41 of 43 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not the ordinary Arthurian retelling, October 24, 2000
This review is from: The King's Peace (The King's Peace, Book 1) (Hardcover)
People who are looking for a retelling of the Arthurian legends are going to be sadly disappointed by this book. While it has an inspiration stemming from the aftermath of the Roman withdrawal from Britain, it is "Arthurian" only in the sense that Guy Gavriel Kay's "Sailing to Sarantium" is Byzantine. It's not a retelling of either history or legend. Rather, it is the creation of a different society (as in the dramatically different status of women from that of the historical European early Middle Ages), a different religion (the religion of the White God has many parallels to Christianity, but they are not exact), and a different set of developments, with only loose parallels to the original.
From my personal perspective, the most refreshing aspect was the absence of a Merlin-figure and the author's heroic restraint from turning the queen, Elenn, into Guinevere. Overall, there is refreshingly little romanticism.
The voice of the writer, that of Sulien, is that of an elderly (very elderly, age 93) woman looking backwards. The style is an excellent approximation of late Latin chronicles. There is violence, there is heroism, and there is also, praises be, a high valuation placed on common sense and practicality.
The ending leaves open the possibility of a sequel. I hope it comes soon.
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26 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good first novel, December 24, 2000
This review is from: The King's Peace (The King's Peace, Book 1) (Hardcover)
Jo Walton brings fantasy to a retelling of the King Arthur legend. In her version, the gods are very real and present. The White God (the counterpart to the God of the Christians) claims to rule over all, but the other gods resist.
Jarnish raiders (counterpart to the Saxons and Angles who invaded post-Roman Britain) continue to attack AlTanagiri (Britain) and catch 17-year old Sulien ap Gwien and rape her. She vows revenge, then joins with Urdo (Arthur) and his horsemen (and women). Urdo is trying to carve out a true peace where the Jarns can live in peace with the traditional inhabitants, subject to a common set of laws and with respect to all the gods. He is, of course, opposed by both Jarns and many of his own people who see his acceptance of the invaders as betrayal.
Jo Walton chooses to present this story as a retrospective from an aging Sulien--a technique that cannot help but distance the reader. Too, she occasionally slips into a fairly ponderous version of English, possibly to represent the mythical nature of her story. Walton's story, with its mythical power and its appeal to very real emotions, overcomes these devices to speak to the reader.
This is a highly credible first novel. I look forward to future works by Walton.
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27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Satisfying Fantasy about the Building of a Nation, October 18, 2000
This review is from: The King's Peace (The King's Peace, Book 1) (Hardcover)
The King's Peace is an absorbing book, full of action and battles and treachery, which nonetheless reads almost quietly. This is because it is at heart about a rather philosophical subject: the creation of a nation. In this case, a nation is seen as a people united in "Peace", obeying a "Law".
The book is fairly obviously based in some sense on the Matter of Britain: the story of King Arthur. But it seems a mistake to make too much of this source material. It is not intended as a strict retelling of the Arthurian tales, nor even as a fantastical retelling of a version of the real history of Arthur, or of other kings of his time. It is a fantasy set in a world shaped much like our world, in a time corresponding pretty closely to the 7th Century after Christ, and specifically set on an island resembling Great Britain. But while for some characters a corresponding character can be found in the Arthurian tales, not all the characters can be easily mapped to the legendary characters, nor do the available mappings fit perfectly, nor do all the incidents in the book correspond to incidents from the legends. And the world of the book is neither our world, nor a fantasy world corresponding to traditional versions of the Arthurian tales. This novel needs to be judged on its own virtues: the Arthurian echoes are certainly there, and perhaps they are unavoidable in a novel by a contemporary Welshwoman dealing with the subject matter of making a nation of the people of Great Britain, but they are echoes of inspirational material, not any sort of strict template.
The story itself is told by Sulien ap Gwien, a woman warrior, daughter of the King of a small part of the island of Tir Tanagiri. (Her home is geographically cognate to Southern Wales, just as Tir Tanagiri is cognate to Great Britain, but never mind that.) The story opens with her brutal rape by six invading "Jarnsmen", and the murder of her brother. She escapes to find that her home has been raided and burned. Traveling to Caer Tanaga, the capital, to request help from Urdo, the young High King, she stumbles upon a skirmish between some more Jarnsmen and some defenders of the land. After proving her skill in this chance-met battle, she meets the King, and is immediately enchanted by his leadership skills and charisma. Thus she enlists as an armiger for the King, eventually arising to command of the King's own "ala" (roughly speaking, a regiment of cavalry). The rest of the story follows the ensuing couple of decades, as after many years of war the invading Jarnsmen and Isarnagans are subdued, as political unity is urged on the many different small kingdoms of Tir Tanagiri, and as a rule of law is enforced. Throughout Sulien's story is involving: the book is always interesting to read. It's a bit slack structurally, somewhat episodic, often skipping years in a sentence, and featuring two climaxes, indeed, structured so that the two halves tell rather different stories. This is a minor quibble, though. It certainly calls for a sequel (and one is planned), but the conclusion to this book is satisfying. The main character, Sulien, as well as the King, Urdo, Urdo's wife Elenn, and a few more, are well-portrayed, though some of the large cast of minor characters do blur together somewhat. The prose is clear, couched in a rather simple, declarative, fashion that seems appropriate for the narrative of a woman whose main interests are war and horses.
Of significant interest is the subtly different world of the book. The book is a fantasy, and gods and magic are real. There are healing charms, and fertility spells, and apparently effective evocations of the gods. There are several different religions, including a close analog to Christianity (with neat differences: e.g. the main symbol is a pebble, symbolic of the "White God" having been stoned to death instead of crucified), and also including a land worship that is tied close to the families of the local kings. The magic system is purposely limited in scale, so that it is plausible that the overall feel of this world and its technology is similar to general conceptions of 7th Century Britain. I found this very effective in giving the world a sense of being real, and plausible, and consistent, while also making the world definitely fantastical.
A very satisfying first novel.
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