Sadly this book, I had trouble reading/finishing. But I did hear that there will be a Netflix show and I will definitely give it a try.

I had to DNF this.. I agree to DNf bc I love a good King Arthur retelling but this has been done soooooo many times and it feels regurgitated at this point. There was nothing new nor inventive about this.

“Cursed” by Thomas Wheeler and Frank Miller was such an original and interesting take on the Arthurian legend, and made for an absolutely great show. I felt the book, however, only skimmed the surface of all the potential it had. I wish it had dove a little deeper, been fleshed out more. It was good, but fell a little flat, if that makes sense. If you’re intrigued, I’d say give it a chance.

I just didn't particularly like it. I am only familiar with Arthurian legend in the most general of senses. I have heard the 'important' names, I know there's a sword involved, bunch of Knights, possibly some magic. But for most of the beginning I really felt like I was just...missing something. Like, if I'd known who the original characters were I might feel like I had more stake in what was going on. It got a little bit better past the 2/3 point or so, but I still never really got invested in anything that was going on. Also, minor personal thing, I really dislike Miller's art style, so turning a page and seeing an unattractive drawing didn't really improve my reading experience. That's entirely based on taste, though.

I have an unfortunate habit of comparing Arthurian retellings, but this one was not my favorite. Nimue was not great at her job and Merlin wasn’t great!

I loved reading as I kid but struggle to find time as an adult. It’s often impossible to sit down to focus. While this book was not memorable overall, I’m sure it’s not you, dear book, it’s me.

Great books and wonderful story. This one a great story and loved reading it.
Would recommend for anyone that loves a good story and loves to read about awesome characters.

Thank you for the opportunity to read this title. Unfortunately, it is not for me. Since I didn't finish it, I will not post a review on Goodreads. Thanks again and best of luck!

2.8 stars

Unfortunately it took me forever to finish this book and review it because I kept loosing interest,

The start is so slow! I kept hearing it the pace was going to get better but it really never did for me. It was inconsistent throughout the entire book. The main reason I was determined to finish it was because of the screen adaptation. If it wasn't because of that I would have probably DFN.

this expired book before i was able to read it, but net galley won't let me mark it no review.
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Excellent book, that unfortunately I completely forgot to review when I originally got it! Love frank miller and I love his take on this tale.

I love Arthurian legend, however this was not my cup of tea. I don't think they made good use of the mythology and I couldn't relate to the main character. I felt that this book was all over the place and couldn't decide where it wanted to go.

Althought the premise sounded up my alley, sadly I couldn't really get into this book and I tried 3 times. I might try to watch the show at some point and maybe try to read the book again then.

First of all, I’m super excited that this book is being adapted into a Netflix show. I can’t wait to see all of this come to life on screen!
Secondly… there are a lottttt of characters in this book. So I feel like maybe we should start there. Let’s just give you a brief rundown of who’s involved with this story:

Nimue – Main character. Has a connection with the “hidden”. Is labeled as a “cursed” child by the people of her village.
Lenore – Nimue’s mother. Arch Druid of Dewdenn
Arthur – Sword for hire who takes an interest in Nimue and her cause
Morgan – Arthur’s half-sister. Pledges herself to Nimue and her cause
Squirrel – 8-year-old little boy from Nimue’s village. He and Nimue are close friends
Uther Pendragon – 26-year-old King of England
Merlin – Wizard. Advisor of King Uther
Lady Lunette – King Uther’s mother, the Queen Regent
Gawain – A friend of Nimue’s from Dewdenn. He has since disappeared. They call him “The Green Knight”
Rugen – The Leper King
Father Carden – Head priest leading the Red Paladins
Weeping Monk – Father Carden’s favorite follower
Sister Iris – A pupil of Father Carden. She only wants to do his bidding, earn his respect, and be his favorite
Brother Salt – Member of the Red Paladins who is particularly good at “carving” information out of people
Abbot Wicklow – a mysterious man who is observing the work of the Red Paladins
Red Spear – Viking Warlord who is loyal to the Ice King
Lord Cumber – The Ice King (self-proclaimed)
Hilja – The Ice Queen
Pope Abel – Leader of the Trinity
Kaze – mysterious purple-robed woman. Gawain’s trusted companion
Lady Cacher – of House Chastellain. A friend of Merlin’s
It seems a bit overwhelming, I know, but these characters are introduced in such a way so that you won’t ever be confused. They only come into the story when it is their time. Some are mentioned before they actually play a part but, I’m telling you, the author made this so easy to follow.

Ya know what I found refreshing about this book? There’s a female heroine but she isn’t glorified. She makes mistakes. We’re shown her thought process multiple times where she’s wondering if she’s doing the right thing or she’s trying to figure out if she made the right decision. What’s even more, she makes mistakes! She literally makes choices in the story that lead to bad things happening. But she takes everything as it comes. She owns up to everything. SHE PUTS HER PEOPLE BEFORE HERSELF. Even though those same people ridiculed her at first and saw her as different and weird… she still chose to put them first and do what was best for all and not just one. That was so damn refreshing.

The adventure in this book is endless. The story follows Nimue, Father Carden, and occasionally the Weeping Monk or Arthur. This story does not lack adventure at any point. The action is present from the very start until the very end of the book. I was never bored while reading this story.

I really liked how these classic characters were shown in a different light. Instead of Merlin the wizard who outsmarts everyone and who can get himself out of any situation, he was instead ensnared multiple times. Yes, he still had the witty tongue to get himself out of said situations but sometimes in the story, he just plain got lucky.
Arthur is just as human as the rest of them. Making his own mistakes and bad choices. Running from conflict. But eventually, finding his flaws and correcting himself to be worthy of the knighthood he’s always dreamed of.
Lancelot even makes his appearance in this book! But I won’t go into detail about his character as that would be a MAJOR spoiler.

I feel like this story is a better representation of how things would actually be if the Sword of Power was out there and in the hands of one person. Yes, the Sword of Power chooses someone and that person is said to be the rightful king, but let’s be honest here, there will always be evils who wish the power for themselves and will do ruthless things to get to it. This story embodies that. It shows the selfish desires of man, even the ones who may have meant well in the beginning. It shows the price of wielding such power and how that power can go to your head if you let it. It reminded me a lot of Bilbo Baggins and The One Ring to Rule Them All.

I honestly can’t wait to see all of these characters come to life. I can’t wait to see if the show will be just as relentless as the book was. Torture, mass slaughters, poisonings… It got pretty brutal at times. But, GOODNESS this book was so good. It kept me on the edge of my seat. It kept me wondering what might happen next. Then there were all the twists. Those were so much fun. At one point I was whooping and fist pumping into the air because I was so excited about the twist that came my way.

I did see that this book didn’t do so well where ratings were concerned on Goodreads… But I really enjoyed it and would definitely recommend it to anyone who can handle a middle grade book that has about 100 more pages than it really needs. But again, I was never bored. The adventure was so abundant that I didn’t mind the extra pages.
You do have the option to just wait for the show to come out next year though. But I definitely urge people to always read the book first. 🙂

Shout out to Frank Miller for the amazing illustrations throughout this book! I rather enjoyed those as well!

I loved this retelling of the Arthurian legend, it was easy to become lost in the world being created. Would recommend this to others and handsell it, though that would be easier in paperback.

I enjoyed both the book and the television series. I actually wish that this was a series instead of a stand-alone. This is one of the books I encourage my patrons to get as a physical copies because of the artwork.

This wasn't bad, overall! It's not a retelling, which I think many people assume it to be? There's a lot of telling, rather than showing, and I wonder if the book doesn't suffer from being a show and sort of feeding off of each other for that.

Hmm, where to begin, this book was too much for me. I started and stopped reading it so much. I got it because it sounded like something my daughter would read and I wanted to suggest it to her. I didn't though. I thought it was going to be a great read. I thought it was going to be the flip version where the sword chooses a girl/woman vs a guy. It's not. After learning that Frank Miller was also involved in this book I realized why I don't like it. It's too harsh, too gory, too much for me. I'm sure it's great for those who like that sort of thing but I'm going to pass on future books.

DNF. The characters were flat and uninteresting, and I wasn't able to connect with them or their individual stories. Purchased for those who enjoy the Arthurian style story.

I tried this book in preparation for the Netflix series and was disappointed on both sides. Unfortunately the main character is childish and not an enjoyable lead. Hopefully other books in this genre and time period will crop up.