Best Arthurian Novel?

[carrie221]

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.

 

[Rosemary]

Thank you Riselka

I do like the sound of that series...and shall certainly go and check out his website...

For myself though, I usually prefer historical novels that cover pre-Arthurian times, or those that continue with Celtic stories.

 

[High Eight]

'Firelord' by Parke Godwin presents a more 'realistic' Arthur. (the sequel 'Beloved Exile' is less succesful).

Thomas Berger's 'The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights' is a good-natured send-up.

I think 'The Mists of Avalon' and it's endless sequels are awful. Completely unbelievable characters - 1960's Californian hippies in first century Britain.

 

[No Inspiration]

I really like Jack Whyte's series'.
My very favourite writing about the Arthurian story is actually in a book not about it at all. In GGK's Fionavar Tapestry, there is a peice involving it, and I just love it.
Lena.

 

[Nicole]

I really liked Molly Cochran's series, but I have to say my favourite may have been Marion Zimmer Bradleys. I read Mary Stewarts years ago, and remember liking them, but it was too long ago for me to remeber. As for books not to read, I would say The Dragon Queen and The Raven Warrior. I can't even remember who the author is, but they were terrible. It was one of those regrettible impulse buys at Chapters.

 

[Connavar]

I enjoyed David Gemmell's Ghost King and Last Sword of Power. No one is named actually arthur but its clear who "arthur" is in the books and the sword,merlin,mist people etc are all in there.

Its heroic fantasy/historical fiction cause he writes about several people that existed in history. Like Cunobelin,Paullinius,Boudica.

I thought it was very good mostly cause he does a great job with mist people and thier magic.

 

[Sathai]

For me it is a tie between The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley and The Arthurian Saga by Mary Stewart. I thought they were all great books, and I've re-read them a few times over the years.

 

[Sathai]

IAs for books not to read, I would say The Dragon Queen and The Raven Warrior. I can't even remember who the author is, but they were terrible. It was one of those regrettible impulse buys at Chapters.

I think it is Alice Borchardt. I read The Dragon Queen and it did seem to be kind of a mess.

 

[svalbard]

Bernard Cornwall's Warlord series is a standout for me as one of the best Arthurian sagas out there. He gives a real flavour for what life must have being like back then. I really liked his twist on the Lancelot story.

I read most of Jack Whyte's series but found that he was a bit clueless when it came to Celtic Britain and Ireland. I know it is supposed to be fiction but a bit of historical context in his later books would have being nice. His first two aren't bad.

Rosemary Sutcliffe's The Lantern Bearers and it's sequel Swords at Sunset are very good.

Helen Hollock's Pendragon trilogy is also very good. Again it goes for the more gritty Arthur and it draws heavily on Geoffary(sp) Ashe's theory on Arthur.

 

[locke]

The one that got me hooked on all things Arthurian was Bradley's Mists of Avalon, a fantastic piece of work. Also can't beat T H White's Once and Future King and would also recommend the Bernard Cornwell series and the Mary Stewarts, Crystal Cave is fab. Worth trying, for a different slant on the theme, are Kevin Crossley-Holland's King of the Middle March trilogy.

 

[woodsman]

Once and Future King and Mists of Avalon would be well up there.

Cornwall is a good read as well but I don't seem to have read many of these others, although I can see Gemmell being good.