jillc Posted December 20, 2018 Share Posted December 20, 2018 I am curious to know people's favourite Arthurian legend fiction. Mine is the trilogy that Mary Stewart wrote, which includes The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills and The Last Enchantment. I absolutely adored those and her book on Mordred The Wicked Day. I also enjoyed Bernard Cornwell's take on it The Warlord Chronicles too. I read all the earlier ones, The Once and Future King as well, but nothing came close to Mary Stewart's version. She seemed to bring new layers to old characters and I loved her description her sentences really flowed and the way she went into their inner minds. I loved The Wicked Day as well and have to admit I had a fascination with her version of Mordred. He was a really interesting character, the way she wrote him. Is there anything else that people recommend? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 Um, she did mention it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darth Richard II Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 1 minute ago, Triskele said: I swear that I read the whole post except for about those six words like a blindspot in a car. Shame on me. It's the weather. Does crazy things to a person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mosi Mynn Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 11 hours ago, jillc said: I am curious to know people's favourite Arthurian legend fiction. Mine is the trilogy that Mary Stewart wrote, which includes The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills and The Last Enchantment. I absolutely adored those and her book on Mordred The Wicked Day. I also enjoyed Bernard Cornwell's take on it The Warlord Chronicles too. I read all the earlier ones, The Once and Future King as well, but nothing came close to Mary Stewart's version. She seemed to bring new layers to old characters and I loved her description her sentences really flowed and the way she went into their inner minds. I loved The Wicked Day as well and have to admit I had a fascination with her version of Mordred. He was a really interesting character, the way she wrote him. Is there anything else that people recommend? Bernard Cornwell definitely. The Once and Future King is the best portrayal of the Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot triangle that I've read. They all love each other, and Arthur knows about the other two, and it goes on for years (it's a good depiction of older love too), until Mordred wrecks everything. I haven't read Mary Stewart - but I think I should from your recommendation! Have you read Malory and Monmouth? Geoffrey of Monmouth in particular is hilarious with his "history" (very sarcastic quote marks). One I didn't like was The Mists of Avalon. I didn't like any of Arthur, Guinevere or Lancelot. I did like Morgause, but she was the only one. I thought it was interesting that she created separate characters for Nimue and Vivianne. Ultimately, though, these are Arthurian legends. And I like the stories that remind us why Arthur is the name that is remembered. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedEyedGhost Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 12 hours ago, Darth Richard II said: It's the weather. Does crazy things to a person. You two roommates? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
felice Posted December 21, 2018 Share Posted December 21, 2018 I enjoyed The Pendragon Protocol. The knights of the round table have continued to exist up to the present day, where they're a secretive paramilitary organisation, made up of "reincarnations" of the original characters, protecting Britain from "reincarnated" enemies. (The nature of the connection to the originals is actually rather more complicated than that, but that's a significant element of the story.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gigei Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 The Once and Future King is the best, IMO. I've read a lot of Arthurian books and that one is the best. The Mart Stewart Trilogy is more of a Merlin trilogy. Arthur doesn't even appear in the first book. That series, Mallory, and The Once and Future King are the best and nothing else comes close. Mallory is a must, IMO. There's a reason why everyone who likes Arthurian lit has read Mallory. The Mists of Avalon - it was okay but not really my favorite. Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is absolutely great. The Idylls of the Queen: A Tale of Queen Guenevere - it's pretty good. Sir Kay, the seneschal, is the POV character and it's a murder mystery of that incident where the Queen was accused of poisoning a knight Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seli Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 Ignoring the source materials for modern reworkings, which I've enjoyed in translation. A bit on the outside of the normal myth cycle, The Drawing of the Dark by Tim Powers. I seem to remember Rosemary Sutcliff's Arthurian works, but have no idea how they hold up. And there is a weird one where Lancelot and Gilgamesh are immortals (?) in the same world I read decades ago. It made an impression, but I have no clue what the book actually is or who wrote it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zorral Posted December 22, 2018 Share Posted December 22, 2018 My favorite is the first one, King Arthur and His Knights. It didn't have an author, just King Arthur and His Knights on the cover and title page, and "Retold." The book was my mother's and I discovered it about age 7 or 8. I re-read constantly until I left home for college. No other of the very many versions, including the Courtly Romances and even The Once and Future King, came close to its infusion of magical glimmer -- which then sadly for me faded when Merlin departs and the Grail Quest arrives, and the sheer elegance of the silver and pearls and swords and crowns that were in that book, which began with the birth of -- Merlin. The closest to that experience I ever got again were the first readings of The Fellowship of the Ring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shortstark Posted December 23, 2018 Share Posted December 23, 2018 Warlord Chronicles, with Mary Stewart close second.. Stewart has my favorite portrayal of Merlin.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaxom 1974 Posted December 25, 2018 Share Posted December 25, 2018 Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle? It's been so long since I read it though...sometimes I think I need to pick it up again. Camelot 3000, a DC maxi series from the 80s. Mike Barr and Brian Bollard. One of my favorite comics of all time... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted December 25, 2018 Share Posted December 25, 2018 On 12/20/2018 at 11:38 PM, jillc said: I am curious to know people's favourite Arthurian legend fiction. Mine is the trilogy that Mary Stewart wrote, which includes The Crystal Cave, The Hollow Hills and The Last Enchantment. I absolutely adored those and her book on Mordred The Wicked Day. I also enjoyed Bernard Cornwell's take on it The Warlord Chronicles too. I read all the earlier ones, The Once and Future King as well, but nothing came close to Mary Stewart's version. She seemed to bring new layers to old characters and I loved her description her sentences really flowed and the way she went into their inner minds. I loved The Wicked Day as well and have to admit I had a fascination with her version of Mordred. He was a really interesting character, the way she wrote him. Is there anything else that people recommend? Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy is a firm number one for me. One of my all time favorite reads. Warlord trilogy a close second. Recent additions to Arthurian legend are the Pendragon series by James Wilde and "Lancelot" by Giles Kristian. The Pendragon cycle by Stephen Lawhead has been mentioned, I've stioll not read it. You probably should check out the big one in terms of modern standalone Arthurian reads, "Sword at Sunset" by Rosemary Sutcliffe. https://www.amazon.com/Sword-at-Sunset-Rediscovered-Classics/dp/1556527594/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1545779412&sr=1-1-fkmr0&keywords=sunset+rosemary+sutcliffe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry of the Lawn Posted December 26, 2018 Share Posted December 26, 2018 On 12/20/2018 at 11:58 PM, Darth Richard II said: It's the weather. Does crazy things to a person. Monkeys are supposed to be weather proof. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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