Customer Reviews

Queen of Camelot

5 star:		(45)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I have searched and searched for a great Arthurian retelling and have been disappointed with the ones I have ventured into reading. I was somewhat skeptical when I picked up Nancy McKenzie's Queen of Camelot. This two-novels-in-one compilation is based on Guenevere, from her point of view, in first person narrative, and is 623 pages long in very small print. I didn't want to waste my time reading something this big only to be disappointed at the end. I nevertheless gave the book a whirl. Glad I did! This is one of the most compelling and beautifully told retells I have ever read! McKenzie gives us a detailed story about Guenevere from her point of view. She tells us about the prophecy on the day she was born, how she spends her childhood as an adventurous tomboy, how people fear her and treat her differently as she grows up, how the knights around her battle with the Saxons, and how all of the prophecies come true. She meets Arthur, marries him and later has a love affair with Lancelot, something based on the original tale. But the novel has so much more than that. You will see how this story of magic, prophecies, love and betrayal transpires in an altered, detailed and beautiful light. There are many twists throughout the novel.

Guenevere is developed in such an abundant, three-dimensional way in this novel. She is no longer just the pagan beauty who marries a Christian, betrays him and destroys all of Camelot as a result. She is a complex character with flaws as well as virtues in this offering. Arthur is also written in a more interesting, compelling way here, but it is Lancelot that once again blows me away. I have always romanticized Sir Lancelot and McKenzie does not disappoint me in her version of the loyal, chivalrous knight. Merlin and Morgan Le Fay are written with much complexity and nuance as well. This novel, however, does not focus so much on the love triangle between Guenevere, Arthur and Lancelot as much as her inability to supply an heir for Arthur and her affection for Arthur's bastard son, the traitorous Mordred. The overall story is magnificent. Once again, I say that McKenzie did a wonderful job bringing Guenevere to life. She turns this character into a strong, intelligent, complex, three-dimensional, flesh and blood woman, someone you will feel a great deal of affinity with. She is not portrayed as a simple-minded, traitorous hussy in this one! I loved the fanciful storytelling style that made me turn the pages until the wee hours of the night. Some of my friends who read the book along with me complained about it being too long-winded. I didn't think it was long-winded at all. In fact, I wish it had been longer. I loved this book and I look forward to giving Grail Prince a whirl.

I didnt know what to expect when getting this book but Nancy Mckenzie has written it so smoothly that anyone can read it and understand it. Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful.... what else can I say. Best book I have read in years!

Although it does not correctly correspond to the true tale of King Arthur (so says my boyfriend according to the book "The Once and Future King"), I, too, greatly enjoyed this bittersweet book depicting the great legend of Camelot, King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and others. I loved the attention Ms. McKenzie put to the details of everything she wrote about. There were times that I wished the book would go faster but it kept my interest enough to be finished within three days. At the end, I mourned at the characters' fate and I wished that somehow they were real and I could change the way things ended. Nonetheless, it is a truly memorable book, though I don't think I can read the book again because it is too painful to fall in love with the characters and then bear their fate again..

Queen of Camelot by Nancy McKenzie was a really good book, and, I know, practically everyone says that, but it is. I had to read it for school purposes. I'm glad they assigned it, actually, and now I find that Arthurian stuff fascinating. lol. I never knew much about King Arthur until I read this, and now I get it. When you finish the book, it leaves you with a sad, yet hopeful feeling. Oh, it makes me wish that Guinevere, Merlin, and all the characters were true. So, overall, I suggest you read this book, because it's so entertaining.

This book is a great retelling of the classic Arthurian legend, and it kept me turning the pages. I especially liked that almost every character that I have ever encountered from reading other tales of King Arthur made some kind of appearance in this book. McKenzie is a great author and I intend to read "Grail Prince" as soon as I can get my hands on it.

My only problem with this book is the rather annoying "awe factor" that sometimes plagues the protagonists of novels such as these. I hear a lot of people saying Guinevere is a "three-dimensional" and "relatable" woman, but to be honest, I got to the point where I could relate better to Elaine... and that's not good! It seemed the only people who were not absolutely crazy about Gwen were the bad guys, and too many men were in love with her. In this book, she has brains, beauty, wisdom, wit, courage, kindness... this list goes on. It was almost painful for me to read the parts where she is alone with Arthur. It seemed half their conversations consisted of "Gwen, what would I do without you?" or "Gwen, I am the luckiest man alive to have found such a woman," etc. etc. Her love affair with Lancelot was handled delicately, but I didn't think it was believable. Arthur was just too understanding, and Lancelot and Guinevere were too noble.

In all, the pace of this story was very good and the storytelling aspect was excellent. I can tell McKenzie put a lot into her characterizations, but to me, these people were too good to be true. From what I have read, however, Galahad has a lot of potential as a more compelling hero.

Still, I would reccomend this book to anyone.

I'm only half-way through this book and I felt I needed to say that this is one of the best Arthurian "woman-based" novels that I have ever read. In fact, I read Ms. McKenzie's newer novel about Galahad first, and then went back to Queen of Camelot. These are books that are meant to be savored from word to word. I have been a Marion Zimmer Bradley fan from the first time I picked up the Mists of Avalon and this is the first time I've felt that a book is even close to its equal in its understanding of the women of the Arthurian legend and their side of the conflict. Guenivere is portrayed here as a woman of the time with genuine frailties that she overcomes with courage and strength. She is as realistic to me as Morgaine was in the Mists of Avalon and yet this is an entirely different method of story-telling (and more historically accurate).
I strongly recommend that anyone who has read the Mists of Avalon read this book as well. As I have said, it is written from a different perspective, but it is no less compelling in its own way.

Numerous retellings of the Arthurian legend had been published - with the exception of the Mists of Avalon, none of them can sustain a reader's attention while being faithful to the original legend. Truth be told, it must be extremely difficult to pull off a novel when its readers already know the plot back to front, and that is one area where Queen of Camelot spetacularly exceeds. Though having read many versions of the story already, Queen of Camelot is one novel I could not put down: this book shed light on Arthur's queen, who was portrayed as a weak and moral-less woman who brought about the downfall of Camelot, sculpting her into a strong and just queen. This novel also loks favorably at the character of Arthur - who was pretty much ignored in the other books. Together, the pair worked Camelot into the height of its glory, and its fall was due to a cruel twist of fate, in which Guinevere, Arthur, and Lancelot were victims of.

This is the must-read retelling of the story. I suggest reading the Mists of Avalon in addition to this. I have also read Rosalind Miles' Guenever series but personally I didn't think much of it. Alice Borchardt's version, fascinating by itself, was unfaithful to the original story.

I read this book every single summer (sometimes twice in a row)! It is easy to read but a beautiful and wonderful story. Nancy McKenzie is an amazing writer. The characters are so developed and the story so complicated and wonderful.

READ IT!

There is not much I can say to convince anyone of reading this book, that the other reviewers have not already said. The story of Guinevere and Arthur with all that is Camelot is presented in this novel, but the whole story is new and not just a retell. You actually get to know the characters and love them. It is not simply about Guinevere, it is about those that she loved so dearly and those that loved her, explaining why their love as family, friends and simply human beings united them in the struggle for a peaceful and truly happy life. Of course we do not always count for the misrepresented realities of others and their hatred, which is what ruined the lives of Arthur, Guinevere, and the wonderful land that was Camelot. You will laugh, you will cry, and you will hurt with Gwen. You will understand why so many poets and storytellers including the men of her story loved her, and you will love her too, and sometimes hate her just a little bit for being so damn perfect or too childish, but she is a strong woman telling the story of all those men who have ignited the imaginations of many writers. You will love this book, the only thing that I hated was that it ended. Praise for McKenzie, and Thank you. This is one of the best Arthurian novels ever!

Good Arthurian fiction seems to be a rare find these days. So much of it is inane, cringe-worthy fantasy where it seems the author doesn't know the first thing about history or the story of King Arthur itself. Historical inaccuracy, stereotypical neo-pagan and Wiccan themes, love scenes that are cheesy and reminiscent of bad romance novels, and a continuous undercurrent of despair and sorrow are at the heart of these books, all of which make reading them nearly unbearable. The authors often forget that, despite its tragic downfall, Camelot was a place of joy, justice, and peace, which is why it is still famous today.

I digress. Nancy Mckenzie has presented a version of Arthur's tale that is rich with new themes while still staying true to the legend, characters that are endearing, and first-rate storytelling that is well-received. It is told from Guinevere's perspective and she is the first Guinevere I have ever cared about. She is smart, strong, kind, and beautiful, while still having flaws to make her human. The character of Arthur as he is portrayed in this novel is also one of the best I've seen him. He is the man every woman wants. Mckenzie shows him as a strong, powerful ruler that has a quiet strength and kindness which makes him so revered. Lancelot is more likeable than usual as well, his passion for Guinevere more subdued than normal, but still very alive...their love tempered only by their greater love for Arthur.

The drama and action of the novel are enticing and thrilling to read without being dragged out too much. The novel is definitely more fantasy than history, although Mckenzie does present historical fact in a subtle manner.

I didn't want this book to end. It is definitely one of the best books I've ever read, and certainly among the best of Arthurian fiction. I'm very excited to read Mckenzie's other works and I highly recommend 'Queen of Camelot' if you're trying to escape the repetition and corniness of bad historical ficiton.