First and foremost, this is a remarkable book. One hell of a remarkable book.

With Lancelot, Giles Kristian has moved away from the Viking mead hall, left behind the chaos of the Civil War, and reinvented himself as a historical fiction master. Now, that's not to say his books before weren't any good - far from it. They're excellent books. Fast paced, exciting, enjoyable historical romps. This new tale though, it elevates him into the realms of the true masters, Cornwell, Gemmell and Pressfield. This book is a tour de force. I'm emotionally wrecked just thinking back on it.

Its hard to put into words when writing about a great book, because they truly leave you speechless. But in a way, that speaks more for the quality of the story than mere words ever can.

Lancelot grabs hold and doesn't let go. Its a stunning new take on the Arthurian legend, and i will be amazed if i read a better book this year.

Lancelot is a brilliant book. I really can't recommend it enough - but at its heart, it is also flawed. The more I think about this, the more I imagine this might have been done on purpose - a mirror image of the character, perhaps.

When I first began reading Lancelot I simply thought the author had been very clever with his book title. (Go check my Goodreads log for the book - I say it there). The story, while it might have been about Lancelot, could just as easily have been about just about any character in post-Roman/pre-Saxon/settlement period Britain (everyone has their own word for this period). It was not necessarily a Lancelot that anyone would recognise.

For all that, the young Lancelot is an intriguing character, and even if the book had just been an author with a clever title, I would probably have been just as impressed as I ultimately was.

The world Lancelot inhabits is a wonderful reimagining of Britain at this strange time period - with the Romans fled, and the Saxons on the surge. It is stuffed with warlords and kings, with kingdom names and conjures up a wonderful landscape of the time period. While all the action takes place in those areas which would be termed, British or Pictish, the very 'smell' of the Saxons is always blowing on the wind., for all that it is modern-day Cornwall, Devon, Wales and Scotland that form the backdrop for the story and there are only very occasional Saxon characters.

We meet Lancelot in the first chapter, Guinevere takes longer to appear, and Arthur? Well, his father makes an appearance before him - and Arthur only arrives 50% through the book. And this is as it should be - after all, this is Lancelot's story and not that of Arthur's. We do meet Merlin not long after Guinevere - so the 'names' we know from the Arthur Legend are firmly there - Tintagel is often mentioned, as too is Excalibur.

As in any novel about a famous warrior, there is a great deal of training, fighting and 'rough-stuff' from the other boys being trained, but mixed with the twin thread of friendship and magic. The magic is artfully arranged - it is just 'accepted' without explanation, and that appealed to my less than 'magical' mind. Other authors may have 'overcooked' the whole Merlin/Druid/Old Gods stuff but I think it is handled exceedingly well throughout the story. The 'friendship' element is also very skillfully told - it becomes more and more important as the book progresses.

Lancelot has a lovingly crafted feel to it. It meanders down little-trodden paths, and we might be left wondering why, but just as Robin Hobb manages with her 'Fitz' books, it never feels irrelevant. It's a delightful tale of occasional irrelevance, that I just didn't want to end, and I never say that about a book.

There were times when I couldn't fathom what the author would do with his characters next and there were parts where I felt cheated. At 80% through I was completely perplexed, and actually, the ending of the book is either its weakest element or the author at his cleverest (I still can't decide). it is here that he relies most on the readers 'prior' knowledge of the Arthur legend - and we are left to make our own assumptions until the very final scene, when there is, once more, some closure.

I really did love this book, but I would have liked to be much, much longer - I would have liked all the 'gaps' filled in, I would have liked answers to question that are asked but never resolved, I would have like more Arthur and Lancelot, and I would certainly have liked more, much more, of those famous battles, but Lancelot is a wonderful and powerful retelling of a legend that we already think we know - but which is ripe for retelling. It relies on an understanding of the legend - while also reworking it. A fine piece of work that I thoroughly enjoyed - even if I didn't initially want to! :)

Review

In 1995 Bernard Cornwell wrote the Warlord Chronicles, with that he set the bar for Arthurian tales. He took the world of knights in plate armour on horseback, with couched lances and their flowery medieval poetry of vanquishing barbarian foes with honour and knocked them right back to the 6th century, a post Roman world, riddled with Saxon invaders, a land with its opulent stone buildings falling down and no skills to repair them, back to the dirt the grime and the terror of small kingdoms stitching together parts of that Roman prowess to forge new alliances and petty grievances. No one has attempted to emulate that achievement since… Until Lancelot.

Giles Kristian is one of the finest storytellers in the genre, he has a lyrical poetry to his writing that has never failed to capture me and my imagination, so when i heard he was writing Lancelot i was excited, but also intrigued, after all Arthurian legend is about Arthur….. isn’t it?

What struck me immediately on starting the book was how the approach was similar to Conn Igguldens Gates of Rome (a No 1 best seller), taking a historical figure (or in this case myth) and starting their story at the beginning, showing how the man was made, the sequences, the accidents, the mistakes and the tragedies that shaped the man who would be. Not only do you get that shape, you get that emotion, the child becomes your family, you grow with them, you nurture them and hurt with them and love with them and this is the brilliance of the writer and his craft, to weave you into the fabric of the book, but also the soul of the characters.

Giles Kristian is very honest at the outset of this book in that its inception started at a time of great personal tragedy, and you can feel in the book and the story raw honest emotion, its not that the grief he must have experienced is expressed in the book, his writing transcends that, its more that every event is viewed with an exposed honesty, an openness that hides nothing, instead you feel the love. Given that the soul of this book is a love story, the story of Lancelot , Guinevere and ultimately Arthur, sworn lord and friend of one and Husband of the other, the heartbreak that must ensue, and ultimately for one a betrayal, that outpouring of emotion has so many outlets, so many paragraphs to fill and Giles Kristian pored into them until they over flowed. This is a book that you feel as much as you read.

What we end up with is utterly staggering. A book to be beyond proud of. Giles Kristian has surpassed the Cornwall trilogy in a single title. Truly I’m in awe of this book, I’ve been spell bound for days, and the ending … I’m emotionally spent. … really a honour and a privilege to read it.

I cannot recommend this book enough, no matter the genre you love, if you love great writing and great stories, read this book.

(Parm)

A new take on the time old story of Lancelot, it featured all the expected characters but with a new twist. I loved the first half of the book, the language is lyrical and the story flows beautifully, sweeping you back in time. The authors description of the environment and customs was especially evocative. The second half I found somewhat weaker and more predictable, and I found myself skimming several passages. . Nevertheless I really enjoyed this book and read it in one sitting. I would highly recommend it to any fan of historical fiction.

A lovely book, perfect to read with a nice cup of tea and a blanket.

I am not usually one for historical novels but this book was very interesting and managed to capture my interest. The characters are well written and have depth, and the story flows naturally!