First-novelist Thomson gives the legend of King Arthur a plausible historical setting in sixth-century Britain, but strips it of chivalry, magic, and romance. Four voices tell interrelated stories: Nimue, wife of the bard Myrddin, watches her husband cast away love, family, and honor to bring about his vision of a king who will unite the feuding chieftains against the marauding Saxons. Morgan, who witnesses her father’s murder and her mother’s rape by the thuggish Uther Pendragon, suppresses her lust for revenge to contract an incestuous marriage, until her bitterness proves stronger than her love. Luned, sharp-tongued handmaid to the emotionally fragile Lady Elen, pragmatically shepherds her mistress through two disastrous marriages. Finally, Medraud, Arthur’s nephew/son, raised incapable of affection or trust, destroys the kingdom to fill his own emptiness. Arthur himself is barely glimpsed as the golden sun around whom the others revolve, his warmth eclipsed by the foreboding atmosphere. Thomson paints a convincing portrayal of a grim, brutal age, and lays bare each character’s secrets with piercing clarity. But it’s hard to imagine who would enjoy visiting a Camelot so devoid of wonder, charm, and beauty, where every wedding leads to betrayal, all parents fail their children, and any hopes, ideals, or good intentions bear only poisoned fruit. Though Arthurian aficionados will derive satisfaction from spotting classic characters, those new to the stories will remain puzzled by their allure. So tainted is this Arthur’s reign that it’s a relief when he crumples bleeding to his doom. Vivid, sophisticated, but deeply, needlessly depressing. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: May 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-531-30333-0
Page Count: 192
Publisher: Orchard
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2001
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A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes.
The Plague has left a population divided between Elites and Ordinaries—those who have powers and those who don’t; now, an Ordinary teen fights for her life.
Paedyn Gray witnessed the king kill her father five years ago, and she’s been thieving and sleeping rough ever since, all while faking Psychic abilities. When she inadvertently saves the life of Prince Kai, she becomes embroiled in the Purging Trials, a competition to commemorate the sickness that killed most of the kingdom’s Ordinaries. Kai’s duties as the future Enforcer include eradicating any remaining Ordinaries, and these Trials are his chance to prove that he’s internalized his brutal training. But Kai can’t help but find Pae’s blue eyes, silver hair, and unabashed attitude enchanting. She likewise struggles to resist his stormy gray eyes, dark hair, and rakish behavior, even as they’re pitted against each other in the Trials and by the king himself. Scenes and concepts that are strongly reminiscent of the Hunger Games fall flat: They aren’t bolstered by the original’s heart or worldbuilding logic that would have justified a few extreme story elements. Illogical leaps and inconsistent characterizations abound, with lighthearted romantic interludes juxtaposed against genocide, child abuse, and sadism. These elements, which are not sufficiently addressed, combined with the use of ableist language, cannot be erased by any amount of romantic banter. Main characters are cued white; the supporting cast has some brown-skinned characters.
A lackluster and sometimes disturbing mishmash of overused tropes. (map) (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Nov. 7, 2023
ISBN: 9798987380406
Page Count: 538
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Sept. 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2023
A dark and gripping feminist tale.
A young woman faces her past to discover the truth about one of her nation’s heroes.
When Effy Sayre, the only female architecture student at her university in Llyr, wins the competition to design Hiraeth Manor for the estate of the late Emrys Myrddin, national literary figure and her favorite author, it is the perfect opportunity to leave behind a recent trauma. She arrives to find the cliffside estate is literally crumbling into the ocean, and she quickly realizes things may not be as they seem. Preston, an arrogant literature student, is also working at the estate, gathering materials for the university’s archives and questioning everything Effy knows about Myrddin. When Preston offers to include her name on his thesis—which may allow her to pursue the dream of studying literature that was frustrated by the university’s refusal to admit women literature students—Effy agrees to help him. He’s on a quest for answers about the source of Myrddin’s most famous work, Angharad, a romance about a cruel Fairy King who marries a mortal woman. Meanwhile, Myrddin’s son has secrets of his own. Preston and Effy start to suspect that Myrddin’s fairy tales may hold more truth than they realize. The Welsh-inspired setting is impressively atmospheric, and while some of the mythology ends up feeling extraneous, the worldbuilding is immersive and thoughtfully addresses misogyny and its effects on how history is written. Main characters are cued white.
A dark and gripping feminist tale. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2023
ISBN: 9780063211506
Page Count: 384
Publisher: HarperTeen
Review Posted Online: July 13, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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