Gabbiebii begins her time here reviewing one of my favorite retellings, Phyllis Ann Karr's The Idylls of the Queen. Please give her a warm welcome and enjoy her review!
~Storyteller Knight
 | Title: The Idylls of the Queen Author: Phyllis Ann Karr Publisher: Wildside Press Pages: 341 Synopsis: (from the goodreads) The arrangements for the dinner party were overseen by Queen Guenever herself. She selected the apples with her own hands. And before the evening ended, a young knight lay dead ... and Arthur's beloved, unfaithful queen stood branded as a murderess and condemned to death! Phyllis Ann Karr has taken Celtic legendry and given it a fresh new twist in this magical murder mystery of knights and sorcery, romantic entanglements and courtly intrigues. This is a tale that explores the passions and motivations of the men and women who stride through the pages of Mallory's romance: Sir Kay, the sharp-tongued seneschal; Nimue, the elusive Lady of the Lake; Morgon le Fay, Merlin's complex nemesis; the tormented sons of Lot and Morgawse; and Mordred, Arthur's own bitter, terrified son. |
I started reading this book because an internet friend suggested it to me. She said it was one of her favourite books,
and one of the best Arthurian retellings so far. I was curious, so I bought it.
While it has been a pretty slow read (English is not my mother-tongue and so it
took twice the amount of time I’d have put in if I had read it in my mother-tongue) it has definitely been a really pleasant one. I have to agree with
my internet friend, it is one of the best retellings so far.
The cover is not
so appealing, though. It has nothing to
do with the plot at all. I’ve seen that there’s a better cover, featuring the poisoned
apple but…unfortunately, I got the edition with the bad cover. I’m sad for
this.
No Spoilers Here. Read without Fear.
