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Bernard Cornwell is a marvelous story teller. I have read all of his Waterloo books and all of the Sharpe's novels. They are so much fun that I read them when I don't have anything else to read. Now to "Winter King." It is boring. It has too much detail and he has me into a story before I am even slightly sympathetic with the characters. Too much ignorance and too much superstition.That's fine for people of that era but to me, it is boring. I would rather have the fantasy. Or Sir Thomas Malory's "The Romance of Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table." Bernard Cornwell's novel is well written but boring. I apologize for belaboring the point. I would send my copy to anyone who wants to read it but I cannot. It has gone the way of the hairy white buffalo: the recycle bin. I seldom throw books away but this one, in my prejudiced opinion, deserves it. The book seller is wonderful.. The book was exactly in the condition described. I would not hesitate to buy any number of books from him. Is the book a good value? It is if you like it. If you don't, it isn't.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
This is definitely not your typical Arthur. Oddly enough, there is little proof that Arthur existed in the great way he is now known in legend to have been. Obviously, the magic, Excalibur, Camelot, the Round Table and the 'Holy Grail' type additions were very well used literary tools to create a legend bigger than itself in many tales. What Cornwell has accomplished in this novel is to bring the story back down to earth in a very real and incredible way; this is an Arthur who lived in a real world, with superstitions and gods of many religions, but no magic to speak of, rather just man's overwhelming ability to allow fear and misunderstanding to create belief in magic, spells, wizardry and monsters. To be fair, that may disappoint Arthurian legend lovers of the mystical tale. This is not the stylized Arthur that we read about in most literary works or, in more recent years, we see on film. The tale is told by an elderly monk who, before becoming a Christian, was an orphan raised by Merlin (not a Wizard in this tale, rather a Druid leader of Britain). He, our storyteller, was Derfel Cadarn, Derfel 'the mighty', and he was a fierce and feared warrior, a Lord of war, a leader of men, a sworn man of Arthur, and a mighty killer. He is also an excellent storyteller who weaves a tale of 5th century Britain, a land at war with itself whilst also being invaded by the Saxons (who the author Cornwell also writes about in his excellent Saxon Chronicles which I highly recommend). This was an island of many nations and many kings, before it was England, just after the departure of the Romans and just as the island was at its lowest point in history, the beginning of the dark ages. The fact that not much is known about the people that became so legendary in myth and tales of magic, allows Cornwell to weave a book of fiction that represents the period very well and freed him to create a tale that he did not have to meld in to history. In other words, Cornwell was able to create an entire story, using famous names that have no story, thus allowing us to experience a completely different version of the tale. I avoided this trilogy for a while because the Arthur tales are a little too fantasized for me; I prefer more historically based fiction. Thankfully, I came to my senses and read this book. It was excellent. I read a review below that stated that someone struggled with this book because of all the characters, a claim I don't understand. Cornwell kindly provides a list of ALL the characters and a short summary of who they were, at the beginning of the book so you can always flip to the front if you don't remember a name. A detailed map is provided in the back to give you an understanding of where the many characters are from and where they go. I definitely recommend this book. Although our storyteller does tell Arthur's tale, the book does tend to be more Derfel's tale and how he experienced life as a sworn man of Arthur. It follows Derfel to Amorica (Britanny, France) where he spends years fighting in Arthur's place for the kindom of Benoic (which reminded me of Jonathan Swift's kingdom of Laputa, the floating island where everyone was more interested in learning and beauty, where, in this tale the king spent all his money on knowledge all his money on knowledge and allowed the kingdom to crumble around him). This is Derfel's tale of Arthur and it is a wonderful story. Enjoy!!!Read full review
The only problem with Cromwell's novels is that once you get started, it is hard to stop. This can be a problem, since many are serialized and, of course you will want to read them all. If you like historical novels with interesting fictionalized characters and a strong emphasis on military history and vivid battle descriptions, look no further. They are a bit uneven in quality (I thought Stonehenge very slow to develop, and the second in the Starbuck series "Copperhead" not nearly as interesting as the other three), but this is nitpicking. The subject of the review, however is "The Winter King" and it is excellent throughout. The Merlin and Arthur that we experienced through Disney and other childhood tales is very different from what we see here. Arthur is a deeply conflicted but gifted ruler who accepts responsibility reluctantly and Merlin is preoccupied by the waning of the old pagan religion and the ascent of Christianity. He is ruthless in his pursuit of restoring the ancient religion of Britain. Many other fascinating characters appear. A great read, and as I warned, you will soon be reading the two sequels.Read full review
I loved that the writer wrote this from a soldier under Arthor who is a Warlord and not a King. I love that Arthor was not a King and didn't want or think of being a King. My sister originally bought the first book and I read it after she was done...I got so caught up in the book that I read it quickly without any effort. Then I bought the other two and read them just as quickly. I save the books I love and re-read them at a later date...it's like a movie you watch again...you see things you missed the first time. My new husband and I bought a house and he threw all my books out :( These books are so good I had to re-buy them and threatened him with life long pain if he ever got near my books again. It is a must read. I didn't find anything I didn't like in this book:)
Great time in history, great author.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
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