{"id":359,"date":"2021-09-21T08:27:00","date_gmt":"2021-09-21T08:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/minimal-kritikak.hu\/?p=359"},"modified":"2024-11-02T21:25:53","modified_gmt":"2024-11-02T20:25:53","slug":"lancelot-by-giles-kristian-book-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/minimal-kritikak.hu\/en\/2021\/09\/21\/lancelot-by-giles-kristian-book-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Lancelot by Giles Kristian \u2013 Book Review"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\"Lancelot<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n

Giles Kristian deftly plucks Lancelot from the famous Arthurian legends and makes him the star of his own story. And why not? Lancelot is the bravest knight of the cycle, so he fits well at the heart of numerous battles, and, not to mention, he even wins the heart of King Arthur\u2019s queen, guaranteeing both romantic drama and other conflicts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pure Emotions and a Dirty Dark Ages<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Kristian devotes a surprisingly large portion of the book to Lancelot\u2019s childhood, and you\u2019d think it would make for a yawn-fest since, really, what excitement could there be in a future hero\u2019s early years? But it completely proves you wrong. The early chapters are no less captivating than his more significant adult years. In fact, it\u2019s the opposite. The thrill is there right from the beginning, as Guinevere appears on the island where Lancelot is raised, sparking feelings, followed by Merlin, the most renowned of druids, who amps up the tension.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Kristian skillfully brings the legend down to earth, stripping away almost all its mysticism and magic. (If there is any enchantment, it\u2019s likely just a clever sleight of hand.) The legendary figures (or at least their names) do make an appearance, but in a much more grounded, human way, surrounded by all the filth and grime of the medieval world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n

Enter King Arthur<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The first half of the book is much more personal, as Lancelot remains in the spotlight. After that, the focus shifts to Arthur (The Once and Future King), who makes his appearance exactly halfway through.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interestingly, the quality of the writing is also stronger in the first half, approaching almost literary levels, with especially beautiful metaphors (you can\u2019t help but think of Dean Koontz\u2019s clunky attempts, see The Crooked Staircase). And in the background, the leaves of roughly 500 different plants rustle along, most of which you\u2019ve likely never heard of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here Come the Migrants!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Set in the 500s AD, this is not yet the full bloom of the knightly age but its earliest beginnings (the Romans exit left, the Saxons enter from the right). There\u2019s an intriguing parallel here, as Arthur\u2019s character, weaponry, and fighting style bear a striking resemblance to Bernard Cornwell\u2019s Arthur trilogy (Excalibur). I could hardly imagine while reading that Giles Kristian hadn\u2019t drawn inspiration from Cornwell\u2019s work. (He had; he even reveals this in the afterword.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And speaking of Cornwell: with Arthur\u2019s appearance, this book could easily slot into Cornwell\u2019s The Saxon Stories<\/em> series (see The Empthy Throne<\/a><\/em>), at the well-constructed, tactical battles mirroring those in Cornwell\u2019s books. Just a few centuries have passed in the meantime, so, while Arthur is trying to stem the Saxon tide, those same Saxons in Cornwell\u2019s stories are now peaceful citizens, instead fighting against the new wave of migrants\u2014the Vikings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Melancholic and Polite Love Drama<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For a love story, this book is free of any indecency, save for the Lady of the Lake, who is delightfully mischievous, and hers is the only scene in the entire book that has even a hint of eroticism. This lack may leave a bit to be desired, especially since we\u2019re dealing with a love triangle. Unfortunately, it\u2019s somewhat middlingly handled. The passionate emotions on the Isle of Ladies during Lancelot\u2019s childhood feel more believable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can\u2019t help but feel for the melancholic, grown-up Lancelot, who constantly longs for love but is bound by the pesky code of chivalry. Arthur’s one-dimensional character is understandably nervous, but what can you do\u2014they’re still buddies after all. Guinevere, meanwhile, comes across as tiresomely and unnecessarily secretive, which Kristian overplays to the point of incomprehensibility by the end.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While the book\u2019s second half moves faster than necessary and doesn\u2019t quite maintain the quality of the first, it fortunately never falls to mediocrity \u2013 except for one shameful scene at a hunting lodge where Arthur plays the role of the jealous, petty husband, with the sneering jerk<\/strong> Mordred in the background.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The closing chapters, however, despite their unrealistic and overly dramatic tones, are powerful and moving. If you didn\u2019t know the legend inside and out, you might even shed a tear for poor Lancelot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Rating: 8\/10<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Lancelot<\/em> (The Arthurian Tales #1) by Giles Kristian
635 pages, Paperback
Published in 2019 by Corgi<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Giles Kristian deftly plucks Lancelot from the famous Arthurian legends and makes him the star of his own story. And why not? Lancelot is the bravest knight of the cycle, so he fits well at the heart of numerous battles, and, not to mention, he even wins the heart of King Arthur\u2019s queen, guaranteeing both … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[22,230,194,233,54,232,14,40,231,234,235,33],"class_list":["post-359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-book","tag-adventure","tag-arthurian-legend","tag-character-driven","tag-chivalry","tag-coming-of-age","tag-dark-ages","tag-fantasy","tag-historical","tag-legends","tag-love-drama","tag-love-triangle","tag-romance"],"yoast_head":"\nLancelot by Giles Kristian \u2013 Book Review - minimal-Critiques<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Giles Kristian puts Lancelot at the very heart of the Arthurian legend... A melancholy knight's tale. 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