In Camelot's Shadow [Paperback]

Sarah Zettel (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 24, 2010

From the wilds of Moreland to the court of Camelot, a woman searches for her true powers... Fleeing from the knowledge that her father had promised her to an evil sorcerer, Risa of the Morelands refused to be a sacrifice. Armed with her bow and her confidence, she swore to evade the wicked Euberacon's claim. And when she stumbled upon Sir Gawain, returning to Camelot to warn of a plot against the kingdom, she thought she'd discovered the perfect place to hide. Surely the sorcerer Euberacon would not approach her at court? Now ensnared with court and political intrigue, Risa is out of her element. And Euberacon has forced a strong transformation spell upon her. There might be one chance left to save kingdom and soul -- but it would take all the strength and power she had.... "Absorbing and exciting...[Sarah Zettel is] a writer to watch, a writer with a gift for character and situation, a writer who can keep you turning those pages as breathlessly as ever you have before." -- ANALOG

Editorial Reviews

Review

"Absorbing and exciting . . ." -- Analog --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 290 pages
• Publisher: Wildside Press (April 24, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1434404188
• ISBN-13: 978-1434404183
• Product Dimensions: 6 x 9 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 14.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (29 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,816,055 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Shallow and Contrived, May 31, 2004

By 

D. E Sweet "P.Diddy" (La Jolla, CA. USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: In Camelot's Shadow (Paperback)

From the summary, this book looks promising. Usually all we get to read about are the tales of Arthur, Lancelot, and Guenivere, and so I was interested in reading a tale about Gawain.
The book centers around the young woman, Risa of the Morelands who flees her home in order to excape the evil wizard, Euberacon, and of course is rescued by Gawain.
Immediately Gawain falls in love with the beautiful, brave, intelligent, perfect, amazing, adorable, magnificent Risa, and as the two head back to Camelot, Risa falls in love with the handsome, charming, witty, brave, one-of-a kind Gawain. Upon their arrival, Gawain promptly proposes after what- a week or two?
The rest of the book follows Risa who is at last captured by Euberacon who for some reason has decided that Risa is the key to killing the Empress Theodora, Empress of Byzantium (don't ask- I was confused to). Being the brave and romantic knight that he is, Gawain sets out to follow her, but gets side tracked by the green knight who he is sure, by some holy instinct, that the green knight has answers to Risa's location.
While I can't tell you the sickly sweet ending, all of course works out, and they live happily ever after.

I had many problems with this book. For one, Risa is the most boring main character I have ever had te "pleasure" to read about. She is perfect in every possible way, except for the fact that she breaks down in tears far too often (however, Gawain seems to like this as he spends half his time comforting her). On the back cover, Risa is described as courageous, yet I have to question this as whenever she and/or Gawain are attacked by saxons who are randomly traipsing around England, or Euberacon who is the typical bad guy with absolutely so clear motivation, all she does is cry and scream for the wonderful Gawain to save her. ALright, in the begining she does kill a couple Saxons, but then spends the next five pages in *yawn* tears. Sarah Zettel, the author, needs to learn that an interesting character is not one that is absoluetly perfect. An interesting character is somebody with a flaw, not neccesarily one that makes them evil or completely annoying, but one that makes the character interesting and un-predictable.
And another thing, Zettel's descriptions are laughable. With stuff like... "Guenivere's chambers opened like a summer meadow..." and "her body was like a summer sapling, and her clothes were like fall's leaves...", it is hard not to rush to the nearest bathroom.
And Gawain. Alright, I realize he is supposed to be the perfect man, as anybody can see after reading _Sir Gawain and the Green Knight_. But in Camelot's shadow, he is turned into a pathetic knight who lives and breathes for Risa, and frequently launches into long tirades about how perfect she is. Furthermore, he falls inlove with her in a matter of weeks, which is obviously not realistic at all.
And finally, Euberacon is such a boring "bad guy." Like most bad guys, he has no redeaming qualities, which makes him so boring, and it's so obvious that you're supposed to hate him. Darth Vader has always been such a popular bad guy because he has redeaming qualities, and things that make the reader, well, viewer empathize with him.

So, in conclusion, I would reccomend this book to people who like reading books about beautiful, supposedly brave people who of course fall for each other within weeks and are tormented by weird sorcerors who don't really know what they want. However, to all others, I would only reccomend that you buy this book if you have friends you can read it to and laugh with. But better yet, find something better to read. I would suggest _Queen of Camelot_, and if you're into Gawain, _Sir Gawain and the Green Knight_.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars A failed attempt at a new Arthurian "legend", June 17, 2004

By 

E. Gordon - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Camelot's Shadow (Paperback)

I love the story of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere, but I'm always on the lookout for new angles on it. Finding Sarah Zettel's book on the shelf of my local bookstore, I bought it, eager to read about the story from a different point of view.

I was, however, very disappointed by Zettel's attempt at a new take on the old tale. From the beginning, when the evil sorcerer Euberacon vows to save Risa's father's wife, in exchange for her firstborn child (Risa), the book seems less about semi-historical fiction, and more about fantasy. I call the time period "semi-historical fiction," because although magic does play a large part, it is rarely the sort of flashy magic I associate with fantasy. Not so much here, but later on, Euberacon's brand of sorcery steps outside what could have worked with the historical time period, into something utterly fantastical and bizarre, that I would not associate with King Arthur.

Zettel's attempts to create a believable female heroine in the time period fall flat. She gives Risa so many virtues and so few vices, Guinevere seems a boring and tedious housewife in comparison - not that I have anything good to say about Risa. She attempts to make Risa and Gawain's love semi-parallel to Arthur's and Guinevere's (without the whole Lancelot angle, of course, since Risa and Gawain will be together forever), in that tragedy seems to mar their perfect romance. I can appreciate writing that models the old writing, where ladies and their knights were without flaw, and love was pure, but every time I think this is what Zettel did intentionally, she has Risa or Gawain crack an inane joke, and they both start laughing.

Her attempts to make Risa and Gawain more "human" fail, in my opinion. To me they seem like unbelievable characters, although more often than not, they annoyed me, simply because they seemed too perfect. If Risa couldn't help Gawain on the battlefield? It was not becuase she was too scared, it was because she had to save the destitute refugees. Gawain gave into temptation once before, yes, but after realizing his love for Risa he easily pushes it away, gaining the information he needs to save his lady love.

The last third of the book was even worse for me than the first two thirds combined. Here, Risa is captured by Euberacon, undergoing her own angst-filled "torture" so bizarre it seems laughable. To rescure Risa, Gawain has to go on his own "Green Knight" quest, which is barely recognizable, since Zettel puts in so many of her own, made-up characters the whole intent of Gawain's journey is mutilated.

I won't spoil the ending, but it too disappointed me. Once again, too fantastical for my historical tastes.

There are some positive parts to the book. Kerra, Morgan's servant (and the only semi-believable character of Zettel's creation), is the only reason I did not give this book one star, along with some of Zettel's descriptions of the Saxon camps. Kerra has a background that makes her present, ambitious personality believable, and in the Saxon camps, their hesitation is revealed. Go against Arthur, or keep what little peace they have, and the heads of their sons who are in Arthur's care? The chief is under Kerra's sorcery, which seems the only magic in the whole book that fits with the Arthurian style of sorcery.

Overall, this book had a few good features, but I found the two main characters incredibly overdone and annoying, and the general writing style mediocre at best. The idea of a different take on the Arthurian legend is a good one, but one that Zettel fails to carry out with any sort of believability.

12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Nice Twist, August 15, 2004

By 

Ann Smith "Mezzo Lion" (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: In Camelot's Shadow (Paperback)

To Begin with, it is true that many details in this book will disagree with "Le Morte d'Arthur" but frankly, after countless books and movies on the subject, I think we're all ready for a change.

One of the best things about this book is that it doesn't focus on one of the well-known characters of the Arthurian legends. True, the name Gawain is known, but he has always been in Lancelot's Shadow. And while the book's protagonist, Risa, will undoubhtedly have no effect on the eventual downfall of Camelot, it is interesting to read her story with the background of Camelot.

I also found Zettel did a good job in making her characters seem believable (mostly). I liked Gawain as a somewhat arrogant ladies man, and Sir Kay added some disruptance to the Arthurian court with his brutal wit. Euberacon was simply villanous, but at least his thoughts were divided between finding Risa and seeking revenge.

This story is a compelling read, with a somewhat cliched ending and an obvious setup for future Camelot novels. It is not really thought provoking, but an excellent way to spend an afternoon and see Camelot from a different perspective.