For as long as I can remember I have loved the stories of King Arthur and his knights. I was fascinated by studying Thomas Malory’s Works, and once again Kiersten White takes something familiar and much-loved and turns it into something new, a little darker and completely absorbing.
We begin our journey with Guinevere travelling to Camelot for the first time to meet her husband-to-be, Arthur. Her wonder at seeing this land and the way Arthur rules is interesting, but it’s clear from the beginning that this isn’t quite what we think. Guinevere is hiding a secret. She is not who people think she is, and her father Merlin has arranged this situation so that Guinevere can use her hidden magic to help protect Arthur.
A good part of the book focuses on Guinevere settling into Camelot. She picks up on things others don’t notice, and while it’s not particularly exciting it’s essential for us to understand how things develop later.
There are many familiar faces here. We see Lancelot and come to understand the bond shared between Arthur’s queen and favourite knight. We have, throughout, an unknown narrator who is clearly allied to dark magic. We don’t learn quite how this character links until very late on, but I loved the way White chooses to flesh out characters that it’s easy to see in a certain way. She shows us their courtly behaviours, but we gain insight into the people behind these public faces. We come to see them as people, and this development means we can’t help but feel very real fear at what might be in store.