, somewhat detached summary of how Sir Galehaut meets his match in Lancelot and becomes hopelessly devoted to him.

3/5:

I liked this as a concept, was just too short and distant-feeling for me to get into.

I Being Young and Foolish – Nisi Shawl, straight romance:

A reimagining of the Lady of the Lake as an albino Ugandan sorceress being mentored by Merlin, with earth and time based magic systems.

3.75/5:

The magic was really interesting, but it felt like the story was mostly just pining lovers that I wasn’t invested in.

The Bladesmith Queen – Sarah Maclean, straight romance:

A reimagining of the Lady of the Lake as a bladesmith who’s outcast as a witch, basically because the village is threatened by her. She finally meets her match in a mysterious knight who isn’t afraid of her.

3.75/5:

This was a well-written romance with a compelling premise.

Do, By All Due Means – Sive Doyle, wlm:

A queer reimagining of Britomart and Amoret.

4.75/5:

A solid adventure from start to finish that didn’t feel rushed; loved it.

PRESENT:

Mayday – Maria Dahvana Headley:

A non-magical reimagining of Arthur as a wealthy American businessman in the 1800s, slowly pieced together through a listicle of historical items found in an abandoned lighthouse.

4/5:

Really interesting premise that manages to stay true to the Arthurian canon while doing something completely different, but it was hard to follow at times (which I think was the point).

Heartbeat – Waubgeshig Rice:

A First Nations boy being bullied finds solace in connecting with his culture and rediscovers Excalibur as ceremonial drums that were lost to his community.

5/5:

Short, but wonderful.

Jack and Brad and the Magician – Anthony Rapp, mlm:

During the AIDS crisis, Jack and Brad meet the real Merlin while he’s giving a magic show in the AIDS wing of the hospital Jack, Brad’s boyfriend, is staying at.

2.5/5:

Tender, sad, and hopeful, and I liked the ending, but it felt tonally off to me from the rest of the collection, and the quirky, over-the-top Merlin wasn’t my thing.

The Quay Stone – S. Zainab Williams:

Horror-esque retelling of the Lady of the Lake in Singapore where a lonely girl makes a new friend while visiting family.

4.5/5:

Great. I really felt the setting and the dynamic between the two girls.

Black Diamond – Alex Segura:

Aturo, the mediocre son of a baseball star that died young, is given Excalibur, his dad’s bat, and rises to fame.

4/5:

Slow start for me, but it introduced a compelling mystery that kept me engaged.

Flat White – Jessica Plummer, straight romance primary, mlm secondary:

The Lady of Shalott is reimagined as a barista who finds herself trapped in the tragic re-enactment of the Arthurian tales with reincarnations of Arthur, Lancelot, and Guinevere.

3.75/5:

I enjoyed this one. Interesting take and I liked the ending.

Once (Them) & Future (Us) – Preeti Chhibber, mlm:

Merlin wakes up in the modern-day after sleeping for hundreds of years and seeks out the reincarnation of his once and future king.

3.75/5:

This was tender, but progressed too quickly for me.

FUTURE:

A Shadow in Amber – Silvia Moreno-Garcia, straight attraction:

A reimagining of the Lady of Shalott as a rich recluse who pays for illegal memories as entertainment.

3.75/5:

Really interesting take. I liked the plot but didn’t love the prose.

White Hempen Sleeves – Ken Liu:

A Black Mirror-esque future where people use extreme body modification technology.

2.5/5:

Really interesting science fiction concept exploring self, tech, and experience, but a little vague for me and I can’t see any tie to the Arthurian canon beyond a theatre performance and maybe a loose theme which I can’t say without spoiling.

Little Green Men – Alexander Che, mlm:

Reimagines Gawain, Arthur, and other characters as humans settled on a Mars colony. Gawain (Gavin) is the best friend of Arthur (Aturo) who is a reality star. For the sake of his friend, Gavin agrees to partake in a re-enactment of Gawain and the Green Knight for livestreamed entertainment.

1.5/5:

This one was just odd. Some cool ideas here but the world and character backgrounds were not fleshed out enough, and the plot and character motivations just seemed weird and didn’t make sense. Would have worked better in longer form.

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hailstorm3812's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I had fun with this. If you like Arthurian retellings this is enjoyable. Since it's an anthology it varies in quality and vibes from story to story but I enjoyed most. I will shout out MAYDAY by Maria Dahvana Headley, as it is by far the best.

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