The Arthur Trilogy by Bernard Cornwell

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Ult_Sm86
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The Arthur Trilogy by Bernard Cornwell

Post by Ult_Sm86 »

2 words.


Phenomenally

Phenomenal.


This trilogy is not only the ONLY way I will ever think of Arthur and his legends, ever again, but it is also the best written, best researched, most involved, and most importantly, the most relatable period piece I have EVER read.

This trilogy portrays Lancelot as a dirtbag
Guinevere as a ...well not a whore but certainly not a very loyal lover...
Merlin as more thank just some cook with magic,
and Arthur as more than a King and a Leader.

This is the most introspective and intelligent look at the legend of King Arthur that I have ever come across, and yes, dare I say it, better than the "Once & Future King."

:gasp

In all honesty, you guys have GOT to read this book!
Has anyone else besides me read it? Please say yes i have GOT to talk about it!
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The Arthur Trilogy by Bernard Cornwell

Post by Elfdame »

I was noodling around wasting time when I should be DOING something, and came across this. I'll put it on my reading list.

But I have to say it'll be a long, long time before I find anything better than the first few books of Stephen Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle. Mary Stewart's Crystal Cave rocked my socks, but once I read (and re-read, and re-re-read, etc.) Taliesin, that was "it" for me. The later books, particularly Grail (boring, boring) and Avalon (I don't do reincarnation), didn't sit as well, but the first three still stand the test of time.

Right now I'm in the middle of Hood and liking it a lot. More of his same Celtic stuff, but as good as ever as far as description, emotion, plot, etc.
"Humanity is a parade of fools, and I am at the front of it, twirling a baton." From Chapter 9 of _Brother Odd_ by Dean Koontz / from Chapter 10: "Life you can evade; death you cannot."

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The Arthur Trilogy by Bernard Cornwell

Post by Ult_Sm86 »

I kid you not when I say this Elfdame, you will fall in love with these books. They're completely original and give you a very gritty, realistic perspective of Arthur that you have yet to be given.
Everything is very open. They let you, the reader, decide if it was magic or not. Some things are obviously not, most things are questionable...:scratch

Very good read. Pick 'em up, and when you're done be sure to come tell me how fantastic they were.
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The Arthur Trilogy by Bernard Cornwell

Post by Elfdame »

My library (less than half a mile away, go ahead and be jealous!] has it, so Lord willing I'll check out The Winter King as soon as I finish Hood. I hope (hope,hope,hope) to have a bit more time for reading now that all the grandkiddies will be in school. It's gonna be odd, not having them around. Guess I'll have to dig out my big stuffed gorilla toy and give it hugs all day.

Thx for the recommendation. I look forward to it. Although I may not do very well with "grit." I'm more of an emotive Arthurian. But (people will line up to slap me, like the hysterical woman in "Airplane") I never understood Once & Future King. Maybe I was too young when I read it. I never liked Arthur anyway, even Mallory (again, maybe too young), until Mary Stewart. I must've read that trilogy about three times over the years ... til Taliesin came along.

[Edited on 14/8/08 by Elfdame]
"Humanity is a parade of fools, and I am at the front of it, twirling a baton." From Chapter 9 of _Brother Odd_ by Dean Koontz / from Chapter 10: "Life you can evade; death you cannot."

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The Arthur Trilogy by Bernard Cornwell

Post by Ult_Sm86 »

No I'm with you completely. "Once & Future King" is what I call a go-backer. Like "East of Eden". You don't read it once and treasure it forever, you read it, get stumped by it, put it down, and go back to it later. :read is like exercise for your mind. Reading that book is like having your mind do Jazzer-size with Richard Simmons.

But the "grit" and "violence" of Arthur... there's a lot of it. A few rape scenes, just deserts served up fresh from a blade, and a lot of gratuity. But it's also very Arthur at the same time. I don't know how else to explain it, but no matter how realistic and gruesome it gets, (and historically speaking, it is very much both)....it's *still* inarguably Arthur. It's such a good tale of Good and Evil, Right and Wrong, and it's being played out... so very carefully... and comes together in perfect fashion in the third book's final three chapters. Like a spider catching a fly in it's web, you never see it coming and then you hit your head and say "DUH!"
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