[Cygnet]

Perhaps (?!) not really fantasy, but it does often appeal to the same group of readers. So what is your favourite - and why?

Personally The once and future king is one of mine, it does come very close to the generally accepted "true" story as told by Walt Disney http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/biggrin.gif Merlin (loved the movie with all those "used to be great" actors even more) was great too. Mab is a fantastically (no pun intended) http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/wink.gif funny and clever character..
Other good reads in the genre:

[-]Stephen Lawhead (Pendragon Cycle)
[-]Marion Zimmer Bradley
[-]Jack Vance (Madouc)

Could go on and on...



[This message has been edited by Cygnet (edited June 30, 2000).]

[bookfreak13]

Lets see... my favorites would have to be either The Once and Future King, or Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I also like Le Mort d'Arthur by Sir Thomas Malory.

[Merry]

Mary Stewart's trilogy about Merlin (The Crystal Cave etc) have always stuck in my mind, along with the Mists oh Avalon trilogy, and Stephen Lawhead's Pendragon Cycle. I have not tried Jack Vance, Cygnet - is it good, as I have always loved the Arthurian legends.

[Barbarossa]

Well "the once and future king" is certainly one of my favorites. I liked the "mists of Avalon" but couldn't get into the prequels, and even mists had his weaknesses.

Jack Vance is pretty good, but more based on Arturian motives than really Arturian.

A pretty recent Arturian tirology i imensly liked was Bernard Cornwell's "warlod chronicles" (the winter king, enemy of god, Excalibur), which are a very good attempt to create a "celtic" Artur, far superior to "mists of Avalon" in my opinion.

[Cygnet]

Merry,
Yes, Jack Vance is good, it's not really an Arthur-novel, but tells the story of Lyonesse - the country of origin of Guenevere.

Also, Rosalind Miles has come with a series about Guenevere - provides a refreshing perspective. Seems like every other writer has an opinion on the religious background of the Queen...

Last, like Cornwell's trilogy (NICE!) Jack Whyte has written a series which provides a "historically correct" perspective on the times and places surrounding the Arthurian Legend. (Camulod Chronicles)

Enjoy!

[Alairic]

I've read em all, and id say that my favorite would have to be Jack Whyte's 'Camulod Chronicles.'
Also known as 'A Dream of Eagles' in canadian paperback, i hear.

[Giarc]

I have to agree with the last submitter...Jack Whyte's Dream of Eagles series (as it's known in NZ also) was probably the most powerful of the works mentioned so far that I have read. Quite a different perspective and really shows the transition from Roman Rule to the anarchy of the Dark Ages.
On another note, has anyone read Anne McCaffreys stand alone novel, Horses for the King....(title something like that)....I believe it's supposedly set in Arthurian times. I'd be interested to know whether it's worth reading. http://www.sffworld.com/ubb/smile.gif

[Alairic]

Yeah, i read it.
it's a little young- 'bout a 13 yr old level-
but its OK. it concentrates on arthur as a man, not as a myth or an all-powerful warrior-king. it's told from the viewpoint of a kid who gets recruited- all in all, it's ok- hints of the camulod chronicles when they talk about strategy and cool gimmicks (stirrups and horseshoes)
really horse oriented too.

[wolfshead]

My favourite Arthurian novels:
1) Firelord by Parke godwin (one of only 2 books to make me tearful at the end!)
2) Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff
3) The Merlin Series by Mary Stewart
I also like Lawhead's novels, but not so much the 'Christian' aspects of them. On the other hand I also quite dislike Marion Zimmer Bradley's novel ,MISTS OF AVALON, for its 'fluffy bunny' new-agey brand of paganism! (I liked Mists back in '84 when it first came out but studied ancient British culture since then, and i'm getting a bit tired of seeing the fascinating, bloody but artistic Celts turned into the 'noble savages' of fantasy fic!) I also don't like Persia Woolley--her characters spoke anachronstically; Arthur even said 'are you ok?'!!!Must try the Jack Whyte novels-have heard some good things about them.

[Cadfael]

Lets go to the original, Mallory's Mort de Authur. it is an intresting read. It is not a fantasy book of course... in fact at the time of publication it was considered a history book.

I also like Stephen Lawhead's books... Teliesin, Merlin, Authur and Pendragon.

IMHO the very best adaptation is Mary Stewart's version, if the events happened, they could have happened this way. Merlin had ESP, could do telekenisis, and also had pregocnition. They also (like Lawhead, Bradley) place Aurthur in the right period of English history, The Dark Ages (c450AD). The idea that Aurthur was from the medieaval (excuse awful spelling) is from Tennison's The Idyll's of the King.