Customer Reviews

Enemy of God (The Arthur Books #2)

5 star:		(49)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This is my first encounter with Richard Cornwell. It has definitely piqued my interest to read the other two volumes in the trilogy and to investigate other books by this author.

If you are familiar with Grail literature and with such classics as Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Le Morte d'Arthur, etc., you will have certain preconceptions about the major characters that are here transmorgrified by Cornwell. The chivalrous Arthur is transformed into a more human, too-trusting, well-meaning leader of a tribe. Guenivere is a scheming, conceited megalomaniac, who mellows somewhat as the story progesses. The narrator's (Derfel's) harshest judgment is reserved for Lancelot. He is definitely not the same Lancelot-du-lac that we have come to know from Mallory. He's more like the 5th century version of a matinee idol. He's all image, no substance. He's not someone to be counted on in the heat of battle. Merlin is a rascally magus whose main concern lies in stemming the tide of Cristianity that he views as an invasion of the old order. Cornwell is obviously making judgement calls here, but he's not doing it purely for the sake of novelty. This is a thoroughly-researched, as well as an eminently well-written work.

Tolkien fans who have been turned-off by the pale imitators that have attempted to emulate the master's style will no doubt find many parallels in Cornwell. That's not to imply that Cornwell is imitative by any means. He just handles prose almost as adroitly as his predecessor. If there were a worthy Tolkien successor writing today, though in a slightly different genre, it would have to be Cornwell. Cornwell has created a truly heroic saga, and has left this reader looking forward eagerly to the other two volumes in the trilogy. Enemy of God is definitely several cuts above the mass of historical fiction being churned out today. The man can write!

Having read Caxton's Mallory's Morte d'Arthur, and a fair number of Middle English scraps of Arthurian lore, I had been looking forward to finding a good modern retelling for quite some time. Frankly, the originals are striking conceptually, but relatively unrewarding as literature -- one keeps thinking, while reading them, that they would make a good book. But it seemed to much to hope for -- too difficult a task for nearly any author to achieve an even partial success.

Cornwell has succeeded fully.

The characters are full and real and strikingly well conceived, even while being a fair reflection (in a broad sense) of the original texts with which I am familiar. The actions of the characters make perfect sense in context, and their actions are complex and difficult to foresee, as they should be. The story is firmly grounded in the realities 5th Century Britain, which gives it a feeling of, well, realism. The author clearly not only knows his history, but his strategy and his philosophy, yet he never comes across to the reader as overbearing or heavyhanded -- these essential items for an epic like this are kept in the background, where they should be.

You get the idea. Cornwell has done it, and really done it right. It's a big story, and it hasn't been told very well for a long, long time -- and now Cornwell has retold it best of all.

Please direct comment or flames to heliwotdabny@aol.com

Being a long term fan of Cornwell's Richard Sharpe series didn't prepare me for how much I would enjoy the Warlord Trilogy - of which this is the second book. The main character, Derfel Cadarn, is a masterful achievement. This retelling of the 'King' Arthur story as gritty, though imagined 'history' rather than fairytale legend, creates a stunning human saga as gripping and emotionally satisfying as any piece of fiction I have ever read. Cornwell's use of language is superb and each sentence is so well crafted that I was tempted to read the book out loud. I loved the story, the characters, the sturcture of the book, the irony gained by having the book narrated by Derfel in his old age - as an unbelieving priest who is pretending to be writing a translation of the gospels while actually writing Arthur's story as an entertainment for the young queen.

This is a fabulous book - as are the other two. Cornwell obviously just gets better and better. If you haven't read any of his many books, this is a great place to start. I highy recommend it.

Excellent continuation to "The Winter King." Cornwell has done a really good job creating the characters for this series. They, in combination with the adventure and romance, make this book thoroughly enjoyable. I am not the fastest reader in the world and work quite a number of hours per day, but I finished this book in less than a week.

This book, as the first, is narrated by Derfel Cadarn (a forgotten personage in Arthurian legend) as a very old monk. He tells his stories of battle as one of Arthur's warlords in Arthurs quest to achieve a peaceful Britain. At the same time he tells the story of the other characters and their life goals, which aren't necessarily the same as Arthurs.

I loved the book. The only reason I didn't give it 5 stars is because I liked the other two even better. This is the best series I have ever read. If you are reading this review means that you are interested in this subject -- so go ahead and buy this series, you'll really enjoy it, I promise.

The Warlord Trillogy is by far the best Arthur novels that I have ever read. Cornwell is a perfect storyteller and historian. In this second novel of Arthur we get plunged deeper into the legend that we all know, but in a very different way. This trillogy is not about magic, dragons and romance, but we see Arthur in a REAL dark ages setting. Cornwell makes this story as if it were really recorded down in history. Merlin, is a druid, not a wizard, he has no magic, though he may think he does. Arthur is not a King, but a Warlord, with a sword that is only said to be magic, but with no proof of it.

These changes make Arthur so much more believible. I personally, as a Medieval studies Major, believe in Arthur, but we have to understand what he was like without the stories we all grew up on. Cornwell has done just that. The most real Arthur and companions you will ever read about.

In Enemy of God, we learn more about the middle of the legends we all know. Arthur still prepairs the throne for the to be king Mordred, while Merlin and Nimue search for the Gold Cauldren in British history. Throughout the story we find new twists to old legends in believable situations and by the end of this second book we are just waiting for the third to pick up.

Kudos for Cornwell. This is a wonderful book. A must have for any fan of Arthur.

Enemy of God is the second book of a trilogy from Bernard Cornwall, and follows The Winter King. The trilogy presents the entire Arthurian Legend from a unique perspective. Erasing the images of a beautiful and pure Camelot, dashing, handsome knights gallant, and even the famous "Round Table", Cornwall tells the tale based on the reality of life in Medievil times. It's a gritty but fascinating revisitation of an ancient legend.
I expected the Enemy of God would have the classic lull that many #2s in a trilogy suffer, but was pleased to find it as gripping as the first book. In the Winter King, the tale is told by a slave[] warrior,[] lord,[] monk: Derfel, who, in his old age, is retelling the tale of old to Queen Igraine. He picks up the tale in The Enemy of God, seamlessly weaving book one into book two. Igraine, who has been steeped in the glorious Arthurian Legend, is sometimes at odds with Derfel's retelling, which gives him the opportunity to break through the embellishments of the bards over the years and tell her what really happened. This was a fantastic tale, and a wonderful read. If you enjoy Arthurian tales, this book is highly recommended.

This book is Cornwell at the top of his form and that should be enough for anyone to rush to buy it. Careful, intricate plotting and good characters who are so good well balanced by the bad characters who are extremely bad. This unprettified version of Arthur and "Camelot" has the ring of veracity to it that so many others have been unable to bring forth. As is his hallmark, Cornwell lays out the weft of this tapestry at the end of the work and that bit of reality is a fine mint to end this sumptuous meal. I have already ordered Warlord III hoping to see the bad guys get their final comeuppance.

As far as the middle parts of trilogies go, "Enemy of God" is more "Attack of the Clones" than "The Empire Strikes Back." By that I mean it helps move the story from the beginning (Part 1) to the end (Part 3) but by itself isn't as interesting as either of those. The action in this second installment of Cornwell's tale of a 5th Century AD Arthur is largely political, with only one major battle--and a short one at that--punctuated by a few smaller skirmishes. Instead, "Enemy of God" sets the stage for the climactic battles that await in the final part of the trilogy.

What's important to note here at the start is the difference in Cornwell's Arthur from what people traditionally think of. The traditional Arthur created in the Middle Ages was a Christian hero, as evidenced by the quest for the Holy Grail. Cornwell's Arthur though is an agnostic pagan, who makes an enemy of the early Christian church in Britain by insisting the church pay taxes to help him fund expensive wars to keep Saxon invaders from taking over the land. For that matter the church in those days was far different than most churches today, with far less organization and rituals akin to those of revivals.

In this 5th Century world after the Romans have gone but before the Saxons, William the Conqueror, the Tudors, and so forth, paganism defined by the Druids is fading while the newer religion of Christianity is rising. This creates bitter rivalries and conflicts within Britain even as Arthur struggles to bring peace to the land.

After the bloody battle of Lugg Vale that ended Part 1 of the trilogy, the warlord Arthur sets about the business of uniting Britain (what we'd think of as England and Wales) to fight the invading Saxon horde. This he does with political alliances and a Round Table oath, but the war against the Saxons goes terribly wrong thanks to a betrayal by the cowardly, vainglorious Lancelot.

However, a peace is established, during which time the conflicts turn from military to religious. As the year 500 approaches the Christians believe Christ is set to return and thus all unbelievers must be converted or otherwise eliminated. Meanwhile the Druid Merlin sets out to find the 13 "Treasures of Britain", including a daring raid into a wild Irish kingdom to find a magic cauldron. (The cauldron story is like the equivalent of the search for the Holy Grail.) And while Arthur has peace, chaos threatens thanks to a betrayal by the one he loves most. (Anyone who knows anything about the Arthurian saga knows to whom this refers.)

As I said at the beginning, most of the action in this book is of the dramatic kind as the Christians and pagans clash and various people scheme for control of Britain. Our narrator, the brave warrior Derfel, is caught up in the middle of everything, including the quest for the cauldron--how convenient! The middle of the story then tends to sag, something Cornwell tries to remedy by weaving the tragic tale of Tristan and Iseult (or Tristan and Isolde as it was in the recent movie) into his Arthurian tale. As interesting as much of this is, it's hard not to get anxious for the climactic finish you know is coming.

Still, it's a necessary piece of the puzzle and an interesting study of life in the Dark Ages. Christians might find it especially interesting and should certainly find some parallels between these ancestors and current society. Certainly the idea of religions battling each other is something we all know something about these days. Maybe if we all had a little more of Arthur's pragmatism about the subject we'd have more of a Camelot.

That is all.

Note: This is more a review of the series itself, NO SPOILERS****


I was originally given the first book (The Winter King) as a gift when I was about 13 years old (about 9 years ago). I read it and loved it, but I had no idea it was part of a trilogy until I was in college. Once I discovered it was a trilogy, I was totally thrilled because not only did it mean I would get to start the first book over again, but that there were THREE books to carry this awesome Arthurian imagining by Mr. Cornwell.

That said, I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and the trilogy as a whole. Derfel Cadarn is one of the best characters in recent memory. I get a little tired of your all-too-common Mary Sues in fiction. Derfel is certainly nothing like this- while he truly grows and becomes a formidable warrior who remains honest and loyal, he never seems perfect and is always a humble knight and a delight to "listen" to. I can't begin to give justice to the characters that Mr. Cornwell has created in Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Nimue, Merlin, and many more. Totally unique, but also completely justified in their own way that is still true to the legend and the possible history.

But enough about the characters.... I initially got into this series because of the action and creativity, and there was PLENTY. I love the detailed battles, the gripping plot changes,etc. To put it simply: I love the action in this series, and there is never a dull moment. If you can forgive yourself for making up the name pronunciations for, I dunno, MOST of the places and people, then that is the only hurdle my friend, and a minuscule and historically accurate one at that.

Please, do yourself a favor, and immerse your mind in the memorable world that Mr. Cornwell has masterfully built.

Great story, lots of research went into this book. so much attention to details that you feel as if you were reading an factional historical account.
I highly recommend it for all Arthurian novel & history buffs