I wrote about this on the storygraph and goodreads and shared links on various social media sites. https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/6701571678

This Arthurian novel reads more like historical fiction than fantasy. It was a departure from Grossman’s Magicians series. Despite expecting a different type of novel, I still thoroughly enjoyed the story.
I would recommend for fans of Arthurian and legend and historical fiction in general.

I was expecting a fantasy that connected me to characters in the world of Arthurian legend. There is an original character, and a few Knights of the Round Table, but it just wasn’t that exciting. There are chapters that focus on the few knights that are in the book, but I still didn’t have a favorite to rally behind. Even Nimue didn’t seem to have much character development (and I liked her chapter a little more than the others). Multiple times I was thinking, what just happened? Then the story moved on to the next thing, and it just felt like it was lackluster. Even character deaths.

A King Arthur retelling that is very light on dialogue and heavy on action as well as setting and character descriptions. Unique world building is not necessary, due to the basic world of Arthur and Camelot already being sculpted by previous writers. Grossman does a fine job of laying out which parts of the legends he utilizes for his story. This is at once a retelling of King Arthur's legend and a reimagined continuation of what happened to the land of Briton after Arthur's fall and Camelot's end. The tales of various knights of the Round Table that we spend time with are interesting but also distract a bit from the storyline of Collum and his adventures with the knights. Inserting those tales between the original plot scenes reminds me of LOTR a little with its separate books, except each tale stands on its own. The medieval setting and epic quest are also reminiscent of The Witcher tv show, and fans of either epic fantasy series may really enjoy this book. The Bright Sword is immersive, if nothing else, and does not require prior knowledge of the legends it is based on. The severe lack of dialogue caused me to feel like it all dragged a bit, because I prefer a good balance of action, world building, and dialogue in my books, even with fantasy.

Thanks to Viking, Penguin Random House, and NetGalley for a chance to start reading this early.

Growing up as an unloved ward in northern Britain, Collum has dreamed of a life as a knight of the round table. Ready to swear fealty to King Arthur, Collum sets off for Camelot to try his luck. But when he reaches the famed castle, he finds the king has died and the Round Table is down to a handful of men. And the men that are left? Not the finest or most widely recognized knights. Collum and this ragtag group of fighters, along with Merlin’s apprentice Nimue, set off on arguably the most important quest to date – the search for the rightful successor to Arthur.

This epic Arthurian tale is full of adventure, mystery, and magic. While there are familiar characters (Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Merlin), this story delves into the backgrounds of several lesser knights – a knight from Baghdad, a former female, the court jester, and more. Each tale weaves together to connect present day to the past, intricately intertwining multiple storylines.

I can’t say enough about how detailed and magical this book is! I loved the way the author crossed back and forth across timelines, connected seemingly small details to surprise readers, and made the Arthurian world I thought I knew come alive in new and exciting ways. I adored Grossman’s “Magician” series, and the creativity of that series shines again in “The Bright Sword”. Great for anyone who enjoys the fantasy genre, humor, and a twist on a classic. Highly recommend!

While I do not possess a lengthy knowledge of King Arthur, this is an excellent read.

The story drags and is not always linear but it is still a compelling read. Lev Grossman is an excellent author.

Check this one out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Viking for the eARC!

A new Lev Grossman novel? And it's an Arthurian saga? YES PLEASE!

Grossman is adept at taking well-worn fantasy tropes and turning them upside-down and inside-out to create something completely new. He's done it very successfully here with a new and imaginative approach to the King Arthur legend, and he's given voice to the less-than-shining knights which has great appeal. Above all, Grossman is a master storyteller, and the story here is magnificent. I was hooked from the very first chapter and hard a hard time putting it down. This is NOT a single-sitting reading experience though. This is a book that requires some commitment (and sturdy wrists if you're reading the print copy!). For me, it made for an excellent first-book-of-the-summer reading experience and is one I will remember long after I turned the last page.

This is a must-read for Arthurian legend fans. Highly recommended.

Lev Grossman's "The Bright Sword" offers a fresh and enchanting take on the Arthurian legend. The story follows Collum, a young man from the Out Isles, as he seeks acceptance by becoming a knight of The Round Table. Alas , when he arrives in Camelot, he discovers that King Arthur is gone, leaving behind a fractured land in need of direction . Along with a handful of embittered Round Table knights, Collum sets out on a quest to find Arthur’s true heir. Their journey takes them through mist-shrouded forests, ancient ruins, and forgotten tombs, where secrets lie waiting to be uncovered.

The characters are vividly drawn each with their own backstory and secrets. , Grossman masterfully blends historical elements with epic fantasy, creating a world that feels both familiar and refreshingly new . In addition , he creates a story where magic and sadness coexist and themes of identity, belonging, change, and sacrifice are addressed. The novel invites readers to witness the final echoes of Camelot—a realm where honor, chivalry, and destiny collide. The Bright Sword is both a thrilling adventure and a thoughtful exploration of character and myth.

Dear Author,

This book is a medieval fantasy for the ages. Brilliantly and wonderfully written, I absolutely loved every aspect of this book, and I didn’t want to put it down, but, you know, life needs living. Thank you for such a bright and magical tale!

Bright Swords is my gateway into your worlds. I will be reading The Magicians trilogy post haste!


Yours truly,
J. D. McCoughtry

Thank you NetGalley and PENGUIN GROUP Viking Publishing for the chance to read this e-arc.

𝐻𝒶𝓅𝓅𝓎 𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀 𝐵𝒾𝓇𝓉𝒽𝒹𝒶𝓎

𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝘽𝙧𝙞𝙜𝙝𝙩 𝙎𝙬𝙤𝙧𝙙
by Lev Grossman
688 pages
@vikingbooks
Pub Day Today!

If you’re longing to take a quest in a fantastical land where anything can happen to anyone, read this hefty volume filled with a motley crew from the Round Table.
This won’t be for every reader, as it is based on Arthurian legend and focuses on the Round Table, but it will be for the fantasy lovers who like an involved quest with many anecdotal vignettes on characters and their origin stories.

I am sure there are some twists that I missed as the more casual fantasy fan who is not a student of Arthur, but I was fairly entertained by these adventures and the occasional laugh out loud when hijinks or witty banter ensued.

If you want to travel in King Arthur’s time with a ragtag crew who wants to keep his legend alive, the do pick up The Bright Sword.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
#knightsoftheroundtable #thebrightsword #newbooks #legendbook #kingarthurbook #currentlyreading #fantasyreads #questbooks #bookreviews #bookreview #newpub #arcreading #summerreading

This is a WOW book. In so many chapters, there are so many WOW moments that it's hard to believe this is the same King Arthur that most readers know. But once you think about it, and this book will definitely make you think about it, what tales and legends most of us know on the subject of King Arthur and the Round Table is all surface. No history of how they came together, no prologue to fill in the "what's next" questions. Lev Grossman has taken the one dimension King Arthur myth and spun it into a three dimensional tale set in a more current universal style. These characters are exceptional. They readily admit their weaknesses and realize their strengths are not very strong, but as a group; their continued search for what is true and right will take readers to places you'd never imagine. I read this over a few days but feel it deserves another reading as now I know the characters and their journeys. This is easily a 10 star book.

Thank you to Penguin Group Viking and NetGalley for allowing me to read a digital ARC of Lev Grossman's "The Bright Sword," with a publication date of July 16, 2024. I have always been enchanted with books and movies on Arthurian mythology, and Mr. Grossman's alternate version was not just a retelling but an entertaining journey. In "The Bright Sword," Collum, a poor young knight, travels to Camelot to compete for a spot at the Round Table. Upon arrival, he discovers King Arthur was killed at the Battle of Camlann two (2) weeks ago and left no heir. But several knights of the Round Table are still alive. It's up to Callum and the rag-tag team of surviving knights—Sir Bedivere, Sir Palomide, and Sir Dinaden—along with courageous females—Nimue, Morgan Lafey, and Queen Guinevere—to find Excalibur, uncover the secrets behind Authur's death, and find the true heir to rule Britain. The action in the story takes place in the past and present as Mr. Grossman provides the backstory of each surviving knight; there were a lot of knights. I must admit, I did figure out the secret of one of the knights before the author's reveal. Mr. Grossman's depiction of Merlin and Sir Lancelot is unique. This saga is filled with magic clashing with Christianity, exciting combat scenes, jousts, hysteria, and wise, take-no-prisoner women! The women in this novel are not damsels in distress.

I had a great time following Collum and his comrades on their quest. However, I think the book could have been 150 pages shorter. While I enjoyed the detailed descriptions and character development, some parts of the story could have been condensed without losing the essence of the narrative. Do they find a true heir? Is Britain saved? Did Sir Lancelot really have an affair with Queen Guinevere? Was Merlin loyal or an opportunist? I recommend reading "The Bright Sword" if you're a fan of Arthurian legend and are seeking a fresh take on it.

The story begins with hopeful young knight Collum, whose dream is to join the Knights of the Round Table. But he arrives in a broken Camelot, where King Arthur and most of his knights have died and there are only a handful of lesser known knights remaining. They must rally to rescue Excalibur, fight the rivals that are backing Lancelot, and restore the kingdom.
Ever since I saw the Disney version of King Arthur's story as a child, I've been fascinated with the tale and all of its retellings. I have to say this is one of my favorites! The world building and character development is just phenomenal! This is my first book by this author and I was so engrossed in the story it was hard to put down. I highly recommend it!

I have a thing for Arthurian tales. I just have to try one when I come across it. When I found out Lev Grossman had written one, I knew I had to have it.
The Bright Sword tells the story of Collum, a young knight who wants to join Arthur’s Round Table. He gets there too late.
He finds a motley assortment of other knights with stories to tell.
Some of these stories were more interesting than others, but there were none that I could say were truly boring.
Grossman brought a good energy and style to Arthur’s Camelot.
Even if you aren’t an Arthurian fan, I think you would find this book worth your time.

This novel reads in many ways like an anthology of fairy tales from childhood. There is a through line plot here, but it does not propel the novel. Instead, each chapter can be read as a connected short story. Lovely bites to enjoy bit by bit.

This was a fun read, but at times it slogged a bit. I found myself super interested in the story (I'll admit that I didn't know much of king Arthur aside from Spam-a-lot spoofs and what has infiltrated into pop culture awareness; I wasn't even fully aware whether he was a real person or not) and I really enjoyed the narrative of Britain after Arthur. The characters were the shining stars in this - Dinadan and Collum and the rest were all so lovable and you couldn't help root for them.

The pacing in this is my biggest issue. It seemed off. There were parts where I struggled to maintain my attention, and I skimmed over paragraphs because they seemed overwritten. I do not feel like I missed much of the story doing this, either. I feel like this could have been edited down quite a bit and still been very good. However, I have to admit this might be because I am not the ideal reader for this book - I got annoyed with the battle scenes and sword fights and endless travel narrative. I loved the past looks at the knights, and last 1/3 of the book felt great to me, but the middle 1/3 just seemed like a bit of a slog.

Overall, this is an interesting retelling of historical myth and was well written if a bit slow for my tastes.

This is a delightful book. Overall, it was a healthy dose of adventure, surrealism, and humor. A portion of the plot makes light of the tedious task of questing, but that and the many backstories made the book drag in middle. I would not have been surprised to read a backstory about some random rock. Should the story be adapted for the screen, I hope the creators find a way satirize and wink at the many montages this story would require. The tone of the ending seemed a little incongruous with the rest of the book, but it wrapped everything up nicely.

Knights of the Round Table, fantasy and the stuff that legends are made of. A large novel that took quite a while to absorb, but nonetheless, enjoyable. My first book by this author...interesting! My thanks to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Taking place after the death of King Arthur, although when we first meet Callum our main character, he doesn't know that yet. Callum makes his way to Camelot and meets the survivors of the battle that took Arthur and ends up going on a quest with them so they can stop other kingdoms from taking the throne.
I liked the premise, and as naive as Callum comes across I liked him as a main character. We do get snippet chapters from the other knights pov, but as long as this book is the bits we get from the other characters didn't give me any deeper connection to them. I did love the bits from the ladies of the story. Nimue and Morgan le Fay, then later Guinevere, they had some great scenes and I definitely would have loved even more from them.

All in all, I think this book was just too long, while I really enjoyed some parts, for most of it I found myself bored, and had a hard time wanting to pick up it up after putting it down.

The Bright Sword takes us on a journey of epic proportions. We follow the main character Collum who struggles with the feeling of not being good enough, which I think most people can relate to. From being abandoned by his parents to living with the horrible Alisdair, he had a pretty horrible upbringing being abused and beaten. We follow his journey up to the present day where he eventually was able to be trained towards becoming a knight and now that he is old enough he heads off to Camelot with the hope to join the Knights of the Round Table.

I loved the mythos and how the religious lines were blurred, how the old ways and pagan rituals wrapped their tentacles into Christianity, and the question of whether God had abandoned and left these people. The battles fought are intense and magical, I enjoyed the epicness of this story. The character development is good, the characters are vibrant and full of life, and the story is quite fantastic. My biggest complaint is all of the attempted rape in this book, this is the most I've ever accounted in one book. Sure it was medieval times and in war there are horrible atrocities including rape, but the amount in here felt a bit excessive. Otherwise, this would have been a five-star read.