One of my favorite Arthurian retellings of “recent” times (I’m a medievalist) is Mary Stewart’s. I wasn’t aware of the existence of all the books you mention here, and I clearly have a lot of catching up to do in terms of Arthurian retellings. Thanks, Sarah!
Awesome video Sarah! I haven’t heard of any of these lol. You know I’m a Mary Stewart fan. One of my favorite movie retellings is Excalibur. Cheesy 80s movie, but so good!
I love how passionate you are about the Arthurian legend, it's so fun to hear you talk about your love for it. The Warlord Chronicles is at the very top of my TBR, they sound incredible. And I've also been wanting to pick up The Lost Queen and Lancelot for a very long time, so maybe I'll read them along with you when you get to them! :)
There is something special about King Arthur retellings. Lancelot has been on my tbr for ages. Only thing that has kept me from reading it is that I can't seem to find it on kindle. Need to get me a physical copy. I am currently listening to The Dark is Rising. To early to have an opinion on it but I enjoyed the first in the series. I think my favorite King Arthur retelling is The Mists of Avalon. Very conflicted about talking about the book due to the actions of the author but The Mists of Avalon is one of my favorites. I also love The Once and Future King by TH White. One of my favorite classics.
I haven't read a lot of Arthurian retellings, but you make me want to read The Warlord Chronicles so badly. I will definitely pick it up someday, and it will 100% be because of you.
Warlord Chronicles is SO good! And I'm someone who generally isn't that interested in Arthurian Myths, with some exceptions. One of my favourite series of all-time.
Bradley's Mists of Avalon is a real favourite, told from the morally grey female POVs. GG Kay's portal Arthurian inspired Fionavar Tapestry is a great entry into his work. On my TBR are the Stewart and Pike series, as well as Jack Whyte's historically-slanted cycle and Patricia Kennelly-Morrison's sci-fi Keltiad mash-up. Kay & Whyte both reprenting quality Canadian authorship here! 🙂
My favourite Arturian books are the Mists of Avalon and Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy. Hoping to start the Warlord chronicles soon .I'm also interested in the Legends of Camelot series by Jack White and yes Merlin is awesome!!!
Great video Sarah! I’ve never read any Arthurian legend books before, but I picked up the Warlord Chronicles last month and am super excited to read them this year!
I LOOOOOOVE the Dark is Rising! They hold up even as an adult. The Arthurian retelling aspect really picks up as the series progresses. They’re also good on audio if that’s something you enjoy ☺️
I have Lancelot on my TBR as well, have been wanting it since I heard EB talk about it! I read the first couple of pages and I love the writing style, the prose is absolutely beautiful. I think the author has another standalone, Camelot. I really loved the Lost Queen and the Forgotten Kingdom. I didn't clearly see the 'legend' aspect, but from what I have heard (and seeing the research the author has done) it is pretty historically accurate with ofcourse a lot of fantastical elements added on top. 😄 The third book is to be expected in 2023! I'm going to read the Crystal Cave hopefully in the next couple of months after you recommended that series.
Some you may have missed: The Camulod Chronicles by Jack Whyte (The Skystone, The Singing Sword, The Eagle's Brood, The Saxon Shore + 6 more), the Arthur story beginnning in Roman occupied Britain; The Merlin Codex by Robert Holdstock (Celtika, The Iron Grail, The Broken Kings); Firelord and Beloved Exile by Parke Godwin.
There’s an Arthurian series by an Australian author named M.K Hume. A trilogy of Merlin books that put him into even more of a realistic light, and its sequel trilogy simply called the King Arthur trilogy. The Merlin trilogy is my favourite.
Im on my 3rd Morgan le Fay book. Started with Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, then I read I am Morgan Le Fay by Nancy Springer, now Im reading Daughter of Tintagel by Fay Sampson which is an omnibus of tellings of morgans life from different perspectives. Interesting because they all take from different versions of Morgan but also similar ones as well. All really good honestly. Gunna hit up JRR Tolkiens retelling of Gawain and the Green Knight next and Morien
“Warlord Chronicles “ were my best experience regarding Arthurian retellings.I thought will be the typical one with Merlin,the magic sword ,the Lady of the lake etc.But nothing like this. I will try some of yours recommendations,I hope I will enjoy them like the series of Bernard Cornwell.
Great idea! Have you watched the Great Courses Arthurian course? The professor has to be the biggest Arthurian nerd ever! Her enthusiasm is fun to watch.
When I was a kid I read Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve because I loved his Mortal Engines series and really enjoyed it. It's probably somewhere between middle grade and YA but I haven't reread it as an adult so I don't know how well it holds up. I really want to read the Warlord Chronicles and Le Morte d'Arthur!
I'm a little over halfway through "The Winter King" and I'm liking it enough that I'm going to get the rest of the books in the series. Back in the 90s I read a lot of short stories of Arthurian retellings which got me interested in learning the origins of King Arthur. David Day's book sounds interesting and I'm looking forward to hear your thoughts on it.
I know this is an older video but I found your channel because I’m always looking for new Arthurian reimaginings! I’m currently working on writing one so doing allllllll the research!
@@TheBookCure ooooo that’s very difficult! I think the one that stands out to me the most even after all these years is The Lost Years of Merlin series by T.A. Barron. I’m really looking forward to rereading that for my research!
The Lost Queen series (only 2 so far) is one of my all time favorites! I can’t wait for more from Signe! I hope you love them! They are way before Arthur. More Uthar Pendragon pre throne age. I am going to reread them when I know the third one is due out.
My favorite Arthurian retelling: The Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell. Lancelot was also a solid novel, really enjoyed that. The sequel to Lancelot I didn't enjoy so much.
I really liked The Dark is Rising as a kid, I've been meaning to reread them. I seem to recall Michael Moorcock saying good things about them somewhere, so they probably hold up.
Tolkien himself has a book about King Arthur. My favourite is Thomas Malory, but I really like Jack whyte (despite the fact that Arthur don't show up until mid series of 10 books) and I've a good memory of Stephen Lawhead's version. Very interesting list, I will try to found if some of them is available in Italian. Thank you
I have not read, but I have on my TBR the books by Jack Whyte. First book is Skystone. Much longer series than some, but seems to have a following from back in the day
@@TheBookCure I also recently bought the book "Holy Kingdom" by Adrian Gilbert. I was at a new local bookstore, and couldn't find anything of interest, but felt obligated to buy something :p, sounds interesting though.
thnx for the recs! can you make a video recommending books that focus on merlin? obvs other characters will be present but i've been trying to find books where merlin is the main character, not arthur
The Dark is Rising series was one of my absolute favourites as a child. I have also read it many times to my children, and it's still as good as it always was, enjoy. I also love The Mists of Avalon, have you read that one?
I don’t know a lot about the Authurian legend (the Lancelot and Guinevere story is basically all I know). Is there a book that’s the best starting point, or should I research on google? I watched Merlin back in the day but have forgotten most of it 🥴
Oh dear. You had to release this just as I finished cataloguing my books and realizing how much I have and how much I haven’t read…..oh dear, I’m in trouble….lol
@@TheBookCure Oh I tie in more than Arthur. I have all the classic Arthur, Gawain and the green knight, George the dragon slayer, the history of the Court of Justinian, Beowulf... all the heroic age.
Dude, I'm sorry, but ever since watching Fate anime(s) lol I just cannot take any Arthurian retelling seriously if the following three things are missing from the narrative: 1) If Arthur isn't depicted as cute, shy, but brave warrior chick 2) If Arthur isn't swearing allegiance to an idealistic Japanese boy/man whose only desire is to become a hero of justice 3) If Gilgamesh from Babylonian epic isn't around to insult people, drink wine, and &@%$ things up (yes, in that order XD) Don't get me wrong, everyone is entitled to their opinions and all, but like, but for me, Fate is the only truly accurate and factually correct reimagining Arthur's legend :3 Because everyone knows that Japanese anime studios are the most legitimate authorities on British history and literary traditions :D
One of my favorite Arthurian retellings of “recent” times (I’m a medievalist) is Mary Stewart’s. I wasn’t aware of the existence of all the books you mention here, and I clearly have a lot of catching up to do in terms of Arthurian retellings. Thanks, Sarah!
Mary Stewart’s books are wonderful, and I’d love to reread them sometime soon. ☺️
I must agree. Stewart’s prose, characterization, and sense of place all elevate her works above most others.
I just discussed Mary Stewart’s The Crystal Cave on my top 10 classic fantasy novels!
The search for King Arthur sounds really interesting. I hadn't heard of before so thanks for putting it on my radar
The Lost Queen is wonderful. It's a slow burn but very well written. The author really did her research
Awesome video Sarah! I haven’t heard of any of these lol. You know I’m a Mary Stewart fan. One of my favorite movie retellings is Excalibur. Cheesy 80s movie, but so good!
Arthurian Legend TBR video?! Now THAT's what I'm talkin' bout! Count me in for this type of content.
Glad you enjoyed. Hopefully a full rec video soon 😊
I love how passionate you are about the Arthurian legend, it's so fun to hear you talk about your love for it. The Warlord Chronicles is at the very top of my TBR, they sound incredible. And I've also been wanting to pick up The Lost Queen and Lancelot for a very long time, so maybe I'll read them along with you when you get to them! :)
Yes, we should definitely read them together! 😍
I have both Lancelot and the Lost Queen on my TBR. I also still have the Warlord chronicles. So many Arthurian retellings to try
Warlord is so good Abby! I hope you love it.
Hi 👋 you some great book list!! Enjoy all ur reads and happy reading to you! 😊🦋
Thanks, Safina! Happy reading to you as well ☺️
Just picked up audiobook of „Winter king”, thanks to You, Jimmy and Allen talking about it:) Thank you for another great video🤜
There is something special about King Arthur retellings. Lancelot has been on my tbr for ages. Only thing that has kept me from reading it is that I can't seem to find it on kindle. Need to get me a physical copy.
I am currently listening to The Dark is Rising. To early to have an opinion on it but I enjoyed the first in the series.
I think my favorite King Arthur retelling is The Mists of Avalon. Very conflicted about talking about the book due to the actions of the author but The Mists of Avalon is one of my favorites. I also love The Once and Future King by TH White. One of my favorite classics.
I am completely with you re: The Mists of Avalon. It’s such a good book, but it’s hard to want to bring it up for discussion.
I haven't read a lot of Arthurian retellings, but you make me want to read The Warlord Chronicles so badly. I will definitely pick it up someday, and it will 100% be because of you.
Warlord Chronicles is SO good! And I'm someone who generally isn't that interested in Arthurian Myths, with some exceptions. One of my favourite series of all-time.
This, as Allen would say, pleases me. 😝
Bradley's Mists of Avalon is a real favourite, told from the morally grey female POVs. GG Kay's portal Arthurian inspired Fionavar Tapestry is a great entry into his work.
On my TBR are the Stewart and Pike series, as well as Jack Whyte's historically-slanted cycle and Patricia Kennelly-Morrison's sci-fi Keltiad mash-up.
Kay & Whyte both reprenting quality Canadian authorship here! 🙂
I definitely want to get to GGK, and I’m sure I’ll enjoy that one. Thank you for letting me know it was Arthurian inspired!
Or do you mean a 'morally le Fey POV'? I found the juxtaposition of the narrative to the other side of the Burning Times very interesting.
My favourite Arturian books are the Mists of Avalon and Mary Stewart's Merlin Trilogy. Hoping to start the Warlord chronicles soon .I'm also interested in the Legends of Camelot series by Jack White and yes Merlin is awesome!!!
I love both those as well. Mary Stewart’s series is one of my favourite fantasy series of all time!
Great video Sarah! I’ve never read any Arthurian legend books before, but I picked up the Warlord Chronicles last month and am super excited to read them this year!
They are some of my favourites, for sure. I hope you love them!
I LOOOOOOVE the Dark is Rising! They hold up even as an adult. The Arthurian retelling aspect really picks up as the series progresses. They’re also good on audio if that’s something you enjoy ☺️
I have Lancelot on my TBR as well, have been wanting it since I heard EB talk about it! I read the first couple of pages and I love the writing style, the prose is absolutely beautiful. I think the author has another standalone, Camelot.
I really loved the Lost Queen and the Forgotten Kingdom. I didn't clearly see the 'legend' aspect, but from what I have heard (and seeing the research the author has done) it is pretty historically accurate with ofcourse a lot of fantastical elements added on top. 😄 The third book is to be expected in 2023!
I'm going to read the Crystal Cave hopefully in the next couple of months after you recommended that series.
I really hope you like The Crystal Cave, Jolien! I have such good memories of reading it. 🥰
Some you may have missed: The Camulod Chronicles by Jack Whyte (The Skystone, The Singing Sword, The Eagle's Brood, The Saxon Shore + 6 more), the Arthur story beginnning in Roman occupied Britain; The Merlin Codex by Robert Holdstock (Celtika, The Iron Grail, The Broken Kings); Firelord and Beloved Exile by Parke Godwin.
I do love Firelord and my dad really likes Jack Whyte. I’ll have to try the others, though. Thank you! ☺️
The winter prince sounds super intriguing. I haven’t heard of the majority of these
These are ones that have been brought to my attention recently. Hopefully I can find a hidden gem in there somewhere.
There’s an Arthurian series by an Australian author named M.K Hume. A trilogy of Merlin books that put him into even more of a realistic light, and its sequel trilogy simply called the King Arthur trilogy. The Merlin trilogy is my favourite.
Nice! Thanks so much for the rec - will go look those up right away!
I read the Stephen Lawhead Pendragon series quite a few years back... I'll have to take a look at a couple of these 🙂
I haven’t read those, so I should add to the list ☺️
That nonfiction you mentioned is actually the one that most interests me. I love texts like that!
Nerds unite! 😁🤓
Ohhh... this is a great list! I can't wait to get your opinions on some of these. And now you made me want to pick up some to read now. Lol
Mission accomplished 😁
Im on my 3rd Morgan le Fay book. Started with Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley, then I read I am Morgan Le Fay by Nancy Springer, now Im reading Daughter of Tintagel by Fay Sampson which is an omnibus of tellings of morgans life from different perspectives. Interesting because they all take from different versions of Morgan but also similar ones as well. All really good honestly. Gunna hit up JRR Tolkiens retelling of Gawain and the Green Knight next and Morien
“Warlord Chronicles “ were my best experience regarding Arthurian retellings.I thought will be the typical one with Merlin,the magic sword ,the Lady of the lake etc.But nothing like this. I will try some of yours recommendations,I hope I will enjoy them like the series of Bernard Cornwell.
Warlord Chronicles is fantastic! I hope you can find another retelling you enjoy just as much ☺️
Great idea! Have you watched the Great Courses Arthurian course? The professor has to be the biggest Arthurian nerd ever! Her enthusiasm is fun to watch.
I have not, but I will now fix this immediately. Thanks for the recommendation 😍
When I was a kid I read Here Lies Arthur by Philip Reeve because I loved his Mortal Engines series and really enjoyed it. It's probably somewhere between middle grade and YA but I haven't reread it as an adult so I don't know how well it holds up. I really want to read the Warlord Chronicles and Le Morte d'Arthur!
I'm a little over halfway through "The Winter King" and I'm liking it enough that I'm going to get the rest of the books in the series. Back in the 90s I read a lot of short stories of Arthurian retellings which got me interested in learning the origins of King Arthur. David Day's book sounds interesting and I'm looking forward to hear your thoughts on it.
I like The Winter King, but the next two are even better. I hope you love the series as a whole 😍
I know this is an older video but I found your channel because I’m always looking for new Arthurian reimaginings! I’m currently working on writing one so doing allllllll the research!
Thanks for watching 🥰 What are your favourite Arthurian stories?
@@TheBookCure ooooo that’s very difficult! I think the one that stands out to me the most even after all these years is The Lost Years of Merlin series by T.A. Barron. I’m really looking forward to rereading that for my research!
@@AliCatWrites I loved those when I was younger :)
The Lost Queen series (only 2 so far) is one of my all time favorites! I can’t wait for more from Signe! I hope you love them! They are way before Arthur. More Uthar Pendragon pre throne age. I am going to reread them when I know the third one is due out.
Nice!! I’m so glad to hear you love them. I will try to prioritize that series for sure 🥰
As a huge fan of the Arthurian Legend, I appreciate the recommendations for some books in a genre that I absolutely love ;l)
Thanks! Hopefully I’ll have my full rec video up before long ☺️
I read Lancelot a few weeks ago. I think it's wonderful.
Oh, I’m glad to hear this! I’m looking forward to it 😍
Sarah. Sarah. There's only one series that needs to be on here. It's the one you gave the same rating as EoTV.
I did NOT 🤣🤣 I gave books 2/3 5 stars. I just took me a minute to get into book 1 😝😝
My favorite Arthurian retelling: The Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell. Lancelot was also a solid novel, really enjoyed that. The sequel to Lancelot I didn't enjoy so much.
Warlord is so good! I’m glad to hear you enjoyed Lancelot. Does it work well on its own?
One which I enjoyed a lot and never hear about is Parke Godwin's Firelord
Yes, I loved Firelord! I don’t often hear other people talk about it either ☺️
I really liked The Dark is Rising as a kid, I've been meaning to reread them. I seem to recall Michael Moorcock saying good things about them somewhere, so they probably hold up.
I wish I had read them as a kid, but it’ll still be fun to check them out now ☺️
I don't even think I've read any Arthurian books which is silly bc i do love the original story 🥰
We must fix this, Joana!!
Tolkien himself has a book about King Arthur. My favourite is Thomas Malory, but I really like Jack whyte (despite the fact that Arthur don't show up until mid series of 10 books) and I've a good memory of Stephen Lawhead's version. Very interesting list, I will try to found if some of them is available in Italian. Thank you
I haven’t read Jack Whyte’s series, though I am intrigued by them. I’ll have to try to give them a chance sometime soon.
I have not read, but I have on my TBR the books by Jack Whyte. First book is Skystone. Much longer series than some, but seems to have a following from back in the day
I haven’t read these either, but my dad has the whole series! I should give the first couple a try, just to see if I enjoy the style.
@@TheBookCure I also recently bought the book "Holy Kingdom" by Adrian Gilbert. I was at a new local bookstore, and couldn't find anything of interest, but felt obligated to buy something :p, sounds interesting though.
thnx for the recs! can you make a video recommending books that focus on merlin? obvs other characters will be present but i've been trying to find books where merlin is the main character, not arthur
The Dark is Rising series was one of my absolute favourites as a child. I have also read it many times to my children, and it's still as good as it always was, enjoy.
I also love The Mists of Avalon, have you read that one?
I have! It made a big impact on me in my early teen years.
Have you not read Mary Stewart's The Wicked Day which was based entirely on Mordred among my favourite books, along with the Crystal Cave trilogy.
Yes, I have! Though to be honest, I read them all so long ago that I don’t remember individual details from each book. Time for a reread, for sure!
I don’t know a lot about the Authurian legend (the Lancelot and Guinevere story is basically all I know). Is there a book that’s the best starting point, or should I research on google? I watched Merlin back in the day but have forgotten most of it 🥴
The Sword and the Stone is a fun classic version of Arthur’s childhood! Le Morte d’Arthur is probably the most classic starting point ☺️
Hard to know if it's a spoiler or not, but you should add The Fionavar Tapestry by Guy Gavriel Kay to this list.
Oh dear. You had to release this just as I finished cataloguing my books and realizing how much I have and how much I haven’t read…..oh dear, I’m in trouble….lol
Hahahaha, I’m sorrry (but not too sorry 😁)
SO , you missed the best book on Arthur of them all , "Arthur of the Gododdin" ... a must read
Not only missed, but I haven’t even heard of it! Who’s the author? Would love to look it up :)
Thanks for the video👍.
Please consider classic T.H White.
Yes, I love this one! I’m actually rereading (or re-listening, since it’s on audio) right now ☺️
Any fans of Arthurian lit should definitely check out Gurzil
It’s awesome that you love the legend enough to draw inspiration. 🥰
@@TheBookCure Oh I tie in more than Arthur. I have all the classic Arthur, Gawain and the green knight, George the dragon slayer, the history of the Court of Justinian, Beowulf... all the heroic age.
It’s hard to read Lancelot in any other way than how he was presented in The Warlord Chronicles.
Right?! It informs your interpretation of the character forevermore. The power of Cornwell!
Dude, I'm sorry, but ever since watching Fate anime(s) lol I just cannot take any Arthurian retelling seriously if the following three things are missing from the narrative:
1) If Arthur isn't depicted as cute, shy, but brave warrior chick
2) If Arthur isn't swearing allegiance to an idealistic Japanese boy/man whose only desire is to become a hero of justice
3) If Gilgamesh from Babylonian epic isn't around to insult people, drink wine, and &@%$ things up (yes, in that order XD)
Don't get me wrong, everyone is entitled to their opinions and all, but like, but for me, Fate is the only truly accurate and factually correct reimagining Arthur's legend :3 Because everyone knows that Japanese anime studios are the most legitimate authorities on British history and literary traditions :D
I’ve only seen Fate Stay Night (which I liked!) but love seeing Arthurian references show up in any anime! 😍
@@TheBookCure Do your self a favor and watch Fate/Zero - if it's not your new favorite anime after you've seen it I'll eat a brick XD
@@v3rmilli0nair3 hahaha, it’s on my list to watch, and I’ll definitely try to get to it soon 😍
The Dark is Rising is such a great kids series. The second book was my favourite Christmas re-read when I was growing up. Do not watch the movie.
Glad to hear it! I will avoid the adaptation, hahaha.
I'm all for Arthur and stuff but cut out Lancelot and Guinevere from the story 😜
Hahaha, you need one of these alternate takes. My new mission will be to find an Arthurian book you won’t DNF 😝
@@TheBookCure good luck with that
@@reaperhound1699 My new life goal 🤣🤣
@@TheBookCure 😂