Black Horses for the King - McCaffrey

Okay, I'm back with my (possibly final) Arthurian book feature. Black Horses for the King by Anne McCaffrey.

Anne McCaffrey has an almost magical writing style, and back in the day that I NEVER read a physical book in order (these days it's about a 15% read in order), I actually managed to do that with this book. 

BHftK is not a retelling of King Arthur in the traditional sense of the word. In fact. Arthur himself is only a minor character at best. It focuses on a tiny event, barely mentioned in Arthurian Lore. The bringing of black horses to England. It's about the invention of the horseshoe and why it was so important. It's a beautiful story.

I highly recommend it if you love horses, if you love Arthurian legend, or if you love history.

These posts are in promotion of my newest book My Kingdom for a Quest, which will be coming out in less than a week! Today is your last day to sign up for the tour, as I'm taking down the sign-up form tomorrow.

And ... two other orders of business. 

1. My laptop's keyboard is acting up. a good number of keys that I use frequently - including both enter keys, the right-handed shift key, and both controls. Oh, and both the period and comma, and a few letters and numbers.

Fortunately, I have a back-up keyboard that I stole from my sister when she upgraded her computer last year ... so I'm surviving, but I'm about 10% slower typing on this keyboard, which is frustrating.

And, to make matters even more hair-pulling, as I've been writing up this post, ++++++ have been popping up about every five seconds. I'm not sure whether they're a delayed reaction from me pounding on that key (it's one of the ones that are out), or what ... but it's not been fun.

2. And a ++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

(Case in point, I just walked away to do something, and returned to these)

Anyway, second order of business. I'm working on editing Water Princess, Fire Prince, and I'm hoping to have part 1 ready to hand out to beta readers by the end of the month. So, I need you guys to start volunteering. Part 1 is Clara's story, and just over 30,000 words.

Guinevere

Today I'm sharing another movie that my sister and I watched while we were studying Arthur a few years back.

Guinevere doesn't have good ratings on Amazon or IMDb, but somehow, I remember enjoying it. It changes quite a bit from the traditional tale, but the core elements are still there. It can be a bit crude at times (I wouldn't recommend it for anyone under sixteen, even though I think my sister was at the time), and some scenes dragged, and the plot had a few weak points, but for the most part, I really liked the way this story was reimagined into a more historical context.

Set during the era when the catholic church is taking over England and the more savage way of life was disappearing. Some of the people criticized Guinevere for not being feminist enough despite claiming to, but I actually liked how she was handled. She was a strong woman, but she put the needs of her country above her own desires.

I especially liked how the Arthur/Lancelot triangle was handled. Yes, it's a bit part of the movie, but instead of Guinevere not meeting Lance until after she's married, they actually kinda grew up together. Guin was taught by Morgan Le Fay, and he was her ward. In fact, Morgan tried to get the two to marry. Despite the fact that Guin liked Lance, she was hesitant because, as her father's only child, she wanted him to have a say in her marriage, and therefore his heir.

And then she ends up married to Arthur, and the push and pull was quite interesting, because it was grounded in her duty as queen vrs. the inclination of her heart. And I liked that. In the end, I think she actually grew to love Arthur (I'm quite certain he loved her).

I liked the movie, but it could have been done better, could have closed up a few plot holes, and could have done without a lot of the discussion of ... marriage and women related things.

These posts are in promotion of the newest book of the Bookania Quests, My Kingdom for a Quest, coming out February 14th. Click here if your interested in lending me your blog for the blog tour - I still have several open slots, particularly the last few days!

The Last Son of Camelot

First of all, I now have a blog tour schedule up on sign-up page!! There are still slots open, I would especially love a review or two more, and there are a few items that may be subject to change, but for now, I really like it. 

Now, onto the feature.

Today I'm sharing a self-published book that I read about three years ago but never got around to reviewing.

I won't call this the best Arthurian retelling I've ever read, but it was certainly one of the most intriguing. The premise was that a boy discovers that he is directly descended from King Arthur, and that his mother was (if I remember right), the Lady of the Lake. He also has some really interesting powers and there are monsters on his trail (a bit Percy Jackson-like)

Oh, and did I mention that Merlin's the villain? Yeah, he and Mordred have teamed up and all that, and are intent on making the lives of Arthur's (other) descendants miserable.

So it's a really good concept, but unfortunately, it didn't completely carry through. Quite a bit of clunky description, overuse of drama, and poorly carried out plot twists. I don't regret reading the story, and I'm looking forward to the sequel if it ever gets written (glares at amazon) but I don't foresee myself rereading it any time soon. 

These posts are in promotion of the newest book of the Bookania Quests, My Kingdom for a Quest, coming out February 14th. Click here if your interested in lending me your blog for the blog tour - I still have several open slots, particularly the last few days!

Magic Tree House

Sorry about this post being so late. The document for My Kingdom for a Quest decided to go read-only last night, and while trying to get it editable again, completely forgot about a post for today.

I've got it editable again ... but now the margins are off, so I'm going to have to fix that. I have a plan of attack for that ... but I'll do it once I'm finished with this post.

Let's proceed.

Today I'm sharing with you a series that was a staple throughout my childhood. Magic Tree House,

You find out that it's Arthurian at the end of the fourth book, when Jack and Annie find out that the mysterious M is none other than Morgan Le Fay ... who for once isn't evil. (This is the main reason that I'm willing to let Madeleine claim to be Morgan for the purposes of My Kingdom for a Quest) However, the Arthurian involvement in the series is next to nil until book 29, when the Merlin missions begin.

I never finished the series, but I think V did, and my brother is currently tearing though the series.

It's a really interesting twist on Merlin and Morgan Le Fay.

These posts are in promotion of the newest book of the Bookania Quests, My Kingdom for a Quest, coming out February 14th. Click here if your interested in lending me your blog for the blog tour - I still have several open slots, particularly the last few days!

King Arthur (2004)

I like two different types of Arthurian retellings - the unexpected ones with great twists, or the ones that are at least historically plausible.

Today, I'm sharing a historically plausible.

Set at the fall of the Roman empire, this story doesn't particularly feel like Arthur, but it has the round table, it has a Merlin (who is a druid), it has a Guinevere, it has the proper array of knights, and most important, it has Arthur himself.

I like how they handled the Lancelot issue. If I remember right, it was there, but pre-marriage to Arthur, and all that. So, overall, a good movie, and though it can be crude and violent, it is pretty historically accurate.

These posts are in promotion of the newest book of the Bookania Quests, My Kingdom for a Quest, coming out February 14th. Click here if your interested in lending me your blog for the blog tour - I still have several open slots, particularly the last few days!

That Hideous Strength

Yes folks, I'm going for obscure books for Arthurian retellings. Today, I'm sharing the third book of Lewis's Space Trilogy.

I didn't expect to find Authurian Legend when I cracked open this book. After all, there'd been no hint of it in the first two books. But first came a mention of Merlin. And then, apparently, he was returning, and no one knew which side he would be on. And then he did show up, and then Ransom became the pendragon, and Avalon was on Perelandra (or Venus, in English), and it was just so well done.

Look, I know a lot of people of put off by the first two chapters, and to that I'll say this: skip them if you must. I did. The book is amazing.

I probably should say more, but my mother got The Mysterious Benedict Society out of the library for me yesterday, and I proceeded to stay up to 3:00 reading it ... then realized I still hadn't scheduled a post for today. It's a book that I've been meaning to read ... wow.

These posts are in promotion of the newest book of the Bookania Quests, My Kingdom for a Quest, coming out February 14th. Click here if your interested in lending me your blog for the blog tour - I still have several open slots, particularly the last few days!

The Sword in the Stone

Today I'm going to share with you a movie that had a lasting effect on my childhood - particularly in how I clean my room and pack to go places.

According to my mother, I spent about a month as a kid watching this movie, then running upstairs to my bedroom to see if I could replicate the above scene. Even now, my cleaning/packing process always begins with the attempt ... Unfortunately, the song doesn't work ... but maybe, just maybe, I'll figure out how to do it. Until then ... um ... why don't we just move on and not discuss the mess my room is in or the fact that I always procrastinate until the last second to pack.

On another note, I've been singing the Bibbidy-bobidy song in pumpkin patches in an attempt to get myself a car ...

I really don't have much more of an impression of this movie. I do enjoy the ending scene though. It's rather funny. And I did kinda reference the fish scene in Do You Take This Quest?

These posts are in promotion of the newest book of the Bookania Quests, My Kingdom for a Quest, coming out February 14th. Click here if your interested in lending me your blog for the blog tour - I still have several open slots, particularly the last few days!

Dragons in Our Midst

I've read my fair share of Arthurian retellings, and today I'm going to share with you a series that I didn't expect to find it.

I found this series through Goodreads recommendations, and I thought it intriguing, it being a story of a girl and a boy who discover that they're half dragon. (Or, at least, he does, she's known for a few years. Hard to not know when you have a huge pair of wings sprouting out of your back.) Then I discovered that it was also Christian Fantasy, and I had to read it. I went to my library to ILL it - and to my delight, I discovered that it owned the book - as well as the sequel. (Beyond that point, I've had to ILL, though.)

So I was reading, enjoying the dragons and the Christianity and then - boom! Arthur and Merlin were there. In a flashback, mind you, but still. However, the main villainess is none other than Morgan le Fay.

The way Davis twisted dragons, Arthur, and spiritual themes is amazing. In the first book of the second series, you learn that Morgan was actually the wife of one of the fallen angles prior to the flood (how did she survive, well ... actually, she didn't, but you'll have to read the series), and Excalibur was the sword belonging to the angel guarding the garden of Eden. 

This is a set of series that I can't recommend highly enough. Sure, they're weird at times, but I love weird. If you love dragons, Arthur, or just Christian Fantasy in general, do read these books. Seriously, don't wait any longer. Go to your library, ILL them if you must, and devour. You'll thank me.

These posts are in promotion of the newest book of the Bookania Quests, My Kingdom for a Quest, coming out February 14th. Click here if your interested in lending me your blog for the blog tour - I still have several open slots, particularly the last few days!

Camelot! - The Musical

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A couple years ago, we studied King Arthur for school, and naturally my mom had my sister and I watched and read pretty much everything we could find about him. The musical "Camelot" was naturally one of them.

I couldn't find the song being sung in the movie I watched, but here's one of the actor just singing it. I think.

I really love most of the songs in this musical. There are a few that I'm a bit meh on (and hence can't remember), but for the most part, the songs are fun, especially the ones at the beginning.

Again, not the movie I watched, but this is one of my favorite songs.

I love how it begins, with both Arthur and Guinevere trying to get out of the marriage, running into each other, he realizing who she is, her trying to convince him to run away with her, him not wanting to tell her who she is. It's just so much fun.

It focuses on the second half of Arthur's life, after Merlin has left him. There are a few glimpses of Merlin at the end, in memories, if I remember right, but this mostly focuses on the triangle between Arthur, Guinevere, and Lancelot.

I don't care so much for the second half of the movie, once Lancelot comes onto the scene. Look, I understand that it follows the legend and all that, but I'm going to let you guys in on a secret - I hate that chapter of Arthurian legend. I like it when movies and books tweak and change things so that it's a non-issue, or Guinevere chooses Arthur before it's too late. I do like the reprise to Camelot.

As a musical, it's beautiful.

And I realize that I've managed to not include a single song directly from the version I watched, ah, well. Julie Andrew's great, too.