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Kingdom of Summer (Down the Long Wind #2)
"[An] engaging mix of history, legend, and romance."
-"Publisher's Weekly starred review"
"A fast-paced Arthurian novel with broad appeal."
-"Historical Novels Review"
"On the path toward greatness, even a hero makes mistakes."
Armed with his magical sword and otherworldly horse, Gwalchmai proves himself the most feared and faithful warrior of Arthur's noble followers. But wh...more
-"Publisher's Weekly starred review"
"A fast-paced Arthurian novel with broad appeal."
-"Historical Novels Review"
"On the path toward greatness, even a hero makes mistakes."
Armed with his magical sword and otherworldly horse, Gwalchmai proves himself the most feared and faithful warrior of Arthur's noble followers. But wh...more
Paperback, 336 pages
Published
September 1st 2011
by Sourcebooks Landmark
(first published 1981)
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My wife and I just finished reading this worthy follow-up to Bradshaw's great novel, Hawk of May. In fact, I like this one considerably better than Hawk of May.
The Kingdom of Summer continues the story of Gwalchmai and Arthur's warriors, but this time it is from the perspective of a simple Christian farmer who longs to contribute anything he can to preserving the light of the Roman empire. Although I am a history fanatic and was greatly impressed by the historical basis for Hawk of May, I was re...more
The Kingdom of Summer continues the story of Gwalchmai and Arthur's warriors, but this time it is from the perspective of a simple Christian farmer who longs to contribute anything he can to preserving the light of the Roman empire. Although I am a history fanatic and was greatly impressed by the historical basis for Hawk of May, I was re...more
KINGDOM OF SUMMER by Gillian Bradshaw is an interesting historical fiction/fantasy set in England during Arthurian era.It is the second in the trilogy.It has cruelty,kindness,justice,darkness,witchcraft,sorcery,King Arthur's followers,magic,courage,witches,knights and heros. This the story of Sir Gwalchmai,aka Sir Gawain. Who armed only with his magic sword and his otherworldly horse,he will prove to be a faithful warrior of King Arthur.Sir Gawain and his faithful servant Rhys while trying to fi...more
May 31, 2012
Lisa (Harmonybites)
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fans of Fantasy and Arthurian 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 read...more
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....more
I really enjoyed both Rhys's character and that of an adult Gwalchmai....more
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.
Brad...more
Brad...more
Oct 04, 2011
Staci
rated it
3 of 5 stars
Recommended to Staci by:
Sourcebooks review copy
Shelves:
2011-reads
1.) Reasons you chose this book
I'm a huge fan of King Arthur legends and that is why I wanted to read this one.
2.) Reasons you liked or disliked this book
I liked it just fine, however, I really feel that I did a disservice to myself by not reading the first book in the series. I will however, remedy that situation one of these days and then re-read this one!
I enjoyed reading the story of Sir Gawain and how he became a part of Arthur's noble warriors.
3.) Reasons you are recommending this book
I wo...more
Not my favorite Bradshaw novel, but entertaining enough. It's fun to see Camelot & Gawain from another perspective. Kind of a predictable tale, but then, it's King Arthur - what did I expect?
In my opinion, if you are going to write about Arthurian legend, you should maintain the classic tragedy and conflict. I guess I would have appreciated this book more if she hadn't turned it into yet another Arthur story. Her characters are not compatible with any other Arthur book I have read, and she has lost the juiciest parts of the legend. I don't plan on read the third book of the trilogy.
My favorite of the Arthurun legends. Just plain well written, and a hard book to move on from.
I love that these are still in print!!!!!!!!! Beautiful Arthurian legend retelling.
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.)
book two. The story follows Gwalchmai more. The plot of this book is superior to the first but it just does get deep enough. It seems too superficial which is a shame because this story could really sparkle...onto book three, maybe it will peak :)
Sep 28, 2008
Brad
rated it
3 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
novel,
sciencefiction-fantasy
One of the more realist works on the Matter of Britain but the realism tends to suck the magic out of the thing. It was good enough that I felt compelled to read the whole trilogy but I had greater expectations about the writing.
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Born in Arlington, Virgina, Gillian Bradshaw grew up in Washington, Santiago, Chile and Michigan. She is a Classics graduate from Newnham College, Cambridge, and published her first novel, Hawk of May, just before her final term. A highly acclaimed historical novelist, Gillian Bradshaw has won the Hopwood Award for Fiction, among other prizes. She lives in Cambridge with her husband and their four...more
More about Gillian Bradshaw...
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Dec 06, 2011 05:16pm