Nancy McKenzie

For a long time, I did not touch this book. Its predecessors, The Child Queen and The High Queen (later combined into The Queen of Camelot), had been my favorite books since high school when they were first released. I read them numerous times throughout the years, but then did not return to them for a long time while my life was busy with other things. Recently, I read them again and it felt like coming home. I had always been afraid that reading this book about Galahad, one of my least show more favorite characters, would sully them somehow.

But, I took a chance after finishing the others and desiring not to leave Nancy McKenzie's world just yet and, I must say how wrong I was to ever doubt McKenzie! She is still a master storyteller, weaving magic with every word. Truly underrated as far as authors go.

The character development where Galahad is concerned was natural and meaningful and painful as lessons are learned. We get to see the end of everything from Arthur's/Lancelot's/Galahad's view, where the previous two books are from the Guinevere's view back at Camelot--really a lot of fun. Old favorite characters return in this reminiscing, but also in parts that are added on during Galahad's travels after Camlann. Not only that, but new characters are added and come into their own in a seamless way, as you watch a new generation struggle with the aftermath of Arthur's death and the battle at Camlann (which basically killed all men but twelve from Arthur's Camelot). It was fascinating to see a glimpse of Galahad's childhood and, therefore, a glimpse into the life and Lancelot and Elaine had together.

A very well-rounded book with a very lovely ending, which has quickly become a favorite of mine. I feel silly to having waited so long to read it!

I desperately want this series of books to be made into movies. show less

I first read this in high school and was completely enthralled. The world that McKenzie painted was so thrilling and magical, colorful and beautiful that I read this book over and over and just lost myself in it. I really cared about the characters and what happened to them, and I adored how Guinevere was portrayed and how her struggles were thought about and discussed. One of the best books I've ever read, done in a writing style that complimented the subject matter perfectly--a true work show more of art.

I lent my beat-up original copy of this book to someone who never returned it and was devastated. I was so glad that I managed to buy another copy right before it went out of print! show less

I enjoyed this book a lot more than Queen of Camelot, I think because Galahad is a much more interesting character than Guinevere. It takes a lot of guts to write a book with a main character who starts out as such a completely self-absorbed, self-righteous, misogynistic little prick (although at least he doesn't break down crying every other paragraph). I was also able to follow along well enough, even though I didn't remember all of the details/happenings from the first book. So, overall, show more not a great book, but a solid enough piece of imaginative "historical" fiction. show less

I think I may have enjoyed this book more than her previous two novels. This book is set in the second generation/second High King after Arthur (i.e. the characters are the grandchildren of people in the Arthurian tale). However, post-Arthur Britain and the relevant family ties are just used as a backdrop for a retelling of the Tristan & Essylte (Isolde, whatever) story. I knew going into this book that it was going to be a romance novel in the trappings of historical fiction/fantasy, and I show more got what I was expecting (although the sex was mostly kept "off camera"). Readers who come in expecting strict historical fiction or Arthurian legend will be disappointed.

In general, the characterization, plotting, and pacing were good, although Tristan came off as much more three-dimensional than anyone else, and Essylte managed to be both at times overly-romanticized flawless and yet still weak and annoying. We get that she's beautiful, but what else has she got that makes Tristan so ass-crazy in love with her? It's hard to tell. Tristan's actually more attractive when he's interacting with anyone BUT her. The supporting women, Esmereé, Iseulte, and especially Branwen are much more interesting characters, and I wish more time had been spent with them.

Overall, there was also less wailing about honor and betrayal than I was expecting, and more plotting and scheming and action, which I appreciated. That's not to say that there was NO wailing about honor and betrayal, because... of course there was. It was less clear what the point of all this wailing was... in the recent movie version, Mark (High King and Essylte's husband) is a really decent guy and probably a good husband, if a bit old for her, so there's some actual pain and torn emotions over Tristan and Isolde's betrayal - neither of them want to hurt Mark, but they can't help themselves. In this book, Mark's a boorish asshole who's not above a little bit of torture and rape, and apart from honoring some oaths that they were practically coerced into swearing, and the fact that they must now live with deceit, it doesn't seem there's much reason for them to get so torn up about their affair.

Final verdict? Enjoyable if you go in expecting a love story in historical fiction trappings, and if you're adept at skimming over some of the more clothes-rending angsty wailing bits. show less