The King Arthur Trilogy: The Winter King, Enemy of God, Excalibur (Warlord Chronicles) Kindle Edition

I've read almost all the depictions of the Arthurian Legend, and a lot of Cornwell. I'll discuss the legend first, then Cornwell.

Arthur:
For me to say this is the best ever, I'm basing that statement and evaluation on all the other Arthurian sagas I've read. They range from the courtly, romanticized and mystical--most of which have a distinctly medieval atmosphere.

Arthur, if in fact he existed, lived in the Dark Ages, circa 500 A.D. It wasn't called the Dark Ages for no reason. The Romans had abandoned Britain 150 to 200 years before, leaving behind now-crumbling architecture/technology, a rudimentary concept of class structure, and several religions; most notably Christianity. Now the barely civilized native Britons faced a new, (also barely civilized) steadily encroaching enemy, the Sais (Saxons).

This version of the Arthurian Legend is true to the time period. It presents life as it very probably was in that region of the world. It was dirty, it was short, it was brutal, it was conflicted, it was superstitious. It was not kind, it was not glamorous, it was not colorful or joyful. It was hard. It was the Dark Ages.

Cornwell's rendering of the Arthurian Legend presents a story centering around CONFLICT FOR POWER. The conflicts are three-fold. 1. Paganism (Druidism) vs. Christianity. 2. Britons vs. Saxons.3. Briton kings vs. Briton kings, and Saxon kings vs. Saxon kings.

As far as the Dramatis Persona go, we have the usual suspects in the Arthur tale. Arthur, Guinevear, Lancelot, Merlin, Vivian/Nimue, Galahad, Morgan, Mordred, Uther, Gawain, etc. NONE are as we have seen them before. And they are all given life and deep character development by the narrator, one Derfel, a shield bearer for Arthur.

Cornwell
As I mentioned, I've read a lot of Cornwell. And I have to say this trilogy demonstrates how much he has grown as an author. He has always been one of the best of the British historical novelists, but I have always been put off a bit by his desire to present lengthy and detailed battle sequences. I know there are historical battle buffs galore, but I've never been able to get my head around them. That's just me. Yes, there are lengthy battle sequences in this version of the Arthurian legend, but for once, I wasn't tempted to skim them too much. That's due to overall craft of this mature author.

If I could, I'd give this trilogy a 10 star rating, it's that good.

Be patient with the beginning of this series because it goes on for a while developing the background for the characters in story. It also uses medieval names for people and places which can be difficult to pronounce (even silently) and keep straight through the story. With a bit of concentration and maybe turning back a time or two, it reads well. I think Cornwell gets better as he ages, as is the case for many authors, and his later works seem to flow through the story lines more elegantly. All told, this is a very good book for the person interested in this period of history and it presents the Arthur myth in a new way.

Every now and again a widely received book just doesn’t resonate with me… I thoroughly enjoy the many takes on the Arthurian Legends and this one is well written, the narration is no worse or better than most… But I guess my pea brain really wanted a story that stuck a little closer to the traditional tale of Arthur. The story line is quite active, with lots of goings and comings, the usual sword play, loves won and lost, kingdoms (or at least fiefdoms) rising and falling and the like, but after realizing I’d just listened to a whole CD and couldn’t tell you what I’d just heard I decided I’d have to set it aside… perhaps to try again another time.

Whoever designed the single-spindle packaging obviously came from a locale where one doesn’t listen to audio books in the car… That thing is frustration, or an accident, waiting to happen… first time I actually had to pull off the road to change a CD safely.

Bernard Cornwell is a master of the time period and the best battle writer there is! And, I don't even like battles. But the descriptions are in such detail as to make the events glorified in their gore. I can feel the trepidations as the contenders approach the field and wonder who's going to strike first. The blood and guts, the weight of the armor, the gratification in lasting to the bitter end - I can feel it all. I am thoroughly enjoying the first of this trilogy. I love the characters and can't say that I have a favorite because they are very well developed. Each chapter tempts you into the next with surprises that are not really surprises, and he puts a twist on the events and people that are unexpected. Like the transformation that Arthur undergoes during his battles. His dichotomy is brought out from the gentleness towards his friends and even foes to the merciless focus of his executions in the battle scenes. I'm only half way through and don't want it to end. A Great, great read.

This was a fascinating retelling of the Arthur legend, and easily worth five stars to all readers except me, because I deducted a star for magical realism. Perhaps a legend cannot be told, particularly one which includes Merlin, without use of magic and sorcery, but the fortuitous intervention of Gods instead of men to further the plot or resolve issues is a weakness to me. However, in this era of superheroes and villains, I know me taste for realism over magic and superpowers places me in a distinct minority, and I recommend this trilogy to all who enjoy historical fiction.

The trilogy puts B. Cornwell on the throne of historical fiction. Reading it, you litteraly can live the battle, you will elevate from horror to rage, the stench of blood, gore and feces will churn your nose, as the screams of the dying amd the roar of the triumphant will ring in your ears.
And all that is wrapped in numerous historical facts. What else can one possibly want from arturian tale?

I enjoyed this series. I really like Bernard Cornwell as a writer and storyteller. My only complaint was that I read it immediately after his Saxon series, and there was a lot of similarities. So I would recommend spreading his works out and not reading them back to back.