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Sto caricando le informazioni... Kingdom of Summer (1981)di Gillian Bradshaw
Carole's List (339) Modern Arthurian Fiction (121) Sto caricando le informazioni...
Iscriviti per consentire a LibraryThing di scoprire se ti piacerà questo libro. Attualmente non vi sono conversazioni su questo libro. I will just be rolling around this for the foreseeable future, leave a message at the beep. This is a grownup version of Gerald Morris' Terence series, and we all know how much I love that series, so obviously I was going to love this times a thousand. (Seriously, it's almost creepy, the parallels.) I liked this book as much as the first book in Bradshaw's Arthurian trilogy, but not more. That is, this is still enjoyable, and I like the world and characters, but in the Arthurian sweepstakes, this just isn't in win, place or show. I like Bradshaw enough to mark her among my favorites, but I prefer her straight historical fiction--works such as The Beacon of Alexandria. It just might be she has such stiff competition in this subgenre, one I've read widely in. Bradshaw is a graceful, very readable writer, this was well-paced, and I tore right through it. She's a better writer for instance than Jack Whyte. Except Whyte distinguishes himself in his Arthurian series by eschewing any tinge of fantasy--his Excalibur is special because it's forged from a meteorite for example. Bradshaw's book is historical fantasy. Not anachronistic such as T.H. White--set in post-Roman Dark Ages rather than a Middle Ages that never was, but still very much a magical world where sorcery is real. Bradshaw is about as good a writer as Marion Zimmer Bradley from what I remember , and I prefer these books so far to Mists of Avalon--which I didn't like much for a number of reasons. Yet Bradley's is more memorable not just for her Pagan reinterpretation of the legend but for her emphasis on the female characters. And finally, Bradshaw just isn't as fine a writer as Mary Stewart in her Merlin Trilogy nor T.H. White whose Once and Future King is my gold standard. Although as I said, this book really only suffers in comparison. I have nothing to really complain or criticize about this book--just that I don't feel it's a standout. The trilogy focuses on the figure known as Gawain in the legends (Gwalchmai here). In this novel he's been with Arthur for nine years. They story is told by his servant, Rhys ap Sion, who meets him when Gwalchmai is on a quest to find a lost love. Rhys shares Gwalchmai's dream to serve "the light" and decides to follow Gwalchmai. And actually, if I do have a complaint about the book it's just how much we hear about the "Light" and the "Dark" and how black and white many of the characters are as a result. nessuna recensione | aggiungi una recensione
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HTML: "[An] engaging mix of history, legend, and romance." "A fast-paced Arthurian novel with broad appeal." On the path toward greatness, even a hero makes mistakes. Armed with his magical sword and otherworldly horse, Gwalchmai proves himself the most feared and faithful warrior of Arthur's noble followers. But while defending the kingdom, he commits a grave offense against the woman he loves, leading her to disappear from his life and haunt his memories. With his trusted servant, Rhys, a commonsense peasant, Gwalchmai tries to find her in the Kingdom of Summer, where Arthur has sent him. But an unexpected and most malevolent force of evil and darkness is loose-that of his mother, the witch-queen Morgawse-and Gwalchmai finds that the secrets of his past may deny him peace... In the second book of Gillian Bradshaw's critically acclaimed trilogy, Sir Gawain comes to life as Gwalchmai, startlingly human yet fantastically heroic. PRAISE FOR "Compelling...splendid...vibrant...exhilirating, a novel seduces us into accepting sorcery and sanctity in King Arthur's England." "Courage, darkness, magic, cruelty and kindness, justice and liberation...all the things that you have come to relish in the tales of King Arthur and his brave knights." "This engaging and enchanting retelling of the Arthur legend will appeal to adults and younger readers alike." Non sono state trovate descrizioni di biblioteche |
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Google Books — Sto caricando le informazioni... GeneriSistema Decimale Melvil (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999Classificazione LCVotoMedia:
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The story shows how Rhys settles in at Camlann (Arthur's camp, known as Camelot in legend) and his impression of Gwalchmai's fellow warriors, some of whom, such as Gwalchmai's brother Agravain, abuse servants. Later, Arthur sends them on a mission, with another warrior called Rhuwan, to the court of a subject king whom he knows to be plotting, to find out who are his allies. To Gwalchmai's horror, his own father Lot, his mother Morgawse - the witch whose powers he escaped in book 1 - and his corrupted brother Medraut (Mordred) are present and it is obvious that mother and son are conspiring with the petty king against Arthur. Lot, on the other hand, is a shadow of the man we saw in book 1, and Gwalchmai decides that Morgawse has drained him with her evil sorcery. The situation becomes critical when Rhuwan starts falling under the spell of the smooth talking Medraut and Gwalchmai's reputation as someone who "goes mad" in battle is used against him.
This is a more successful story on the whole than book 1 as it is told through a down-to-earth farmer's viewpoint. We see Gwalchmai's unworldliness and the cynicism and bitterness which stem from his guilt and estrangement from Elidan. The company of Rhys is good for him, and the two men bond as time goes on, even when Medraut tries to prise them apart.
The only part of the story that drags is when they are first at the petty king's court and the situation stagnates for quite a while until Morgawse and Medraut show their hand. After that, it becomes fast paced with quite a lot of action. There is also another love story, apart from Gwalchmai's, wound through the later part of the narrative, when Rhys starts to fall for a young servant girl of Morgawse's
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