SamoaPhoenix Compare and Contrast: Cursed Novel vs. Netflix Show

As promised last fall, now that the Netflix show has dropped I will be doing a compare/contrast between the book and at least episode one of the show.

Spoilers for both book and show; I suggest you go back and read my review of the book if you want to know my thoughts on it as a standalone work.

SamoaPhoenix Guest Review: Cursed

Title: Cursed Author: Thomas Wheeler & Frank Miller Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers Pages: 416 Synopsis: (courtesy of goodreads) The Lady of the Lake finds her voice in this cinematic twist on the tale of King Arthur created by Tom Wheeler and legendary artist, producer, and director Frank Miller (300, Batman: The Dark Night Returns, Sin City). Whosoever wields the Sword of Power shall be the one true King. But what if the Sword has chosen a Queen? Nimue grew up an outcast. Her connection to dark magic made her something to be feared in her Druid village, and that made her desperate to leave… That is, until her entire village is slaughtered by Red Paladins, and Nimue’s fate is forever altered. Charged by her dying mother to reunite an ancient sword with a legendary sorcerer, Nimue is now her people’s only hope. Her mission leaves little room for revenge, but the growing power within her can think of little else. Nimue teams up with a charming mercenary named Arthur and refugee Fey Folk from across England. She wields a sword meant for the one true king, battling paladins and the armies of a corrupt king. She struggles to unite her people, avenge her family, and discover the truth about her destiny. But perhaps the one thing that can change Destiny itself is found at the edge of a blade.

Just out this month, and soon to be a Netflix TV series, I was at first excited to hear there was a new book centered on a teenage Lady of the Lake who wields Excalibur herself instead of giving it to Arthur. Does it deserve the hype?
Spoilers under the cut.

SamoaPhoenix Guest Review: The Hollow Hills

Part 2 of 3. My review can be found here and the discussion of the book between myself and SamoaPhoenix can be found here.

 ~Storyteller Knight

Title: The Hollow Hills Author: Mary Stewart Publisher: William Morrow & Company Inc Pages: 402 Synopsis: (from the publisher) Once again, as she did in her international best seller The Crystal Cave, Mary Stewart uses Arthurian legend to tell a spellbinding story. The Hollow Hills takes place in a fifth-century Britain fraught with superstition and fear, where no life is safe, no law is stable, and where a king risks accusations of murder and adultery to get himself an heir. For his own safety, the boy Arthur, rejected as a bastard by his father, is long kept ignorant of his parentage. Dangerous rides through the deep forests of England and Wales, sudden battles amidst brooding mountains, and retreats into secret hollows in the hills provide the background for this tale of Arthur’s growth into manhood and his discovery of the strange sword that was to test his claim to power. Behind and around Arthur always is the mysterious, strong, yet vulnerable figure of Merlin, who sees and knows so much but who, like Arthur, must also suffer for the sake of a nation being born. In this world of embattled kings and courtiers, hurried journeys, whispered anxieties, and sudden death, we watch Merlin and Arthur follow their common destiny. Merlin is the narrator, and his prophetic voice communicates not only the bristling atmosphere of the ancient setting but also the profound relevance of this age-old tale to our own time.

So I went into this book not expecting much after how deadly dull most of Crystal Cave was. How did this next installment compare? Read on...
    
Warning For Spoilers

The Hollow Hills Review

Review number two in SamoaPhoenix and my five part review series of Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy which is actually five books.  SamoaPhoenix's review is found here and our discussion of the book can be found here.

~Storyteller Knight

Title: The Hollow Hills Author: Mary Stewart Publisher: Fawcett Crest Pages: 447 Synopsis: (from the 1973 hardcover published by William Morrow & Company, Inc.) Once again, as she did in her international best seller The Crystal Cave, Mary Stewart uses Arthurian legend to tell a spellbinding story. The Hollow Hills takes place in a fifth-century Britain fraught with superstition and fear, where no life is safe, no law is stable and where a kings risks accusations of murder and adultery to get himself an heir.  For his own safety, the boy Arthur, rejected as a bastard by his father, is long kept ignorant of his parentage. Dangerous rides through the deep forests of England and Wales, sudden battles amidst brooding mountains, and retreats into secret hollows in the hills provide the background for this take of Arthur's growth into manhood and his discovery of the strange sword that was to test his claim to power. Behind and around Arthur always is the mysterious, strong, yet vulnerable figure of Merlin, who sees and knows so much but who, like Arthur, must also suffer for the safe of a nation being born.  In this world of embattled kings and countries, hurried journeys, whispered anxieties and sudden death, we watch Merlin and Arthur follow their common destiny. Merlin is the narrator and his prophetic voice communicates not only the bristling atmosphere of the ancient setting but also the profound relevance of this age-old take of our own time.

So I read the copy of the book picture above but it didn't have a blurb so I had to pull it from this one:

Which I also own because something is wrong with me.

Warning for Spoilers

Samoa Phoenix Guest Review: The Crystal Cave

Part 2 of 3.  My review can be found here and the discussion of the book between myself and SamoaPhoenix can be found here.

~Storyteller Knight

Title: The Crystal Cave Author: Mary Stewart Publisher: William & Morrow Pages: 527 Synopsis: (from the publisher) Almost everyone knows Merlin as the dark, brooding figure mysteriously associated with Camelot and King Arthur’s court. But who, really, was Merlin? Was he the enchanter of fairy tales, the magician of the black robe and pointed hat and wand? Or was he the king and prophet of old legends of Brittany and Wales? How did a man reputed to be the bastard son of the Prince of Darkness, and condemned to death as a child of the Devil, become the chief architect of the first united Britain? Mary Stewart’s answers to these provocative questions form a spell-binding novel that catapults the reader into fifth-century Britain—a land uncertainly divided by conflicting loyalties, political and spiritual; a land riddled with rumor real and planted, and spear-alert with superstitious fear. Into this strange world was born Merlin, bastard son of Niniane, daughter of the King of South Wales, and an unknown father. The novel opens in Wales when Merlin is seven, and closes in Cornwall, at Tintagel, with the begetting of Arthur.

My aunt and uncle were moving to a smaller place and my uncle gave me his copies of Mary Stewart's Arthurian books. I mentioned it to Story, who suggested the joint project we are on now.

Spoilers!, etc…

The Crystal Cave Review

So, not wholly on accident, SamoaPhoenix and I ended up reading the same Arthurian retelling at the same time.  So we decided to have some fun with this.  SamoaPhoenix and I have both written up a review of this book (to be posted separately) and then we're going to to have a discussion about the book.  So consider this Part 1 of 3.  SamoaPhoenix's guest review can be found here and our discussion of the book here.

~Storyteller Knight

Title: The Crystal Cave Author: Mary Stewart Publisher: Fawcett Crest Pages: 385 Synopsis: (from the publisher) Who was Merlin?  Was the famed magician of Camelot and King Arthur's court really a sinister, all-powerful being from another world?  Was he truly a prince of Darkness? Or was he a man with the passions of other mortals?  A man with unique intelligence and unusual gifts? Why was he so feared?  How did he come by his occult powers?  Why was the crystal cave so important to him? Mary Stewart's novel brings to vibrant life one of the world's great legends and sheds a fascinating new light on the turbulence and mystery of 5th-century Britain. In This enthralling work, Mary Steward once more shows her own great wizardry.  Again she reveals those qualities of suspense and romantic adventure which have made her one of the world's most widely read novelists.

So, just as a heads up-- I have already read book four of this series (The Wicked Day).  I'm going to try and not spoil anything that goes on and will put up warnings if I get into anything about that book.  But do know that I read it several years ago and my memory of what on is a little fuzzy, so some stuff might slip in.

Also, I'm not even going to touch on the covers of this series because it has been reprinted so many times with so many pretty covers.  

Warning for Spoilers 

Child of the Northern Spring Review

Title: Child of the Northern Spring Author: Persia Woolley Publisher: Sourcebooks Pages: 537 Synopsis: (from the publisher) Among the first took look at the story of Camelot through Guinevere's eyes, Woolley sets the traditional tale in the time of its origin, after Britain has shattered into warring fiefdoms.  Hampered by neither fantasy nor medieval romance, this young Guinevere is a feisty Celtic tomboy who sees no reason why she must learn to speak Latin, wear dresses, and go south to marry that king.  But legends being what they are, the story of Arthur's rise to power soon intrigues her, and when they finally meet, Guinevere and Arthur form a partnership that has lasted for 1500 years. This is Arthurian epic at its best-- filled with romance, adventure, authentic Dark Ages detail, and wonderfully human people.

Every time I read that blurb, I find myself kinda turned-off by Persia Woolley’s rather high-and-mighty attitude towards fantasy and romance (this isn’t just the blurb, I’ve seen this sentiment in her interviews and in the author’s notes and reader questions). I mean, I get it that she’s writing historical fiction, but there’s no reason to get down fantasy or romance.

Then I remember that the hardcover of the Guinevere trilogy was published with a fantasy cover and the paperback with a romance cover and how the whole series was pretty much buried under Mists of Avalon and realize that Woolley has every right to be frustrated with fantasy and romance.

Warning for Spoilers

King Maker: Knights of the Breton Court I Review

Title: King Maker: The Knights of the Breton Court I Author: Maurice Broaddus Publisher: Angry Robot Pages: 385 Synopsis: (from the publisher) From the drug gangs of downtown Indianapolis, the one true king will arise.  The King Arthur myth gets dramatically replayed through the destiny of street hustler King, as he tried to unite the crack dealers, gangbangers, and the very real monsters lurking amongst them, to do the right thing.  This is an edgy, fantastical debut, genuinely unlike anything you've ever read before.

I feel the need to add this disclaimer: I spent a lot of time while reading this book examining my privilege as a white, middle class female.  A lot of times I had to stop myself and ask ‘Is this character really as horrible as I think or am I just making bad assumptions’.  A lot of times, I concluded the later.  I changed my mind a lot when it came to my sympathies for character (you will not see that change reflected in the review because it mostly happened with characters not related to the legend).  That said, I still didn’t like this book. 

Warning for Spoilers and a 3000 Word Review