I have to admit I got this book for one reason and that was because Frank Miller had his name with it... I am a huge Frank North fan... and that alone was enough to draw me... this book started out a tiny slow ... and I thought oh no... but it didn't take long for me to get invested the book... is very well written... I wish there been a little more background early on but by the end there is enough... the book is fun and suspenseful and definitely could see a book twp coming up... loved all the characters ....or hated them ....but that was of course with the author wanted.... and it worked well ...the drawings by Frank were amazing as always but really Drew me further into the story and allowed me to visualise the things that I was reading ...the book is excellent ...I have read many books on here and I have to say that that with many... I would buy... but now that I had read them I did not have to... this is a book I am going to go out and buy why if nothing else just for the artwork but also lend it to others ....really enjoyed it and can't wait for book number 2 great job! ...I want to thank netgally for a chance to read this early release in exchange for an honest review!

This one is a bit of a challenge to review. I'm a sucker for Arthurian legend stories, so I was thinking this would be a slam dunk for me. It IS a well-paced, action-packed book, but a little disjointed and ultimately didn't (in my opinion) live up to its potential. (Maybe a 3.5?)

The book has been optioned by Netflix for a series and it reads like it--not entirely always in a good way. There is a a lot of intercutting between scenes, which is a tactic often employed on TV and in movies, but works less well on the page. For instance, if you're in the middle of a fight sequence between two people, you'll suddenly skip over to an entirely different action/fight sequence, and then back to the first. In a vision medium like TV, that intercutting builds tension and shows interesting parallels between what you might have thought were unrelated scenes. However, in a book form, that tactic just interrupted the flow. It felt annoying instead of dramatic.

The characters seemed solid, and I thought the author did a nice job of sloooooowly introducing/revealing many characters who we know from the myths and legends. Arthur seemed a little one dimensional for me, but I dug Nimue. The only thing challenging about her storyline though is we know that her time with the sword is limited, so it's a bit of challenge to be invested in her adventures with it. Ultimately I wanted to know more about her connection to nature, magic and her clans. I wanted to know more about the myths surrounding her--instead a seeing more of a reverse role take on the Arthur story.

Thanks to the author and NetGalley for granting me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is too short for what it is endeavouring to accomplish. There is WAY too much going on in terms of the scope of this book. It's a retelling of the legend of King Arthur designed to be Netflix's answer to Game of Thrones and overhyped by the inclusion of Frank miller's art. The problem is that it's trying to do way too much all at once and ends up not doing any of it well. There's no time for anything or anyone to be explained or set up and Wheeler has changed the origins of the legendary characters enough that those moments of exposition are needed. This book had a whole bunch of potential and I was really excited. There are glimmers of a really, really good series here, but this entry tried to basically jump right into the middle of that series with no context or build-up. I wanted to like it more than I ended up liking it. And I found Miller's art a distracting inclusion, it didn't need to be there and it didn't add anything by its existence. Overall it's just too overwhelming too much is happening and because of the pace and length, there's no time to make sense of any of it.

yeah no this book is going to be for someone but it's just not for me i'm over these story types but i'm excited to see more from the author

This novel makes my dungeons and dragon loving heart just melt. The illustrations are gorgeous and I'm so excited for the Netflix adaptation!

First and foremost I would like to thank Netgalley and the publisher, Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers for providing me with this ARC.

I was really exciting to read this because of the collaboration. I mean Frank Miller! I am not so familiar with Thomas Wheeler, this was my first by him. I saw on the cover of the book that it was being made into a Netflix Original which made it more exciting to read.

The Good -
The artwork is Interesting!
The action was Perfect!
A strong female lead! (Much needed)

This is one of those stories that you hear and think that it could be great, but just couldn't make it! Although the idea is interesting, it has been told numerous times. I found myself not being able to stay engaged or attached to the characters. My mind was wandering and thinking of other things as I was trying to live in this world. I almost put it down a few times. So because of that I would give the book 3 stars.

This is less a YA updated version of Mists of Avalon than something completely new that uses the names of the Arthur saga to tie it in to the story. I think that what threw me a little, the waiting for the Arthur stuff to match what I knew of his story. The mix of POVs and what seems to be a mix of eras and fashions and beliefs get a little confusing (eg Druids during the Middle Ages). Having said that, had the author used different names and belief systems this could have been a great book. We have a strong heroine who decides lead her people (kind of like Joan of Arc) against those who think they're heretics/pagans/a threat, fight scenes, romance - what more could you ask for?

eARC provided by publisher.


READING PROGRESS

Cursed
by Thomas Wheeler and Frank Miller
5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The Lady of the Lake is an enchantress in the Matter of Britain, the body of medieval literature and legend associated with King Arthur. She plays a pivotal role in many stories, including giving Arthur his sword Excalibur, enchanting Merlin, and raising Lancelot after the death of his father. At least two different sorceresses bearing the title "the Lady of the Lake" appear as separate characters in some versions and adaptations since the Post-Vulgate Cycle and consequently Le Morte d'Arthur.

Now comes another adaptation from two of the most creative minds ever..

Synopsis:

A DARK MAGIC
A POWERFUL WARRIOR
A LEGENDARY QUEEN

Touched by darkness, Nimue is an outcast to her people, forced to repress her magic. But when her village is slaughtered, the darkness begins to resurface.

Tasked by her dying mother to reunite the Sword of Power with the sorcerer Merlin, she must save a terrorised Kingdom. Nimue's mission leaves no room for revenge, but the growing power within her can think of little else. Hers was not the only decimated village and others face a similar fate.

With the help of the rogue mercenary Arthur, Nimue must battle the armies of a corrupt king and, be it in victory or on the edge of a blade, discover the truth about her destiny once and for all.

My Thoughts:

Cursed is a bold retelling of the Arthurian legend, created by award-winning artist Frank Miller and acclaimed screenwriter Tom Wheeler. An original Netflix series starring Thirteen Reasons Why star Katherine Langford is set for release in Spring 2020.
Amazing, amazing, amazing!! The highlight of my year is this book and the upcoming Netflix production of it!! I couldnt get enough of Merlin and Nimue. By far my most favorite adaptation of the Arthurian Tale!!
A story about legendary Arthur character Lady of the Lake. Nimue is her characters original name before becoming Lady of the Lake and she was brave, and strong, and loving. Regardless of having great power, Nimue was also touched by evil... The marks on her back tell the story even though everybody knows especially since her father had left her. However she would be the one person with the power and strength to save them all from The Red Paladins.
She is the giver of King Arthurs Sword, the enchanter of Merlin, and the savior of Lancelot. This is her story. Well written with amazing graphics from Sin City artist and producer Frank Miller!! Wheeler and Miller made the perfect team for this amazing retelling and I cant wait for the Netflix showing, I only hope it is half as amazing as the book!!

Thanks to netgalley for the chance to read and review Cursed.

It's another twist on Arthurian legend, which is nothing new. It keeps it's freshness in by bringing Nimue front and center. I believe this is going to become a tv show and I will defo be checking it out.

I was really excited by both the cover and premise of this book when I first saw it appear on Netgalley - let's also not forget that Frank Miller's name was attached to the project. However, the book just didn't do it for me. The characters are nothing like the characters I've grown up hearing stories about and I found myself bored by 20 percent in. I couldn't bring myself to enjoy it when it continually skipped from one scene to another without any clear indication that we were moving to follow other people or jumping ahead in the story.

I'm hoping that the Netflix series does the story better justice but as for the book, I'm ready to jump into something else.

Cursed was such an interesting and spectacular novel filled with gorgeous and intriguing illustrations! I can't wait for the Netflix adaptation for this novel!

The story is about Nimue who is part of the Sky Folk who are a Fey clan. She has the ability to connect to The Hidden, which leaves her as sort of an outcast. Her mother is the Arch Druid of her clan until an attack by the church leave Nimue with the Sword of Power (aka Excalibur, but not). She is on a mission to see Merlin regarding the Sword of Power, when along the way she realizes that she can do a lot of damage with said sword. It has a very One Ring vibe to it (she could hear it call to her), and I kept waiting for her to call it her preciousssss half way through the book. In her journey she meets Arthur (yes, that Arthur), Morgan (his half-sister), and other Fey clans. The Fey clans are being exterminated by the Church, and Uther Pendragon, the king at this time, is doing nothing about it because he’s useless. Oh, and Merlin was his right-hand man until he was not. Nimue becomes Queen of the Fey as she encourages the Fey to fight back.

Character wise, I felt that Nimue had the most growth in this book, but it did really focus heavily on her. Arthur was a side character, and although he has his own personal little journey of the self, we don’t really see it until he goes against what he’s normally done all his life. We see the destruction of Nimue’s family and clan through her eyes, and we see as she struggles to become what she feels she needs to be for her people. The Sword of Power speaks to her, and she feels invincible with it. She’s 16, clueless, and is trying to play at Queen. If Wheeler was trying to show her as anything else, he failed. You could see just how of her league she really was, even with the help of her friends. In the end, it ends up biting her in the ass, but that’s giving the story away.

As far as the story goes, it was fun in some parts, but it didn’t engage me like I thought it would. I found myself falling asleep during my lunch break while reading it. It wasn’t boring, but it wasn’t captivating either. I actually took a day to let the story sit with me, to savor it in my head before giving a proper review of it. Yet, I find it a bit unmemorable. It didn’t stick with me like other books have. I didn’t have the urge to read it when I had down time. It was forgettable to me, even with the ending which leads me to believe there will be another book. I wanted more. It felt as if this story has been told just better.

There are illustrations throughout the book by Frank Miller (of the 300 and The Watchmen fame), and they were atrocious. I hated his illustrations, and the book would have been better off without them.

I definitely will say that it deserves a read. I’m always for young girls kicking butt and taking names, especially when it comes to the injustices of the world. Nimue is a fun character, and if there is a second book, I’ll definitely read it to see what happens to her story.

I was given this ARC for an honest review through NetGalley.

I'm all for twisted fairytales but there are so many great things that have been done in the genre that this one fell flat for me.

Many times has the story of Arthur, Lancelot and Merlin been told. Arthur is nearly always the receptor of the magical sword that makes him the one true king. This time around the sword belongs to a girl, Nimue.

Nimue is a member of the Sky Folk clan, an ancient Druid group of Fey. When her village is attacked by the Red Paladins and Father Carden, her mother tasks Nimue with bringing the sword to Merlin. Along the way Nimue befriends young Arthur. Even Lancelot makes his appearance. Nimue, as the keeper of the sword, feels bound to protect the ancient Fey clans even at the cost of her own life.

This retelling of the old tale gets the new twist with the sword belonging to a girl, a teenage girl with magical powers and a fearless heart. For today’s readers, it’s a nice change to have the protagonist of the story be female, and Arthur to be a supporting player, rather than the other way around. This is simply the first book in what should be a good series to come.

I enjoyed this story. It’s definitely filled with blood, gore and violence, but also has a lot of heart. Nimue has her flaws, but she’s a tough cookie up to the challenge of being a leader. Wheeler has done the classic tale a true service in focusing on Nimue and letting her have a turn at being the one true “king.” Merlin shows cracks and a little bit of humanity in this version, and Arthur is the less than perfect sword for hire. It’s a fun romp through medieval England.

3.5 stars on Goodreads

This review will be posted at BookwormishMe.com close to publication date.

I enjoyed this book, but it didn't captivate me. While I love twists on Arthurian legend, I felt this story didn't twist enough away from the source material. I will enjoy seeing it adapted on the small screen though.

After Nimue’s village is destroyed by the Red Palatins, her mother gives her a task to carry a powerful sword to Merlin. Others like Arthur, Morgan, and Gawain join her quest.
This novel was not very well-written. The story included scenes and characters that were not related to Nimue’s story. The characters and Nimue’s herself are one-dimensional and lack depth. The story seemed rushed especially in the middle. The ending was abrupt and had no closure. Overall, it had a great premise. It was not executed well. Still, I recommend this for fans of BBC’s Merlin.

I always hate when I'm really excited for a book and it turns out to be a massive disappointment. <i>Cursed</i> by Thomas Wheeler and illustrated by Frank Miller was that kind of book for me. So much so, in fact, that I'm not even sure if I care to watch the Netflix series coming out soon anymore. As an avid fan of Arthurian stories and retellings, <i>Cursed</i> missed the mark for me in <i>so many ways</i>.

Meant to be somewhat of an origin story for the <i>Lady of the Lake</i>, <i>Cursed</i> follows young Nimue as she responds to the desecration of her home and her people. The Druids are under attack from a religious order of Paladins who seek to wipe her kind from existence. When the sword of power, as it is called in this novel, falls into Nimue's hands she is instructed to bring it to Merlin. Instead, she begins a war.

To start with, <i>Cursed </i>was really difficult to get into just from the beginning. I don't know if it was the dry writing or the fact that I just did not care at all about any of the characters, but something was off with it. What's worse is that I felt that way through pretty much all of the story. <i>Cursed</i>, to put it simply, read like really bad fanfiction from someone who had minimal knowledge of the Arthurian legends and decided to spin his own story whilst using the names of the original characters.

In fact, all of the characters came across as caricatures of their former selves. So much so that it's laudable this is even considered a retelling. Barring the names, the characters can barely be considered shadows of their inspirations. Nimue was annoying through and through, Arthur was <i>massively</i> disappointing, Merlin was a <i>disaster</i> in so many different ways that I'm honestly somewhat ashamed of how much he was butchered in this tale, Uther was pathetic and disturbing rather than powerful and cruel or misguided, and honestly, I won't even get into the mess that was Guinevere, Squirrel, Percival, Morgan, and Gwain.

And the romance. Why was that even included at all? It was so forced and eye-roll inducing. Then we move into how the "Excalibur" of this story corrupted those who wielded it, Merlin's past with the sword, Arthur's desire for Nimue to get rid of it, and Nimue being influenced into declaring herself a Queen and I just found myself really frustrated with basically everything that the story contained.

Ultimately, there was almost nothing about this book that I could even bring myself to like just a little bit. Even the artwork, which was half the reason many people even talked about this book in the first place, was immensely disappointing. In the end, there is only one moment in which I'll give credit where credit is due, and say that ending bordered on the spectacular. I really appreciated the way the book concluded Nimue's story, even if the story itself was a disaster.

<i>I was provided a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.</i>

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This book was a lot darker and heavier than I expected. (I totally get why Netflix thought it would make a great series). I was surprised by how many different pov's we got. Nimue's was, of course, my favorite but I've also gotten really attached to Morgan. I sure hope there's a sequel because this book definitely didn't have a closed ending. I thought it was a great read and look forward to seeing the adaptation.

This book was received as an ARC from Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing - Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. Opinions and thoughts expressed in this review are completely my own.

I have loved every sign pieces, page by page, cover to cover of this book. The drama, the suspense, the legends are really captivating and will leave you glued to the book from beginning to end. After reading this book, I am very curious to see how the Netflix TV Show will turn out and I really hope it is just as exciting as the book was and not another flop like other comic based TV Shows. I have always been a fan of King Arthur and Camelot and having the drawings at the end of each chapter be done by Frank Miller was such a nice additional treat.

We will consider adding this title to our YFantasy collection at our library. That is why we give this book 5 stars.

Unfortunately, this King Arthur re-telling pales in comparison to others. It's marketed as a retelling of the famous myth with the Lady of the Lake at the front and center and shows what happens when the sword of legend chooses a queen. While this seems appealing, Wheeler fails to delve into the character and her development to make a true female-centric re-telling.

The story follows Nimue, who comes from the Sky Folk. She has always lived as an outcast because of her connection to dark magic, which the villagers view as a 'curse'. Her mother is the head druid and at one point, Nimue is chosen to succeed her. However, the villages reject this and Nimue leaves her town behind for a little bit, but comes back when the Red Paladins, who work for the Church, slaughter everyone in the town.

Her mother dies with a request: take a mysterious package to Merlin. It is revealed to be the Sword of Power and as the story progress, Nimue wields it and meets familiar faces as the political turmoil of the land increases. There are several contenders vying for the throne, including Uther Pendragon and an Ice King, who Merlin dangerously pretends to ally with. His true goal is to reclaim the Sword of Power and give it to someone worthy, but it has already chosen Nimue, who must fight to keep it.

While the story seems promising with a female lead and perspective, I felt that the author really did not develop Nimue as a character. She has a pretty solid backstory but as the story progresses it falls to the wayside. It often feels overlooked with a focus on other character's perspectives, including Uther and the Weeping Monk. Furthermore, I find it problematic that Nimue's friend, Pym, dies off-screen pretty much (I went back and searched the document for her name and couldn't find the actual death scene - please point it out if you know where it is). The illustrations were nice, but it could not make up for the flat characterization of Nimue and even Arthur, who I wanted to be more evil in this version.