The Winter King (The Warlord Chronicles, #1) in Into the Forest

Jan 28, 2014 Melki rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, adventure, fantasy, best-of-2014

The horn sounded a third time, and suddenly I knew I would live, and I was weeping for joy and all our spearmen were half crying and half shouting and the earth was shuddering with the hooves of those Godlike men who were riding to our rescue.

For Arthur, at last, had come.

Dun-da-da-da!

Presenting a saga so epic it needs three pages to list the characters, two pages to mention the places and another two pages of maps! And you know what? The story was so involving, I never once glanced at any of th ...more

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Feb 13, 2021 Janice (JG) rated it it was amazing

All the reviews that rave about this book and the rest of the Warlord Trilogy (Enemy of God and Excalibur) have emphasized how historically authentic this story of Arthur reads, but I would like to mention also that Cornwell's stories expand beyond the genre of historical fiction and should be included in the domain of literary fiction.

I looked up the definitions of genre fiction and literary fiction, and I learned that genre fiction is considered written from the motivation of entertainment fi All the reviews that rave about this book and the rest of the Warlord Trilogy (Enemy of God and Excalibur) have emphasized how historically authentic this story of Arthur reads, but I would like to mention also that Cornwell's stories expand beyond the genre of historical fiction and should be included in the domain of literary fiction.

I looked up the definitions of genre fiction and literary fiction, and I learned that genre fiction is considered written from the motivation of entertainment first and is plot driven and designed to help the reader escape from reality, while literary fiction "aims to provide insight that creates a stronger understanding of the world and of the human condition" and is character driven. This definition puts Cornwell's books solidly into the category of literary fiction.

The reason I even bring this up is because I noticed while reading these stories about Arthur and Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries, I found myself pondering Cornwell's treatment of religions, belief systems, superstitions, and rituals. Whether we are encountering a Druid priest or Celtic polytheist, or a Christian, or a Saxon with their Viking-like gods and goddesses, Cornwell's provocative descriptions are so encompassing that I'm left with both a respect for the power of devotion, whether it's to a rock, or tree, or a man, and a sense of the ephemeral quality of all belief systems.

Merlin said... "The Gods come and the Gods go, Derfel, and I no longer know if they hear us or see us. They pass by on the great wheel of heaven and now it is the Christian God who rules, and He will rule for a while, but the wheel will also take Him into the void and mankind will once again shiver in the dark and look for new Gods. And they will find them, for the Gods come and they go, Derfel, they go and they come."

Cornwell does not choose sides, there are good Christian priests and bad Christian priests, good Druids and bad Druids, good Saxons or Britons or Irish and bad Saxons and Britons and Irish. The world and its people are three-dimensional, human and humane, and inhumane. And Cornwell shows us the world they live in every time he describes the lay of the land, the air, the types of birds in their favorite trees, and the moods of the sea. It's not surprising to learn that Cornwell himself is a sailor of traditional crafts, you can feel it each time we set out on the water with Derfel.

Make no mistake, these books are incredibly entertaining. Normally I cannot abide war stories and battle sequences, and yet I am completely caught up in one battle scene after another. I wish I knew why. There are love stories, there is scandal and intrigue, kings and queens, princes and princesses, wizards, palaces, and politics. But it is also clear that Cornwell's knowledge and love of history is the foundation for this new representation of Arthur. I recommend the whole trilogy, it is a wonderfully satisfying experience. ...more

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May 10, 2011 Jayalalita devi dasi marked it as to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: gotta-request, historical-to-read, myth-and-legend, dark-medieval-times, series-opener-to-read

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Jul 23, 2011 Virgínia Fernandes de Brito rated it it was amazing

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Sep 07, 2011 Gemma marked it as to-read

Shelves: arthurian

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Sep 17, 2011 Beth marked it as to-read

Shelves: historical-fiction, i-has-it

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Sep 23, 2011 Laura Cunha rated it it was amazing

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Apr 27, 2017 Erin rated it liked it

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Dec 18, 2011 Valerie marked it as to-read

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Feb 26, 2012 Emily marked it as to-read

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Jun 20, 2012 Caroline marked it as owned-to-read · review of another edition

Shelves: pile-5, historical-fiction, mythology, pb, cover-blue, cover-animal, consider-to-read, title-3-words, authurian-mythology, title-natural-world

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