The court of Camelot is unsettled by the arrival of Loholt, King
Arthur's illegitimate son. Driven by the need for an heir, the king
embraces the stranger, though not everyone in Camelot so
readily accepts the mysterious young man. Arthur's seneschal
and foster brother, the redoubtable Sir Kay, is especially
suspicious of Loholt's motives. And when Loholt is killed, Kay
finds himself under suspicion of murder.
Stripped of his knighthood, Kay forges an unwilling alliance with
the renegade Briant and his lover, the enchantress Brisane, who
seek to bring down the men closest to the king. If Sir Kay
cannot redirect their plot or win back the court's trust, nothing
will save Camelot from the twin threats of war and evil sorcery.
"One of the half-dozen best Arthurian novels I have yet read."
—Phyllis Ann Karr, author of Idylls of the Queen and The
Arthurian Companion.
This is a wonderfully engaging book written with modern language and modern flair. Beyond being briskly written, its particularly engaging because it skips using Arthur, Lancelot and Gawain as the primary characters and focuses on Sir Kay. While Kay is often portrayed as a crumugen on in most novels, here you see ~why~ he acts that way. He's got the kind of job where he's always busy and not just waiting for trouble to pop-up. Unfortunately for him, trouble that's specifically directed at him ~does~ pop up and he's pulled out of Camelot to deal with.
Cherith Baldry's story is full of interesting twists that kept me reading at full pace. Hopefully you will too.
Cherith Baldry's book really captures a unique feel for Camelot. It is not as if this is a totally new take or anything, but reading this book it feels more like "Ah...now this is how Camelot should be!" It feels familiar and interesting and leaves you wanting to explore more. The characters are well developed and the writing is really crisp. I am a huge fan of modern Arthurian fiction. This isn't the best I've ever read, but it is definitely on the "must read" list.
