I have read many books about King Arthur. I really liked Bernard Cornwell as an author because of the detail and the imagination. It gave the reader a more realistic idea of what it might have been like to live in the Arthurian era. At the end he establishes how little is historically know about King Arthur and gives a brief history of who King Arthur might be based on in the historical past. I found this book to be fascinating and look forward to reading more by this author. ( )

Quick disclosure --- I adore Arthurian legend and will read almost anything that promises a story with Arthur and the knights of the round table. I have to admit, this book did not disappoint.

The Winter King is narrated by Derfel, a Saxon born ward of Merlin and a warrior in Arthur's army. He tells the tale for Igraine, Queen of Powys, who is his patron. He begins the long tale at the Tor, Merlin's home, when Mordred is born, the grandson of Uther Pendragon and the eventual leader of Dumnonia. Years of invasion, fighting, and suffering follow which he describes in detail.

As a child, Derfel yearns to become a warrior and, years later, is granted his wish by Arthur. After proving his worth and loyalty, Derfel finds himself serving directly under Arthur. He travels across Britain fighting for the peace Arthur believes he can bring to the land. He eventually finds himself titled Lord Derfel and disagreeing with many of Arthur's ideas, yet, he fights anyway in the hope that the much wished for peace will come. It is also his friendship and admiration for Arthur that keeps him fighting, if for nothing else.

Cornwell brings to life the dramatic fights, the grisly life, and spoils and indecency of war. He does not shirk from the brutality and blood and, if you happen to be squeamish, he may not be the author for you. I mean that in a very good way. He brings you into the fight, you hear the clanging of swords, smell the men, and feel the pain. He holds nothing back from the way he describes the lifestyles of the individuals, the rituals of the numerous religions, and the fighting itself. It is brutal, disgusting, and above all, fantastic.

What I truly enjoyed about this book was the fact that it was told from an observer's point of view. I know Arthur and his tale, but to hear it from Derfel makes it fresh and interesting. I feel sometimes that I have read the same story over and over and this one felt very different. In fact, it made me want to read books two and three in the series. I want to listen to Derfel finish his tale and I want to know more about these brutal people.

One drawback, there is an incredibly long list of characters in this book. Sometimes it can be hard to keep them straight but that didn't take much away from the story for me. Although, at times, it can be confusing since many of the spellings are similar. After you get into the story, the traits make each character unique, plus there is a list in the front of the book that is useful when you need to remember who someone is. ( )

This book is the first of a trilogy based on the legendary Arthur. The bastard son of High King Uther Pendragon, Arthur himself is not consider of royal lineage (although he does bear the title Lord) and is sworn protector of Uther's heir, the infant King Mordred.

Like Cornwell's Saxon chronicles, The Winter King is told as a memoir by a fictional character who manages to be in all the important places at the right time. In this series, the narrator is an aged monk named Derfel, once the warlord Lord Derfel Cadarn, a disciple of Merlin and a member of the Mithraic cult of warriors. How Derfel makes the whole-hearted switch to Christianity is not covered in this book.

The story introduces a few characters familiar to those acquainted with the Arthurian legends. I already mentioned Uther, in this story the aged (and quickly late) High King who lost one son named Mordred in battle, and sired another about a year before his death. The infant King Mordred is a deformed child with a club foot, and there is much grumbling that such a creature not be allowed to live. Morgan, Arthur's sister, had her face maimed and perpetually wears a golden mask. She is a disciple of Merlin, who is lord over a kingdom of misfits. Derfel himself is of Saxon origin and was left for dead by a druid in a ceremony commemorating a victory. Nimue (who, in Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, fills in as the Lady of the Lake when the lady is killed), is Derfel's age, and becomes Merlin's mistress as well as apprentice. King Ban of Benoic loses his kingdom and his life to a Frankish invasion, but his sons Lancelot and Gallahad escape. Gallahad and Derfel are inseparable companions; Gallahad the epitome of a chivalrous knight. Lancelot is a douche of the first order, claiming great feats of heroism while never actually risking his skin. Guinevere, aka "The Whore of Henis Wyren," is Arthur's wife. Arthur's inability to keep it in his pants led to him eschewing a political marriage that would have bought peace among the British tribes (mostly in what is now Wales), allowing them to focus on the encroaching Saxons. As a result of the affront, the kingdoms of Britain polarize to Arthur or his enemy, the King of Powys. Much of the book covers the course of this war.

While Cornwell spins a good amount of his own fiction, the setting itself is historically quite plausible. The druids use symbolism and other tricks to rattle the nerves of the believers, but there is no true magic here, nor mystical intervention by the gods. In an amusing twist, Derfel is actually recording this tale as he describes it to a princess many years later. The legends that we are most familiar with are actually believed to have been fact by this princess, errors which Derfel periodically breaks from his narrative to explain to his anxious listener.

The climatic battle becomes a draw, mostly because it's never completed thanks to the timely intervention of Merlin and a band of Irish mercenaries that unexpectedly join with Arthur. The King of Powys is killed in battle, and his son, much like Arthur. desires peace among Britons. ( )

The Arthurian sagas contain so many Western archetypes that we'll never run out of ways to reimagine the stories. In this first book of a trilogy, Cornwell goes for the historical approach, with lots of politics, Dark Ages brutality, and unique takes on major characters. ( )

I'm a huge fan of Arthurian literature - I've probably read over 50 books on the topic since I was a teenager - and I wasn't sure how I would feel about Cornwell's take on the subject. I've always felt the myth was more important than the history when it comes to Arthur, and I knew Cornwell would at least strip the work of most of the usual anachronisms. He actually did more, transforming even the most basic of relationships and events, until only his adherance to the most basic themes of Arthurian legend allow this book to be considered part of the genre.

At first it upset me. I couldn't see what the benefit was of having a character called Elaine only to make her Lancelot's mother. But as I read on, I saw the appeal. As any lover of the genre will tell you, almost nothing is known about a historical Arthur; even his existance cannot be verified, and so everyone who writes an Arthur book changes things to suit their point.

So why not change things drastically? Cornwell has this story dictated by one of the knights to a Queen who wants a more glamourous story than the one the knight is telling. He knows she is probably changing it in the translation process before the books are even done. Cornwell gives us a deliberately different Arthur, but one in which we can see how and why the story would have been twisted as it was passed down.

Arthurian legend has always been a mash-up of history and myth, and Cornwell makes that the theme of of his version.

This first book in the series is really great, and can stand alone without its two sequels. Cornwell's great launguage, evocative and spare descriptions, and effortless characterization are here, as are what is most important in Arthur stories: the dream of a golden age that rises above the men and women who inspired it. ( )