Description
A gifted young knight named Collum arrives at Camelot to compete for a spot on the Round Table, only to find that he’s too late. The king died two weeks ago at the Battle of Camlann, leaving no heir, and only a handful of the knights of the Round Table survive.
They aren’t the heroes of legend, like Lancelot or Gawain. They’re the oddballs of the Round Table, from the edges of the stories, like Sir Palomides the Saracen Knight, and Sir Dagonet, Arthur’s fool who was knighted as a joke. They’re joined by Nimue, who was Merlin’s apprentice until she turned on him and buried him under a hill. Together this ragtag fellowship will set out to rebuild Camelot in a world that has lost its balance.
But Arthur’s death has revealed Britain’s fault lines. God has abandoned it, and the fairies and monsters and old gods are returning, led by Arthur’s half-sister Morgan le Fay. Kingdoms are turning on each other, warlords lay siege to Camelot and rival factions are forming around the disgraced Lancelot and the fallen Queen Guinevere. It is up to Collum and his companions to reclaim Excalibur, solve the mysteries of this ruined world and make it whole again. But before they can restore Camelot they’ll have to learn the truth of why the lonely, brilliant King Arthur fell, and lay to rest the ghosts of his troubled family and of Britain’s dark past.
The first major Arthurian epic of the new millennium, The Bright Sword is steeped in tradition, full of duels and quests, battles and tournaments, magic swords and Fisher Kings. It also sheds a fresh light on Arthur’s Britain, a diverse, complex nation struggling to come to terms with its bloody history. The Bright Sword is a story about imperfect men and women, full of strength and pain, who are looking for a way to reforge a broken land in spite of being broken themselves.
My Thoughts
A new Lev Grossman novel? And it’s an Arthurian saga? YES PLEASE!
Grossman is adept at taking well-worn fantasy tropes and turning them upside-down and inside-out to create something completely new. He’s done it very successfully here with a new and imaginative approach to the King Arthur legend, and he’s given voice to the less-than-shining knights, which has great appeal for me. (I love an underdog story!)
Above all, Grossman is a master storyteller, and the story here is magnificent. I was hooked from the very first chapter and hard a hard time putting it down. This is NOT a single-sitting reading experience though. This is a book that requires some commitment (and sturdy wrists if you’re reading the print copy!). For me, it made for an excellent first-book-of-the-summer reading experience and is one I will remember long after I turned the last page.
This is a must-read for Arthurian legend fans and joins The Mists of Avalon on my print shelves.
Highly recommended.
“Grossman, who is best known for his The Magicians series, is at the top of his game with The Bright Sword.” —The New York Times Book Review
“If you love King Arthur as much as I do, you’ll love Lev Grossman’s The Bright Sword, a fresh and engrossing take on the Matter of Britain featuring a colorful cast of Round Table knights who don’t often get as much story time as they deserve. The creator of The Magicians has woven another spell.” —George R. R. Martin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Game of Thrones
The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Magicians trilogy returns with a triumphant reimagining of the King Arthur legend for the new millennium.
Publication Date: July 16, 2024
Published By: Penguin Group, Viking
Thanks to Netgalley for the review copy & my local indie store for the print!
It's All About the Book 