The Return of Sir Percival (Book 1, Guinevere's Prayer), by S.
Alexander O'Keefe (Greenleaf, September 2016).
A year after the death of Arthur, his
kingdom lies under the brutal yoke of a Viking invader. Guinevere languishes in
a convent, while setting up a secret spy network to keep tabs on the rest of
the kingdom. Sir Percival, who had been dispatched to the Holy Land in search
of the Grail, returns along with his Moorish companion. Morgana schemes to at
last assassinate Merlin, while playing a dangerous game of alliance with the
Vikings.
Although smoothly written, this sequel to the well-known story of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table came across as flat and derivative. None of these characters struck me as remarkably original; they were
all pretty much what I expected, although the many historical inaccuracies gave
the narrative a Hollywood flavor (for example, Morgana is supposed to be a
Roman assassin, but neither speaks nor behaves in a Roman fashion). The Moor,
as charming as he is, reads as if he has just stepped out of Kevin Costner’s “Robin
Hood: Prince of Thieves,” and that character was copied from the Saracen in the
A & E “Robin of Sherwood” series.
Readers hungry for everything Arthurian
may enjoy this book, but anyone looking for a fresh take on the legends will
likely be as disappointed as I was.
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