Wednesday 13 May 2009

Guenevere, Queen of the Summer Country by Rosalind Miles

SYNOPSIS
Last in a line of proud queens elected to rule the fertile lands of the West, true owner of the legendary Round Table, guardian
of the Great Goddess herself . . . a woman whose story has never been told -- until now

Raised in the tranquil beauty of the Summer Country, Princess Guenevere has led a charmed and contented life -- until the sudden, violent death of her mother, Queen Maire, leaves the Summer Country teetering on the brink of anarchy. Only the miraculous arrival of Arthur, heir to the Pendragon dynasty, allows Guenevere to claim her mother's throne. Smitten by the bold, sensuous princess, Arthur offers to marry her and unite their territories, allowing her to continue to reign in her own right. Their love match creates the largest and most powerful kingdom in the Isles. Yet even the glories of Camelot are not safe from the shadows of evil and revenge. Arthur is reunited with his long-lost half-sisters, Morgause and Morgan, princesses torn from their mother and their ancestral right by Arthur's father, the brutal and unscrupulous King Uther. Both daughters will avenge their suffering, but it is Morgan who strikes the deadliest blows, using her enchantments to destroy all Guenevere holds dear and to force Arthur to betray his Queen.

In the chaos that follows, Arthur dispatches a new knight to Guenevere, the young French prince Lancelot, never knowing that Lancelot's passion for the Queen, and hers for him, may be the love that spells ruin for Camelot.

MY VIEW
Rosalind Miles is a great author I, Elizabeth was one of the best fiction books on Elizabeth I have read, so why has this been sitting on my bookshelf for over 4 years un-read? Well it hasn't had hugely great reviews and sometimes that makes me put any books further down my TBR list - this is a classic case of not listening to others but, making up your own mind.

Mists of Avalon will always be for me one of the best Arturian reads and whilst this was not as good it was a much easier read. This is not an action book so if your looking for that your not going to like this. Equally if you are looking for some really deep and something that needs 101% concentration on again it won't be your cup of tea - this would be a great book to start if your new to Arthurian literature.

3 comments:

Kailana said...

Mists of Avalon will always be my favourite, too!

Elena said...

This looks like a great book. I'm going to add it to my list of books to look out for (you are really adding to that list these days). I started reading Arthurian stories with the Mists of Avalon as well, and tend to use it as my baseline story.

Have you seen Twilight of Avalon by Anna Elliott? Another new and good Arthurian novel.

Are you a part of the Arthurian challenge this year? The latest couple of book reviews would certainly fit with it.

Clare said...

Hi Elena, no I haven't seen that challenge will have a lookie, haven't seen Anna Elliott's will look that up, thanks :-)