Kingdom of Summer (1981)

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.) ( )

It's been a long time since I read the first book, Hawk of May, but I don't think I suffered too much for that in reading this. I think I found this rather more compelling than the first book, and it helped me get back into it that the narrator was also an outsider to Gwalchmai's life. Again, I did read it in hopes of finding a sympathetic Guinevere to work on in my essay -- but then, I have been told that the last book of the trilogy has more of Guinevere in it, so I won't give up hope yet.

Bradshaw's writing is very fine: I got absorbed in it, didn't want to put the book down, despite having a terrible attention span of late. Gwalchmai is grown up in this book, and quite some time has passed since we saw him: he's still weighed down by darkness, and carrying guilt that I didn't think he deserved, but I loved him for it. He is... rather perfect, I suppose: he can do very little wrong. But I like that sympathetic view of Gawain.

The way traditional elements of the story came about interested me. Poor Medraut. I still managed to have sympathy with most of the characters here, which was quite a feat. I'm looking forward to reading the third book. ( )

This book comes a lot closer to the "official" version of Gawain's character than does the previous book, but the plot still has very little to do with the main Arthur/Lancelot/Guenevere triangle that most think of when they think of the story. As I understand it, that story is told in the last book of the trilogy. But even aspects of the main King Arthur legend that do show up are quite divergent from the traditional version.

I really enjoyed both Rhys's character and that of an adult Gwalchmai. The story being told from Rhys's point of view leads a little bit of separation from the main action, which is a bit of a shame since the plot is more developed and intricate than it was in Hawk of May yet it seems less immediate.

I'm looking forward to the last book, if nothing else to see how Ms. Bradshaw incorporates her twists in the characters and magical world into the main legend. ( )

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. ( )

Bradshaw's Arthurian saga is set in post-Roman Britain, stripped of the usual high-medieval trappings. Gwalchmai ap Lot (Sir Gawain) narrated the first book, Hawk of May, the story of how he came to King Arthur's court. His servant Rhys continues the story in Kingdom of Summer. King Arthur sends Gwalchmai on an embassy to Maelgwyn of Gwynedd, an uneasy ally. They arrive to find Gwalchmai's mother Morgawse, the witch-queen of the Orcades, clearly plotting something with Maelgwyn. A diplomatic dance ensues and Rhys soon finds himself and his lord in danger. A fast and fascinating read. ( )