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.

"The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Magicians trilogy returns with a triumphant reimagining of the King Arthur legend for the new millennium.

A gifted young knight named Collum arrives at Camelot to compete for a spot on the Round Table, only to find that he's too late. The king died two weeks ago at the Battle of Camlann, leaving no heir, and only a handful of the knights of the Round Table survive.

They aren't the heroes of legend, like Lancelot or Gawain. They're the oddballs of the Round Table, from the edges of the stories, like Sir Palomides, the Saracen Knight, and Sir Dagonet, Arthur's fool, who was knighted as a joke. They're joined by Nimue, who was Merlin's apprentice until she turned on him and buried him under a hill. Together this ragtag fellowship will set out to rebuild Camelot in a world that has lost its balance.

But Arthur's death has revealed Britain's fault lines. God has abandoned it, and the fairies and monsters and old gods are returning, led by Arthur's half-sister Morgan le Fay. Kingdoms are turning on each other, warlords lay siege to Camelot and rival factions are forming around the disgraced Lancelot and the fallen Queen Guinevere. It is up to Collum and his companions to reclaim Excalibur, solve the mysteries of this ruined world and make it whole again. But before they can restore Camelot they'll have to learn the truth of why the lonely, brilliant King Arthur fell, and lay to rest the ghosts of his troubled family and of Britain's dark past.

The first major Arthurian epic of the new millennium, The Bright Sword is steeped in tradition, full of duels and quests, battles and tournaments, magic swords and Fisher Kings. It also sheds a fresh light on Arthur's Britain, a diverse, complex nation struggling to come to terms with its bloody history. The Bright Sword is a story about imperfect men and women, full of strength and pain, who are looking for a way to reforge a broken land in spite of being broken themselves."

Everyone has been waiting to see what Lev Grossman would do next. The answer? Awesomely it's Arthurian Legend!

I haven’t read a good Arthur book in a while. This one is great. Weird, fantastical, strange, and moving by turns, rarely did I know what to expect next and that’s what made it a perfect Round Table quest narrative. Also, 10/10 historical math joke.

A fun book but slow developed plot. Supposed to be a Camelot story but not really. I just did not get excited about this book b

I’ve enjoyed this author’s other books so I did think this would be more of a fun take on the Arthur story. However after reading about 35% of the book I realized it was not that way. The book is very long and drawn out, and really drags honestly. Mostly it is looking back in time and everyone is having a terrible life. Then it just kind of ends. After I got the third of the way in I skimmed the rest just to get it off my reading list. I can’t recommend this but for others who like Arthurian legend it may be different.

I have always loved King Arthur. From Rosemary Sutcliff to Malory, I have devoured every book I could get my hands on, but as I've gotten more aware, I've seen the many issues that bringing Arthur into the present day offers. Lev Grossman gives me an alternative that I can thoroughly embrace and celebrate, just as it celebrates all of us. I loved it.

I've been a fan of Lev Grossman's for a long time. This one just didn't stick the landing for me. I think setting it into such a familiar scene, but not including many of the classic characters felt a bit off for me.

I wanted so badly to love this. Lev Grossman reinvented fantasy with his astounding "Magician's" trilogy and I was poised to offer him similar aclaim for Arthurian legend. I think if you're a fan of Arthur and the many tales of his round table you will find much to love here. But for casual fantasy fans who've seen "The Sword in the Stone" or love the musical "Camelot" this may simply be too dense and too long, as it was for me. Grossman's writing remains as witty, wonderfully descriptive, and whimsically sarcastic as ever but I struggled to find a character to hang my hat on. While much of the narrative centers on young Camelot hopeful Callum considerable time is also given to the last of Arthur's knights, those happy few who survived his last war with Mordred, his widowed Queen Guenivere, Merlins' erstwhile lady love Nimue and Morgan Lafey, queen of the faeries. All of their stories are wonderful and frankly deserving of their own books or at least novella's but its so much to pack into one volume. I kept losing track of the story. It was also hard to ever get a sense of where I was being taken on this epic journey. And while I recognize that the journey is often the point its hard to go along with that when the central question is "what do we do now that Arthur's gone?" It is truly wonderful the way Grossman has pulled from such a cast array of sources (I even detected some Monty Python more than once), his respect for the sheer volume of stories, poems, theatrical pieces, songs etc. about Arthur that have been spun for literally hundreds of years is evident and I'm sure in years to come this book will be right up there with all the others.

I just finished "The Bright Sword" by Lev Grossman. I received a free eARC from NetGalley.

Collum has wanted to be a knight for as long as he can remember. Growing up as the bastard son of a fisherman, in the abusive home of a local Lord, tales of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table were the only thing that gave him hope. He finally sets out on his epic quest-- to Camelot, only to arrive too late. The King is dead. The Table is left in tatters-- only a handful of knights remain. As the remaining knights grapple with the legacy of Arthur-- and the painful reality of a Britain without him, they must face down some old foes and new threats to set things right. Filled with retellings of classic Grail Quests, as well as some new adventures, The Bright Sword reimagines the world of King Arthur as only Grossman could.

I will preface this by saying that I am a HUGE Magicians fan. Lev Grossman is a brilliant author-- and I love the way he inverts tropes and gives his character exactly what they want... with a twist. I think that The Bright Sword is a wonderful modern submission in the Legend of King Arthur-- and there are definitely some surprises in store through Grossman's modern lens, but overall it felt like a rehashing of a story I'm not entirely sure needed to be rehashed. Collum is a welcome addition to the Knights-- he's brave, and loyal, and earnest; but he's also a liar, a thief, and a backyard brawler. There are moments when Collum accepts those parts of himself, and there are moments when he falls into the trap of trying to be Divine perfection. Since we only have fringe members of the Table left, Grossman lets us take a peek into their adventures and past, in order to inform the present. He takes the usual liberties with timelines and historical accuracy (I will not fault him for that-- as he points out in the Afterwards, that is the foundation of the Arthurian tradition), but twists some of the tales to a more modern bent. There's some gender-bending, and some examination of the way in which gender informs these legends, but he never commits to them fully enough to really condemn them or dismantle them. I thought this was a really excellent book overall, I just thought it was missing some of the sardonic humor and sarcasm that I've come to expect from Grossman.

Unfortunately this just wasn’t for me.

I couldn’t get into the story and forced myself to read a huge chunk of it .

I know some would love it but personally I can not recommend.

The Bright Sword presents a refreshing take on the King Arthur legend, interwoven with historical details and delightful modern anachronisms. The protagonist, Collum, is an orphan raised as the ward of a minor lord on the island of Mull. Enduring mistreatment at the manor, Collum only learns swordplay after mustering the courage to demand training. Upon reaching adulthood, he leaves Mull for King Arthur's court in Camelot, aspiring to join the Knights of the Round Table. However, he arrives too late—Arthur has fallen at the Battle of Camlann, and nearly all the knights are dead or scattered.

The narrative skillfully alternates between past and present, delving into the histories of the few remaining knights and charting Collum's arduous journey towards self-respect and wisdom. This story, steeped in myth and magic, balances humor and love with the stark brutality born from fear, self-loathing, and the insatiable lust for power.

The Bright Sword rejuvenates a timeless tale with modern sensibilities, thoughtfully exploring the universal struggles that resonate with people across all eras.

This one is not for me. I am 85 pages in, and I simply don’t care about the story or any of the characters. The writing is nice, but it’s not enough if I have no desire to find out what happens next. So sorry.

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman is an epic tale of survival and magic. This captivating story will keep you hooked from beginning to end, making it impossible to set down.

Rounding down to a 4.5 but this was genuinely a fun and heartfelt fantasy. I’m quite fond of fantasies that are connected to Arthurian legend and I definitely feel like this book these tales so much justice and more. I became so fond for these characters and this was my first Grossman book and now I feel compelled to read his other ones.

Collum is a lowly but gifted night who has overcome a troubled background and is off to find his dream--to join the famed King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table in Camelot. The only problem? When he arrives, he learns that Arthur is dead and so are most of the Knights of the Round Table. The ones who remain are skeptical of Collum while feeling despondent about the end of a great age. But Collum's fresh blood invigorates them, and together they set off on an epic quest full of adventure, whimsy, and magic.

I absolutely love Lev Grossman's work, so it's no surprise that I loved this book. It pulled me in from page one and I was completely immersed in the world he created. I loved the characters and how they interacted with each other, and the setting was pure Grossman. If you loved The Magicians or Game of Thrones, you'll want to put this epic fantasy on your list.

If you've read The Magicians or are a fan of the show, you're likely familiar with Lev Grossman's name. However, this is a very different kind of book/genre. The Bright Sword is a historical fantasy encompassing Arthurian legends. If you like other Arthurian novels, you'll likely enjoy this book.

I did like this book, but I didn't love it. The story is told between the present (Collum's journey with the knights to find the Holy Lance) and the past. The past outlines the various knights that are still alive and their backstories. I really liked the backstories, but they felt awkwardly placed in the story. It's like Lev had the idea for two different books and mashed them together. A lot of the backstories don't tie in with where you are as the reader in the story. So it's jarring and could make me lose the plot. I'd have to flip back to figure out where I was in the story's timeline.

Overall, I loved the description of how magical Britain was butting up against Christianity. I thought it gave respect to the magical traditions of Britain and acknowledged the brutal past. I thought the historical aspects like Roman occupation were super interesting and entertaining to read. The characterizations of the knights that were left could have been better done; again, sometimes the backstories were so disjointed from the main plot. I also would have liked more Nimue and other female characters.

This was an interesting take on a tale as old as time, the fall of King Arthur. It could have been shorter, but it was a good read.

Thanks to NetGalley and Viking for the eARC. All opinions are my own.

I did not finish this book. I stuck with it a lot longer than I will most books I don't finish, somewhere around 300 pages. I lasted that long on past goodwill; I was a big fan of The Magicians trilogy. This book had two great sins. 1. It was boring. Even the battle and fight scenes were boring. 2. It was depressing. Nobody in this book was remotely happy or expressed any enjoyment of anything, at any point in their journeys with Arthur, or after he was gone. I don't read to be depressed. I ended up quitting and pulling out a book that I had been saving in my brain under "break glass in case of emergency". That's how much I didn't enjoy this book.

Lev Grossman solidifies his place amongst the master storytellers with his newest novel The Bright Sword. Grossman takes what we thought we knew about King Arthur and the Knights of the Roundtable and adds new twists and turns that turn an already good story into something more.

Collum is a character that you can't help but root for and love and may also see a lot of yourself in him. The Bright Sword is mixed with history, fantasy, adventure, humor and action. Grossman breathes life into old, familiar characters and weaves in new as if they were always part of the Arthurian mythos.

I first fell in love with Grossman's writing when I picked up The Magicians, and The Bright Sword solidified my love of his writing. Whether you have read Grossman before or not, this is a must read...King Arthur counts on it....

Thank you NetGalley and Viking for allowing me to join Collum as he fights to find himself and where he fits into the realm of things!

Interesting spin on the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Lovers of this genre will enjoy this intriguing story.

I ADORED this book. I am a large fan of The Magicians trilogy, and I think it has more to do with the character development than the actual story. I love how Grossman can create characters that are so flawed, but so realistic to life's ups and downs even when in a magical setting. If you love that aspect, you will not be disappointed with The Bright Sword.
The overall plot is laid out in the very beginning when we meet our main character Collum, but there are so many subplots and quests built in to the overall storyline. King Arthur is so well discussed that it seems a new story cannot possibly come from Arthurian legend, but Grossman does just that. In the same vein as how Maleficent is a hit regardless of how you felt about Sleeping Beauty- The Bright Sword is a story for everyone regardless of how you felt about Once and Future King.
Grossman develops each character, this time more intentionally with specific backstory chapters per person, in a way that you truly feel that you have been through all of their stories. When we journey with them, however, they are all at such different stages of their lives.
Truly a one-of-a-kind story even though it is a tale threaded through one of the most known storylines, and yet you are captivated the entire time. Grossman has proven he is still improving as a writer, and I cannot wait for this to come out!