Firelord

Firelord, by Parke Godwin, tells the familiar tale of the King Arthur legend and yet features Godwin’s precise and evocative prose and humor, to weave an earthy and believable story of soldiers in muddy trenches and the magic of love while ultimately showing that chosen family may be stronger for the realm than alliances made through betrayed family branches. The conflicts between retreating Roman solders and fierce British inhabitants and tribal leaders brings the young Artorius Pendragon to his destiny to courageously battle for his people while he loses his heart and gains glory.

A fascinating retelling that combines traditional Arthurian legend with a more historical setting and characters, plus some fantastical elements.
The prose is good, though the dialogue is sometimes not. I personally did not enjoy the more cynical nature of some of the story. Also the fantastical elements were confusing. I'm still baffled about Merlin.
I did not like the ending (though I did like one element of it).
I did like the practicality of some of the story, and the heroism of some of it. And I loved a lot of the supporting characters. Overall, a slightly mixed bag, but worth reading.

A good, gritty Arthur book. I don't see it as breaking any new ground, in materials or interpretation, but it is a compelling read, and hard to put down. The section where Arthur and his companions review Cerdic the Saxon's pre-battle speech to his troops is worth the price of the book. Perhaps one should read it before reading Duggan's "The Conscience of the King', or perhaps after, but both should be read by Arthur fans.

This is a good solid historical novel of King Arthur. It was fine when published, and there is nothing really wrong with it now, but it offers nothing new, and certainly no insight. Arthur always has to be awesomely good, but still fated to lose, and that's always a difficult predicament for a novelist and it seems like it is never worked out all that well.

The 1970s style cover images, with their fleshy heroes are what you should expect, but they are not attractive.

A retelling of the Arthurian legend... reminded me of Bernard Cornwell's "The Winter King" in that this is a very gritty, militaristic view of Arthur's story, without any mystical or supernatural elements. Perhaps "Winter King" was even more gritty and unromantic, but "Firelord" is also set in a potentially-believable 6th-century (?) Britain. Arthur is an ambitious man ("Merlin" is his 'inner voice,' not an advisor or wizard) with aims on kingship and unification of the tribes of Britain. However, he is torn between his Roman upbringing and his (not-fully-explained, and initially almost dreamlike) passionate relationship with a woman, Morgana, of one of the most primitive tribes of the land (a tribe sometimes referred to as Faerie).
Rome show more is losing influence over Britain, and the old tribes are dying out.
Together with his wife, the eminent stateswoman Guinevere, Arthur seeks to forge a new Britain. But when Morgana, and Arthur's son from that first marriage, Modred, show up at Arthur's doorstep, jealousy and bitterness mix with politics to tragic result...

The story also has the Grail, Lancelot, Tristan and Yseult, the Knights of the Round Table - all the classic elements, but all re-examined and 'explained' -

An interesting addition to the Arthurian canon... show less

This is an interesting telling of the Arthurian tale, one which I found markedly different from any of the others I've read. The setting and characters are grittier; no whitewashing here, but people living very close to the earth, with all the dirt and grime and blood and stench that entails. At least that's the impression it left on me.

Just about the best version of the Roman Arthur and his milieu.