Book Review: Nothing New in Camelot
The Cleaving,by Juliet E. Mckenna (Angry Robot)
I was initially intrigued by the description of this book asbeing a “retelling that follows the tangled stories of four women: Nimue,Ygraine, Morgana, and Guinevere, as they fight to control their own destiniesamid the wars and rivalries that will determine the destiny of Britain.” Itbegan auspiciously enough, from the viewpoint of Nimue, who hides her magicalabilities while in her service to Queen Ygraine. The story unfolded with theascendency of Uther Pendragon and his schemes to unite Britain under his ruleand to seduce Ygraine and father Arthur. Beat after emotional beat intensifiedmy disappointment as I discovered very little that was fresh and new. Insteadof being a ground-breaking reinterpretation of the Arthurian story cycle in thefootsteps of Marion Zimmer Bradley’s groundbreaking TheMists of Avalon (1984), The Cleaving readas a tepid retelling of a story we all know from having seen The Sword in the Stone. We knowUther is going to sleep with Ygraine (although I found the rape scenegratuitously violent), just as we knowArthur is going to pull the sword out of the stone (and survive all the fightshe gets into).
Without dramatic suspense to keep me reading, I found thecharacters inconsistent, acting only to serve the needs of a pre-determinedplot, and often downright annoying. Nimue came across as passive-aggressive,without a meaningful goal that she consistently strives for; she reacts rather than initiates. Uther wasone-dimensional as a blustering bully. Ygraine mopes around, a paralyzed victimwhose meaning in life seems to be her daughters (not Arthur). Merlin’s solecare is for the nebulous “future of Britain,” although he meddles freely in thelives of others without thinking through the consequences. As for Arthur, he’sa tantrum-prone brat with very little noble about him.
Pedestrian prose and inconsistent motivation would be lessdetrimental to a more original vision. If you’re a dedicated fan of Le Morte d’Arthur and don’t mind a storythat adds little to the established literature, give this one a try.
