The Winter King - Bernard Cornwell

Judging from the reviews both on here and Amazon, I must be one of the only people who really couldn't stand this book!! To say I found this tiresome and a bit too heavy-going would be an understatement and, though I don't often give up on books, found myself turning away 2/3 of the way through the novel and finally admitting defeat. The idea is obviously to present a more historical view point of the Arthur legend and so is told from the perspective of Dreyfel- a member of Arthur's warband and an orphan taken in by the not-so sorcerous Merlin(who spends much of this novel absent whilst he seeks the lost and forgotten thirteen treasures of Britain)- who ...  Read the complete review

Derfel the monk, is writing of the adventures of his youth, when he was a warrior in the service of Arthur. He is doing this at the behest of Queen Igraine, the namesake of Uther Pendragon's queen. He begins with the birth of Mordred, Grandson of Uther, and son of Uther's deceased heir...Mordred! The baby and his mother, Norwenna, then travel to Ynys Wydryn (Glastonbury), so that the boy may be protected by Morgan, Arthur's sister and a priestess of Merlin the Druid. Norwenna is promised in marriage to Gundleus, King of Siluria. Merlin has not been seen for many years and it is not known if he is even alive. Ynys Wydryn is his stronghold ...  Read the complete review

In the Mad Wicca household it tends to be Mr. Mad Wicca who does the lions share of our comestible shopping, usually at 3 am when our local all night Tesco is free of screaming children and people who leave their trolleys in the middle of the aisle whilst they go off to look for a packet of digestives. When he returns from these late night forays, more often than not, he’s bought me a little present, anything from a bar of chocolate to a soft toy witch (that I’d had my eye on for some time but no one had picked up on my many dropped hints for Christmas!) One time he came back with a book nestled between the potatoes and a tin of beans and said, ...  Read the complete review

I've never read anything by Bernard Cornwell before but picked this up as I am fairly interested in the Arthurian legends. "The Winter King" is the first book in the Warlord Chronicles Trilogy. "The Winter King" is narrated by Derfel, an ageing monk looking back on his earlier life as a warrior in Arthur's service. Derfel is writing his story down at the request of his Queen, Igraine, against the wishes of Sansum, his superior at the monastery. Derfel's version of Arthur's life and times is a lot less romanticised than the version most of us know. Of course Arthur's very existence is disputed to this day - no one knows what the ...  Read the complete review

This is a well-researched and excellently told Story. Narrated by Derfel, a Saxon slave from Boy to Man, Slave to Lord, he tells the gritty hard story of life in Britain in the time of Arthur. The Romans are long gone, pleasures are simple but life is hard. The Druid's struggle against Christianity, and Saxon invaders threaten All. Arthur, bastard son of King Uther, is oath sworn to hold the squabbling kingdoms of Britain and it's throne together, until Mordred comes of age. Bernard Cornwell's writing is superb, I WAS Derfel, I grew up with him and knew his doubts and fears, I could taste the blood and stench of battle. The first book in the ...  Read the complete review