HISTORICAL FICTION REVIEW: Camelot - Giles Kristian

Release Date:  14/05/20

Publisher: Bantam Press

SYNOPSIS:

'So beautiful, so haunting . . . bitingly real . . . Giles has given us a vital, glorious story: rich, rewarding, and utterly revealing of our times' Manda Scott 

 

Following his acclaimed Sunday Times bestseller, Lancelot, Giles Kristian's new novel returns us to the realms of Arthurian legend . . . 

 

Britain is a land riven by anarchy, slaughter, famine, filth and darkness. Its armies are destroyed, its heroes dead, or missing. Arthur and Lancelot fell in the last great battle and Merlin has not been seen these past ten years. Now, the Saxons are gathering again, their warbands stalk the land, their king seeks dominion. As for the lords and kings of Britain, they look only to their own survival and will not unite as they once did under Arthur and his legendary sword Excalibur. 

 

But in an isolated monastery in the marshes of Avalon, a novice of the order is preparing to take his vows when the life he has known is suddenly turned upside down in a welter of blood. Two strangers - the wild-spirited, Saxon-killing Iselle and the ageing warrior Gawain - will pluck the young man from the wreckage of his simple existence. Together, they will seek the last druid and the cauldron of a god. And the young man must come to terms with his legacy and fate as the son of the most celebrated yet most infamous of Arthur's warriors: Lancelot. 

 

For this is the story of Galahad, Lancelot’s son – the reluctant warrior who dared to keep the dream of Camelot alive . . . 

 

REVIEW:

Im a huge fan of anything to do with the Arthurian period as well as a tale that takes me into a world that is rich in imagination and gives me top notch action alongside characters I care about. Whilst in some respects this is a revamped version of Gallahad's story, what Giles has done is present the reader with a tale that whilst keeping a lot of the elements of the original has not only a new spin but something thats brought up for the modern reader. 

 

Its dark, has some good twists and when added to Giles' writing style affords the reader cracking prose alongside top notch action which when backed with characters that you feel like you understand not only their motives but their hope and dreams thanks to the slower build up, all round generates a book that is hard to put down.

HISTORICAL FANTASY REVIEW: Lancelot - Giles Kristian

RELEASE DATE:  31/05/18
PUBLISHER:  Bantam Press

SYNOPSIS:
The legions of Rome are a fading memory. Enemies stalk the fringes of Britain. And Uther Pendragon is dying. Into this fractured and uncertain world the boy is cast, a refugee from fire, murder and betrayal. An outsider whose only companions are a hateful hawk and memories of the lost.
Yet he is gifted, and under the watchful eyes of Merlin and the Lady Nimue he will hone his talents and begin his journey to manhood. He will meet Guinevere, a wild, proud and beautiful girl, herself outcast because of her gift. And he will be dazzled by Arthur, a warrior who carries the hopes of a people like fire in the dark. But these are times of struggle and blood, when even friendship and love seem doomed to fail.
The gods are vanishing beyond the reach of dreams. Treachery and jealousy rule men’s hearts and the fate of Britain itself rests on a sword’s edge.
But the young renegade who left his home in Benoic with just a hunting bird and dreams of revenge is now a lord of war. He is a man loved and hated, admired and feared. A man forsaken but not forgotten. He is Lancelot.

Set in a 5th century Britain besieged by invading bands of Saxons and Franks, Irish and Picts, Giles Kristian's epic new novel tells - through the warrior's own words - the story of Lancelot, that most celebrated of all King Arthur's knights. It is a story ready to be re-imagined for our times.


REVIEW:
I love an author who can take something that's been done before and add not only a different flavour to it, but gives it a whole new twist and for me, that's what Giles has done with this, his latest offering.

Taking inspiration from Roman times and moving the King Arthur myth to the Arthurian period (I kid you know that's what the historians know the 5th century as) we get a tale that not only has a feel of believability but also gives an established myth a new founding.

Its quirky, it has top notch action and when blended with a principle character who the reader will not only like to spend time with but also see grow up as he becomes the man of legend, all round gives the reader one hell of an adventure within the pages.

Back this with Giles own unique brand of storytelling, great prose and dialogue that just trips from the page all round gives the reader a book that was not only hard to put down but one that will become a firm favourite for years to come.  Legendary.