King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot and Merlin!

[Nici76]

Anyone who is interested in the legend of King Arthur and the knights of the round table will love this book!-It is called Queen of Camelot by Nancy McKenzie, its a real page turner! In the past i havn't really liked old history fiction but this is brilliant!

[Kell]

I love different versions of the Arthurian legends. I really enjoyed reading The Winter King (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/c/bernard-cornwell/winter-king.htm) by Bernard Cornwell last month - I think I'll be getting hold of the 2nd book in that series at some point.

I read a very unusual interpretation from Morgana's point of view after her imprisonment on Avalon a few years back - The Queen's Captive (http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/m/haydn-middleton/queens-captive.htm) by Haydn Middleton. It's actually the 2nd in the series (I've never read the rest of the series), has very heavy sexual overtones and is incredibly visceral, but absolutely compelling. I really must try reading the rest of the series (it's a familiar cry from me, but I really do mean it when I say it!).

There's just something about the whole chivalry, lords & ladies, myth & magic legend that I adore...

[Nici76]

There's just something about the whole chivalry, lords & ladies, myth & magic legend that I adore...

I agree! Its all just so magical and compelling!

[wrathofkublakhan]

Jack Whyte has a good series: a sort of "how could Camelot be true?", in which Camelot is founded by ex-Roman military men, Excalibur is made from a sky stone, Merlin is so mysterious because he's actually is a leper ... I won't give away the rest but a very good series that has some fascinating ideas about the time era.
The Once and Future King by TH White was pretty good, though it will probably seem dated now.

I love it too, my sixth grade class (now you know how old I am) went to see Camelot with Richard Harris when it first came to the theaters. "Each evening from December to December; before you go to sleep upon your cot. Think back on all the tales that you remember ... of Camelot!'

[poppy]

I read a book at school, a long time ago, about King Arthur and Merlin, that I'd like to find again. It doesn't appear to be T.H.Whites 'The Sword in the Stone'. It was humorous and had things out of time and place, anachronisms .... anyone got any ideas?

[Purple Poppy]

I have a wonderful book about King Arthur which I bought in my teens. I loved it then and when I found it the other day, I decided to read it again (goodness only knows when), but its a really enjoyable book. Would this be the one you were thinking of,Poppy?

http://i133.photobucket.com/albums/q77/Catkintails/KingArthur.jpg

Pp

[pontalba]

Jack Whyte has a good series: a sort of "how could Camelot be true?", in which Camelot is founded by ex-Roman military men, Excalibur is made from a sky stone, Merlin is so mysterious because he's actually is a leper ... I won't give away the rest but a very good series that has some fascinating ideas about the time era.
'

I've read that series and enjoyed it. But Merlin a leper?
Maybe Jack Whyte wrote more after I stopped reading but I don't remember that in the first 4 or 5 of the books. :10_confused:

[wrathofkublakhan]

In The Sorceror, we found Merlin, now a mid- stage leper, wreaking havoc amongst Carthac and Peter Ironhair's troops. Dubbed the Ghost, he is isolated from friends and family because of the leprosy, injuries and a demented grief over all he has lost.

I found this by googling...I'd forgotten which book it was in tho, the fifth of the series so maybe you didn't get to that yet. Sorry for the spoiler!

[pontalba]

Wow! Oh don't worry about spoilers for me, I love 'em! :D
Thanks for looking that up.

[finrod]

Sword at Sunset (Rosemary Sutcliffe) is decent, if the characters are a bit too dimensional (and black and white) - I guess it's a bit dated.

The Great Captains (Henry Treece) is a more timeless (and my favourite) rendition of the legends. Treece's protagonists tend to stumble through their (mis)adventures, rather than to master their own destinies. The author attempts to put warts and all human flesh upon the bare bones of old stories which is one of the reasons why I like him so much.

These are adult books by writers who are perhaps better known for children's fiction. Both of the above shy away from the middle ages interpretation, and return to the transitional period after the Romans had departed and the Celts mounted a resistance movement against Saxon incursions. So if you particularly enjoy the chivalry and court atmosphere, they may not be your cup of tea, however I would agree with the back cover blurb: Henry Treece sets his story against the wild and forbidding landscape of ancient Britain, and tells it with both a bitter realism and a dark understanding of the link between power, magic and blood.