The Winter King - Bernard Cornwell

Read for: Arthurian Challenge; A Tournament of Reading

I wanted to include both the original cover (left) and the new cover of the copy I own (right) for this review, as I really like them both.

Certain bloggers (who shall remain nameless) have been telling me to read Bernard Cornwell's Warlord Chronicles for longer than I can say. Well, I can finally say that I have made a start and finished the first book, The Winter King. And oh boy am I glad I bought all three the same day!

The Winter King is the tale of Britain after the death of Uther Pendragon. This Britain is less a tale of magic and myth, and more one of war and politics. The throne of Dunmonia is reserved for Uther's infant grandchild, Mordred, with several of the senior warlords pledging an oath to protect the child and his kingdom until he comes of age. Arthur, Uther's bastard son, and the most loved warlord in Dumnonia and beyond, makes the pledge and so begins the long struggle to govern and protect the kingdom without a king.

The trilogy tells Arthur's tale, through the eyes of his follower, friend and fellow warrior, Derfel Cadarn. The Winter King introduces us to the elderly Derfel, a monk living in a monastery in Wales, who spends his days chronicling the years of Arthur for his young Queen, Igraine. It is this tale that we get swept up into, brutal and unforgiving. Derfel was a young orphaned boy, adopted by the Druid Merlin, and raised in his home on Ynys Wydryn. Derfel witnesses betrayal of the child king's guardian and his attempted murder, and escapes with the king and some of the survivors. From that moment on, Derfel is plunged into a world of warriors, honour and lies. He becomes close friends with Arthur, who's ultimate aim is to unite the British Kingdoms against the Saxon (Sais) invadors. But peril and intrigue follow them at every turn.

I doubt very much that The Winter King could have been better written. I was hooked from page one and would have been mortified to find myself at the end, had I not already got books two and three in my possession. This is by far my favourite of the Arthurian fiction I have read so far, and I was so excited to read the next book, Enemy of God that I have not been able to write this review until finishing the series! To describe more of the events in this series would likely cause confusion and I imagine would put anyone off reading such a complex tale. So you'll have to find out for yourself...

Other familiar characters making an appearance in this series, include Nimue, Morgan, Lancelot, and Guinevere. Rather than a complete retelling of the Arthurian legends, this is more a reworking, with some of the older legends intermingled with newer ones, focussing more on the power struggles in the aftermath of the Roman exodus from Britain, and on the conflict between the old pagan religion and the new christian one. Sometimes hard to stomach, this book was always gripping and exciting. Thoroughly recommended for anyone interested in Dark Age and Arthurian fiction.

A Fine and Private Place - Peter S Beagle

Wow, Nymeth and Chris...you were so right. This book caught my attention after their fabulous reviews, and I began the hunt for this particularly beautiful edition.

A Fine and Private Place is a book to be savoured, ready slowly, absorbing its subtle nuances and lyrical prose. The plot is an unsual one. The protagonist, Jonathon Rebeck, is a former pharmacist who, after a big night, wakes to find himself in a graveyard, one which he does not leave...for nineteen years. His only regular companion is a talking raven, who supplies him with food and the odd luxury item, like a book. But far from being a lonely experience, Rebeck spends his time greeting the newly dead as they wake to their new existence...that is, before they forget.

The dead in Beagle's world do not move on to an afterlife, or haunt the living. They remain bound to their mortal remains, as they slowly forget their lives and ultimately fade away. Rebeck takes it upon himself to greet these people, spending time with them in conversation, and occasionally a game of chess. It is in this quiet life of Rebeck's, that we meet Michael Morgan. Angry and bitter about his death, being poisoned by his beautiful wife Michael is determined to hang on to his ghostly existence and resist fading away. Michael and Rebeck then meet Laura Durand, killed by a truck and resigned to her new existence. Laura and Michael begin an unusual friendship, threatened all the time by their fading memories, especially Michael, who clings onto his former life, all the while losing the true memory of it.

Rebeck too forms an unlikely relationship, with the widowed Mrs Klapper, whom he meets as she visits her husbands grave. Rebeck is afraid to admit the truth to his new friend and what that might mean for his life there. But soon a greater threat emerges, as memories are forced to the surface and truths are revealed.

An unlikely story of friendship and the nature of living and dying, A Fine and Private Place is truly that. A quiet space in which the reader can be totally absorbed, with a delicate story, fragile characters and eerie yet charming location. Beagle's writing is just delicious, simple but elegant. A couple of passages really stayed with me:

"Man searches constantly for identity, he thought as he trotted along the gravel path. He has no real proof of his existence except for the reaction of other people to that fact. So he listens very closely to what people say to one another about him, whether it's good or bad, because it indicates that he lives in the same world they do, and that all his fears about being invisible, impotent, lacking some mysterious dimension that other people have, are groundless. That's why people like to have nicknames."

"I am tired , he thought. Maybe the heat is doing it, but I have sat through a good many summers here and never felt like this. I am tired of being helpful. I am tired of being comfortable. Why this should be I do not know, but my image of myself as an understanding old man, floating in kindness like a cherry in a sugared liqueur, is beginning to curl at the corners. I wish something would happen to me, something that would show me exactly how cruel and jealous and vengeful I can be. Then I could go back to gentleness because I chose it over brutality for its own sake, not because I didn't have the courage to be cruel. I might even like cruelty. I doubt very much that I would, but I ought to find out."

What makes this work an even greater feat is that Beagle wrote it while only 19 years of age. An absolute joy to read, this is a ghost story with a difference. Whole-heartedly recommended to all. I cannot wait to experience more of Beagle's writing.

Other blog reviews:
Rhinoa's Ramblings
Stuff as Dreams are Made On
Things mean a lot