Sci-Fi and Fantasy Books

Rereadable heroic fantasy/sci fi - The Winter King

Reviews
 

Read this a long long time ago.......several times ! Wonderful book full of action...Even my Wife read and liked it (a few years back). Cornwell gives us many brilliant characters..I always thought it could make a good film.
Mr. P. J. Giddy

---

Bernard Cornwell's affection for the characters and the Dark Age British landscape of this gritty retelling of the Arthurian legends is evident throughout the Warlord Trilogy. Despite the undoubted hardship and savagery of such a time and place, Cornwell's evocation of a boggy, Saxon-threatened West Country actually makes it feel like an imaginitive refuge from the modern urban world, and fantastical legends are not unbelievable when viewed through Cornwell's earthy interpretive filter. The research behind these books has given the narrative an iconoclastic tone (see Derfel's weariness at Igraine's mythologising of the events/non-events he witnessed), and I suspect that Cornwell's portrayal of Britain's brutal post-Roman religions would stand up to scholarly scrutiny (see Merlin's wonderfully patronising lecture on the "obvious" influence of the Roman god Mithras on the story of Christ). The works of Gildas, Nennius, and the relevant early parts of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle would certainly have been far more readable and consistent if Cornwell had been around back then to contribute...

An objective review of the Warlord Triliogy can't really justify a five star rating - it's not literature; Derfel's personality occasionally seems incongrously decent and sentimental (as observed by Merlin) for a Dark Age gut-spilling uber-warrior; and the anachronistic covers of the latest editions alone are worth one star off (it's hard to imagine BC approving of this shiny, chivalrous knight-errant) - but my repeated readings of these wonderful tales easily adds up to five stars worth of enjoyment.
Media Man

---

The Winter King is the 1st of Cornwell's Arthurian trilogy & his re-telling of the King Arthur legend makes it all too clear why this period of British history is known as the Dark Ages - dark indeed by his reckoning. I've not read all his works, by any means, but this is comfortably the best of those I have read; head & shoulders above his Sharpe series & on a par with the best authors in this genre. Indeed, in some ways it reminds me of Mary Renault's Theseus books - The King Must Die & The Bull From The Sea - in both it's aims & execution; trying to untangle a mass of often implausible & sometimes contradictory tales about a semi-mythical hero & weave them into a wholely convincing narrative that gives the reader at least a feeling of authenticity. Cornwell does not pretend that what he describes actually happened but you are left with a powerful evocation of life in 5th century Britain, warts (& blood & guts) & all. Life was undoubtedly hard back then & he pulls no punches in depicting it thus. However, there are a few lighter moments & he uses a neat trick with the narrator which, whilst acknowledging some of the more preposterous myths surrounding Arthur, neatly explodes them - very clever. As I've already said, this is as good as he (Cornwall) gets & is amongst my favourite historical novels (as are the other 2 of the Trilogy), & I can give them no higher praise than to say that they are up there with anything by Mary Renault or Patrick O'Brian.

N. Webb

---

This is a well written and detailed book, that fleshes out the story of Arthur and those around him. It's a cracking read and does not spare us the harsh brutality of Saxon warfare, the cheap price of life, and the struggle for daily survival. I liked the political detail, as well as the imaginative redrawing of the more familiar heroic characters (some of whom turn out to be rather flawed and not so heroic after all, thus making them all the more realistic). It was refreshing that some of the plots and plans were doomed to failure, despite the best efforts of those concerned. There is much humour in this book and I found it an entertaining read. I'm now embarking on the other two novels in the series ('Enemy Of God' and 'Excalibur') in the hope that they will be just as good as this. Recommended.
David Lusher

---

The Winter King.

I first discovered this tale on Audio book read by Tim Pigott-Smith. On reading this book I was amazed, the brilliance of the author shines through here as he described a tale of Arthur through the eyes of a spear man.
Derfel (the spearman), starts his tale looking back into the past as he writes it down on parchment for his Queen. He describes the years gone by and his involvement in saving Briton from darkness. He describes his life and the lives of all the significant characters he encounters, Arthur, Merlin, Galahad et al, and the role they played in Britons Liberation. The book also tells of Pagan druids and the birth of Christianity in Briton.

This is the first book in a trilogy and I only wish there were more, the three books are excellent and the story cannot be left alone once this first book is finished. My only advise is order all three so avert disappointment through waiting.

Fiction yes, believable well, if Arthur did exist then this story of Arthur is the one I imagine.

Reccomended
DJR Jones

---