Customer Reviews

Firelord

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4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

I recently discovered that I had somehow misplaced this book. Thankfully I am able to purchase another via Amazon.com--or, at least, that is the game plan. As such, this is the reason why I presently find myself at this place, and for no other reason I have decided to place my thoughts here for you review.

Now, if you are reading this, I presume you are considering reading/purchasing/obtaining Mr. Godwin's novel. Let me give you a bit of advice. It is simply the best retelling of the Arthurian legend I have come across. Moreover, it is not only one of the best novels I have read, but one of my favorites. I rank it along with Herbert's Dune, McCullogh's The Grass Crown, Steakley's Armor, Heinlein's Starship Troopers, Forester's Mr. Midshipman Hornblower, Niven's Ringworld, and LeGuin's A Wizard of Earthsea--all old time favorites.

To be sure, others may have a different view. But let me give you more to think about.

You should note that this book has received a number of awards--though I am unable to name a single one at this time. You will discover their identity when you get your copy of the book.

I have read this book every two years since I first picked it up in the early 1980s. While my copy is regrettably quite dog-eared and now mysteriously lost, it maintained a proud place in my library.

My knowledge of the Arthurian legend stems from what I consider to be an extensive review of literature on the genre. I even took a class on the subject way back when in college through my alma mater's Arthurian studies department (yep, they actually had such a thing--though I pursued aero/astro engineering). It was the only book the professor recommended, which gave me a rewarding feeling for I had already read it several times before hearing such.

I rank this book as an exceptional novel and give it my highest recommendation. It is a rare find indeed.

This book is a must read for any fans of Arthurian myth, Parke Godwin, or just Wales itself (I happen to like all three). All the characters, from Artos himself to Lord Trystan of Castle Dore, are given new depth, character, and emotions. A remarkably realistic look at the 'history' that might have caused the myth. As Godwin says, it might not be what happened, but it's what could have, and what should have.

Not only is the position taken by Godwin, "I, Arthur, King of the Britons, ... want to write of us the way we were," a thoroughly intriguing guide to the approachable side of the legendary King, but Godwin's skill with words is sheer brilliance. Godwin's prose makes so much poetry look anemic. _Firelord_ has the battles, the love stories, the magic, the history, the characters -- all things that are the heart and soul of Arthurian legend. This book will be the cause for hysteric laughter, broken sobs, dramatic contemplation, and absolute tension during the thrills of the chase, as it were. If I were only allowed to own one Arthurian book this would be it [my apologies to Mallory et al.]. -- Camala M. Rya

A quick & satisfying portrayal of Arthur the Romanized Celt who halted, for a brief time, the inexorable Saxon advance which ultimately gave us England & Wales. Not overly steeped in the fantastic and the "hard-to-believe", it reads "true" to the few historical sources and the background material we have of this time today. And it offers just a touch of mystery: Merlin appears as a vision who makes himself known to Arthur at crucial moments in his life (to guide him toward his destiny) while the Faerie folk are presented as the primitive and diminutive stone-age remnants of the first men to inhabit the British Isles (w/all the "magic" of such primitive peoples and the fear of the unknown they may inspire among the ignorant). This tale depicts a very convincing Romano/British world, fighting against the insistent thrust of the newer, land-hungry Germanic peoples. Arthur & his companions are a convincing crew, as well, as they move through the old legends but w/a modern spin. My main quibble is with the dream-like experiences of Arthur among the Faerie folk. I couldn't quite see why he should have felt "out of time" or forgotten his own kind and self while in their midst, nor did their existence seem at all the idyllic sort which Arthur appears to experience among them. Maybe its just my modern prejudices showing through, but I thought the author included this stuff more in the spirit of a pro-forma nod to the legendary magic, to explain it to us moderns, because what, afterall, is an Arthurian tale without its mysterious wizard and enchantresses? Yet it's ultimately unconvincing & rather silly. Living in filthy hovels in the earth among the Faerie, surrounded by one's cattle and sheep may be okay to those who haven't lived differently, but few will choose it when they have other options. Arthur's difficulty in forsaking this life because of its spiritual quality just didn't ring true. (Witness the rapid demise of this form of life wherever primitive nomads encounter more modern lifestyles in our time.) Still, this provides the author one means of imparting what he seems to believe are the necessary, traditional magic and fantasy elements. While my preferences lean toward books which truly smell of their times (and this one is an historical/fantasy novel told by an Arthur with a deceptively modern sensibility), I thought it actually did work, and that it manages to convince and carry the reader into a reasonable facsimile of what Arthurian Britain may have been like. Not all that easy a task, as numerous failed Arthur tales have shown us. -- Stuart W. Mirsky (mirsky@ix.netcom.com

This is by far my favorite book of all time (followed closley by Tolkiens "Lord of the Rings" and Goldmans "the Princess Bride". This is the kind of book that will leave a lasting inprint on your soul. Passages like, "Rest you gentle, sleep you sound", "Lancelots not the only one who counts",the way Trystan refers to Arthur as "my commit" and the infamous opening paragraph "Catch the lightning, friend. Chain the wind." those are things that will be with me all my life, images that will apear in my dreams and come to my lips when i least expect him. I just saw the movie "King Arthur" and i came home and read "Firelord" The way Godwin writes can not be contested, cannot be matched, cannot be out done let alone reproduced.
one thing i feel compelled to add, this is the version of Trystan that i fell in love with, now i'm a bit of a Trystan junkie. How can any woman resist that screaming harp like the sea?

After far too many retellings, overtellings, and revisionist reworkings, King Arthur was in desperate need of this book. Godwin does away with almost all the mystic trappings of the legend, and creates a historically inspired Arthur and Camelot, using the real Britain of the post-Roman era as the setting. Most of the elements of the legend - from Lancelot's affair with Guinevere to the Holy Grail - are in here, but in forms that leave off the excessive romance and the excessive piety.

At the heart of it is Arthur, a man above men but still a human. His narration is full of wit and of regal bearing. Here's an Arthur who could lead men but who is someone we'd want as a friend. The best elements of the old legends are in him, with only a touch of the modern "feet of clay" that too many writers insist on giving him.

This is probably the best retelling of Arthur since Tennyson, and is a must-read for Arthurians, for English history buffs, and for those who love a good yarn.

Not even "The Mists of Avalon" can touch it.

Arthur himself narrates, and while his voice and sensibilities may strike some as too modern and cynical, he fits the portrayal of a chaotic, Romanized society awaiting its inevitable doom. Arthur also provides an immediate hook into the story, which contains some of the most recognizably human characters I have yet found in an epic. Finally the knights are real, the whole bloody lot of abrasive, pigheaded men torn between loyalty to their clans and to the whole of Britain. Finally the women are real; Morgana is a very interesting twist on a Faerie queen, and Guinevere, long cast as a scheming adulteress or a weepy deadweight, at last stands as Arthur's equal and his most worthy opponent. As Arthur says, most kings have wives, but he had a queen. (Btw, if you like her here, read "Beloved Exile.")

The tale is a bit nonstandard, in that Arthur's father Uther is merely a Romanized noble, not the king of Britain; Arthur suceeds Ambrosius directly. Merlin is mostly absent, as is any overt magic, and when he does appear is anything but a bearded old man. Religion is largely a catch-as-catch-can issue in the complex, often self-destructive British society; there is also no Grail.

Instead, we get a look at a gritty, tumultuous period in the history of Britain through the eyes of a flawed, ambitious man who develops vision and compassion while stumbling towards true nobility. I cannot speak for historical accuracy, but the way things fall apart is stunning in its subtle inevitability; the characters react to each other and their environment in ways that seem natural, not forced by a preordained plot. Arthur and Guinevere's last effort to redeem themselves and patch things together has such desperate, moving potential that I find myself pleading with fate each time the story marches, naturally and relentlessly, to Camlan, where Modred fulfills his destiny.

And the ending is priceless.

Firelord ranks at the top of "must reads" for the lover of Arthurian stories. Published about the same time as "Mists of Avalon", this book provides as perspective from the participants such as Morgana, close to the way it would have been perceived in the "old ways". The book provides you with some insight as to why the old ones were viewed as faery and why they supported Arthur. The links to recently departed Romans permenate the book, the portrayal of Guenevere and the Knights is refreshing and holds the reader's interest. The cover art on the 1982, Bantam paperback is one of the most interesting depictions of Arthur, Morgana and Gunenevre, that you will ever see

Full of realistic characters and sweeping prose, this book is Parke Godwin's best work. Godwin takes the facts from history, the best of myth and lore, and a sense of greater guiding forces and combines them to make a stunning vision of how it might have happened, how it might have been. If you have enjoyed any of Parke Godwin's other books, this book is one you must own

This is one of my favorite versions of the legend, and one I recommend for anyone interested in Arthurian legend. It's the only story I know of told in Arthur's voice; most stories are told from the point of view of a character around Arthur. Trust me, you won't want to put it down.