“Spear” by Nicola Griffith is both subversive and brilliant, with queer characters, exciting adventure, and glorious magic with real consequences. I love Arthurian fiction and this is a wonderful retelling of the myth told from the point of view of Peretur, more commonly known as Percival. This version, however, is a woman. That change not only adds more mystery, more depth, and more magic but creates a whole new version of the legend. It is fresh and original but more importantly, the story itself is so well written, it was like jumping into a lake of warm water, embracing and enveloping. 

The story is told from Peretur’s point of view and as she sets off on her adventures, you crawl under her skin with her and see the world from her eyes, both her triumphs but also her losses. I was swept along in her wake as she fights and loves in this beautiful, glorious novel. The character is so engaging and complex that it is a delight to read this book. The world itself is authentic, based in history and previous legends. The author clearly knows her subject matter, taking a known story but adding an original spin. She also includes a presentation of some of her research at the end of the book. This book caught me up in the story so quickly and never let me go, keeping me up at night devouring the characters and the story, which includes queer and disabled characters, something we rarely see in Arthurian fantasy. 

If you are looking for something new and original, and you like Arthurian fiction,  I highly recommend this book by Nicola Griffith. It is sublime, a work of art, and a compelling story. I loved every minute of the ride and am placing this amongst my favorites.

This is a stunning queer reimagining of the stories about King Arthur and his knights. It's a short standalone fantasy that's richly drawn and imaginative. The writing is excellent though I found my knowledge of Arthurian legends severely lacking. I appreciate the author's notes at the end where she explains the background of this story.

The typical hero journey but with a twist. Violence and some dark magic but I loved how it was balanced with the good deeds of the MC - caring for others, nurturing, being kind.

This short fantasy still felt very epic. It was a nice exploration of one of the King Arthur myths. We watch the (at first) nameless girl grow up and eventually make her way to King Arthur's court and companions.

I really liked how believable the girl was with her strengths and her ability to learn (and fight). I also enjoyed the take on the Companions, Arthur, and Gwen.

Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It was an excellent story!

Spear is really beautifully written and you notice it immediately, the language is so familiar, yet unique, and evokes legend, fantasy and history. As a reader who likes to sought out Arthurian books, this story reminds me of the classics. It has the magic and the majesty of that time.
Full review to come on YouTube

I loved the concept for this one but I think the writing style didn’t connect with me. The pacing was also a touch slow. Would still try more by the author but overall three stars for me.

A fresh and immersive take on Arthurian legend. The beginning with Per's childhood dragged on a bit for me, which was especially noticeable with an already short work, but I can see why someone would appreciate the foundation it was laying. Overall really enjoyable read.

This was such a lovely take on the King Arthur legend and I really enjoyed the sapphic interpretation that Griffith presents here. Their language is lush and almost poetic in how they write, and seeing as this was my first read from this author, it came as a really beautiful surprise.

It took a few pages for me to get into the rhythm of the novella, but once I was in, I was totally invested in Peretur's story. Even the side characters (Arthur, Gwen and Lancelot specifically) were additions that gave the world of Spear that much more character.

Thanks to Netgalley and Tor-Macmillan for the ARC!

I really enjoyed this book, but it wasn't the Arthurian retelling I was quite expecting. The story focuses on the girl, we don't know her name for a large chunk of the book, who grows up wild in a cave with her mother, but she has visions of a faraway lake, visions that make her restless, make her long for something more, long to be something more. When she hears the name Artos, she knows he is her destiny and so she sets off, leaves her mother for the first time in her life and armed with only a name, Peretur, a broken spear, mended armour and a horse she sweet talked into carrying her, the girl sets off to Caer Leon. Her journey will be perilous, she will learn many things about herself she had never known before and through all of this she will find her fate, her love, and the lake she spent her childhood dreaming of.

As I said above, if you're expecting a straight on Arthurian retelling, you might be a little disappointed. Artos, as he is named in this book, only appears in the last 50% or so of the story and isn't quite the strong and brave King we know from the legend. Instead he is a man whose mind is not wholly his own, thanks to the interference of Mryddyn and the famous sword her carries. Thankfully though, Artos' court make up for his lacking, and were by far some of my favourite characters. I loved how the author wove in parts of the original story to her characters backstories, whilst also managing to make them wholly her own. Llanza, or Lance was certainly a favourite of mine and I loved, no matter how brief, how the author explored the relationship between himself, Artos and Gewnhwyfar. It was a take I had never read before, but one I thoroughly enjoyed.

Spear is a bit of a slow starter, and it took me a while to full grasp where the story was going, but once I did I was hooked. Griffith magically mixes the Arthurian lore with the history of the time. She fully admits that any Arthurian retelling is basically fanfic with it's own spin on the tale which is a brilliant and truthful way of looking at it, and with Spean Griffiths makes it queer, poetic and exciting. Griffiths writing style help bring her version of the story to life. It's beautifully written and even the fight scenes, and there are some truly epic ones, are told in such a poetic way as to hide their true brutality. It reads like a fable, and has stories within stories, which I love.

It's safe to say I thoroughly enjoyed this Novella. It reads almost like an epic poem of old, there are no good stopping points, instead the author makes you feel like you should devour it in one big bite, and devour it I did. This is my first book by the author, but I can guarantee it will not be my last.

Nicola Griffith's Spear has a unique perspective on the Arthurian saga.

Peretur grows up in a cave with her changeable mother Elen, who stole something of great value from Tuathan Mananden.

A grown up Peretur heads for the court at Caer Leon, disguised as a boy, determined to join Artos's Companions.

She meets and loves Myrddyn's pupil Nimue, and learns from her. Then the Grail quest is launched.

If you enjoy tales of Camelot, you will not want to miss Spear.

Even a layperson such as myself can recognize the amount of time, devotion, and research Nicola Griffith put into writing this book. And that’s all before you get to the author’s note and her meticulous list of citations.

I found myself much more invested in the story once Peretur ventures off on her own, after being hidden by a tortured mother for the entirety of her childhood. That mystery wasn’t behind her, per se, but she was finally moving forward, discovering who she was as a person outside of her mother’s influences.

The romance in this book is hardly at the forefront of the story, though the queer relationships are soft and beautiful and certainly play their part. Instead, Per’s journey to knighthood takes front-and-center, and although I would describe her path forward as an easy one, that doesn’t distract from Griffith’s ability to weave magic into every page.

Her abilities allow her to become more than a proficient fighter, but she still needs to learn what it means to be a knight, what it means to work as a team. And this is where we see Per grow as a person, both in mind and in spirit. She is destined to bear a great burden given who she is and what she can do, but she carries it with all the grace and poise of someone born into that role.

If you’re looking for a lush Medieval fantasy to lose yourself in—one full of magic and romance and adventure—you need look no further than Spear by Nicola Griffith. I love a good queer retelling, and Griffith certainly made Spear feel like a classic for the ages.

This is one of my favourite books of all time, full stop.

Beautifully written in an ethereal voice that conjures the legends of King Arthur well before we ever hear his name. We start in a secret valley where a mother and child are hiding from something. Their isolation protects them, but it also chafes the child who wishes to know more of the world, but her mother’s fear won’t even allow her to know to her own name. As the child grows she hears the call of a distant lake and after seeing knights from the distant Car Leon she decides that her destiny is to become a companion of King Artos of that distant kingdom and so she sets off into the greater world to find her way.

This book felt fresh and new but familiar all at the same time. While I have never been a big reader of Arthurian retellings the story of King Arthur and Camelot has always captivated my imagination. The best thing about this book is how Griffith makes the women the focus without making them villains. We don’t have the evil sorceress who is out to get the king, and Gwenevere is not a faithless queen. Our hero here is Peretur, a woman, strong as a man, in men’s garb, who doesn’t bother to correct people when they assume (wrongly) that she is a man. I loved Peretur, particularly the fact that it didn’t feel like she was dressing as a man as a form of impersonation, she just was who she was, her gender expression wasn’t about trying to be something, it was just a true expression of herself. This gender fluidity was refreshing in a story based on such an old seed.

For such a short book this novella had a huge impact on me and what I want to get out of my fantasy from now on. I can’t wait to read more from Nicola Griffith and while I wait for her to publish something new I will definitely be exploring her back catalogue.

This book will land best with those who love mythic fiction with a distant voice that feels like a story passed down through the ages.

Tropes in this book include: folklore retelling (Arthurian), queer heroine, sapphic romance

CW: animal death, violence, murder


Spear is a queer fantasy novella with folklore elements by Nicola Griffith. A nameless girl grows up hidden in the woods with her mother. One day, after hearing travelers talk about Artos, the king of Caer Leon, she decides it is time to go. She asks her mother for her name, and then sets off--disguised as a young man--to find out who she is or will be.

This is my first book from this author, but I really enjoyed her writting. It's quite lyrical and beautiful. I will for sure be reading more of here books.

For the first dozen or so years of her life, the girl has no name of her own. Her mother calls her by turns Dawnged (“her gift”) and on other days she is Tâl (“her mother’s payment”). Together, they live in a cave in a forest in a world rife with magic. The girl can speak to the wind, and knows the path the fox takes through the woods and the mood of the cow that gave the milk. The trees tell her of fallen branches that may be used to make fires; the ground tells her where to find fat rabbits for stew. Her world and all that is in it is a marvel and a wonder. And for a time, the girl is happy. But as she grows, tall and strong, fast as a deer and sharp as a wolf, she finds herself wanting more than what her mother can give her. What her mother is willing to give her.

A chance encounter with men opens a new world. A world of axes, cheese, wood houses, and iron weapons. Finding a dead man, she takes his sword and his horse and teaches herself their ways. And when coming across live men whose armor shines, whose faces and voices are fair, they awaken in her a desire. These men are brave and bold. They fight not for money or power, but to do good. Their spirits are clean, their hearts pure, and she longs to be one of them.

Armed with a pair of spears, a sword with a broken tip, and a horse, the girl bids farewell to her mother, to her cave, and her forest, and — with her new name, her own name, Peretur — follows the golden light of destiny to Caer Leon and the court of King Arturus.

Spear is a lyrical, poetic, and mythic story about the Knights of the Round Table, the search for the Grail, and one young woman’s desire to live her own life. Peretur is uncanny in her abilities, but never boastful or malicious. She wouldn’t know how to be. Instead, she’s kind, curious, and with the impatience of the young, she pushes for answers to questions she doesn’t understand. When told no, she doesn’t sulk or fret. Instead, she works at the problem until she finds what she believes to be the answer.

Peretur isn’t always right, but she is always well meaning. As she wears hose and armor, many people mistake Peretur for a boy, and she doesn’t bother to correct them. Peretur could easily be read as genderqueer or nonbinary as her own gender is never an issue for her. She passes for male and lives as a man, but she never refers to herself as he or him. She simply doesn’t see the need to correct other people when their belief is to her advantage. After all, she’s only ever seen men with weapons and in armor. And if their assumption of her gender helps her get what she wants, she’s all for it.

While seeking to become one of the king’s companions, Peretur meets Nimuë, Arturus’ sorceress now that Myrddin has vanished. Nimuë was his apprentice, and it was not an easy life for her. Myrddin wanted to use Nimuë’s magic, lying to her, grooming her, and manipulating her into giving it to him. She has issues with trust, a hesitation in opening herself, and a naturally quiet and watchful personality that goes well with Peretur’s clever, questing mind. The two of them find understanding in one another. Where Nimuë might have expected judgement or questions for her actions, Peretur has none to give. What came before is gone, and they are here in the now.

This book is a lyrical coming-of-age story, as sweet and clean as the streams Peretur drank from as a child. As someone who loved stories about knights in armor, this book was everything I would have wanted to read when I was younger and I’m pleased to have been able to read it, now. It’s wholesome, lovely, and I very strongly recommend this to anyone and everyone who loves knights, maidens fair, magic, and romance.

If you love Arthurian retellings (especially those with an LGBT twist), you've got to check out Spear by Nicola Griffith.

She grew up in a cave – in the wild. Yet her whole life, she knew she was destined for the court. Destined, but perhaps not desired. Yet she can't resist the temptation to test herself and see the limitations of her powers, so off on this adventure, she goes.

Naturally, much of what is about to follow feels familiar. Knights, battles, stolen and broken hearts. But several twists make this tale quite different from what one might expect. It is her story to tell, after all.

Okay, Arthurian fans should take note – Spear is a different take on this world. So if you're craving another retelling, please make a point of picking it up! Best of all, Spear is very LGBT+, which is so refreshing it isn't even funny.

I'll confess that I have been getting a little tired of Arthurian retelling lately (there are just SO MANY of them). So when I say that I enjoyed Spear, I want you to understand the full weight of that statement. I enjoyed Spear, despite not knowing how I would feel about it when I first picked it up.

Okay, the fact that our leading lady wants to become a knight and break hearts is amazing, so I probably would have fallen in love with it regardless. I'm pretty sure there's a rule about that somewhere.

I will cut this review a bit short because I feel like anything else I say will run into spoiler territory. So I'll leave it at this: check out Spear if you're looking for a novella with fierce characters and unique takes.

I was really excited for this book, I love a retelling of King Arthur and his knights. Tracy Deonn's Legendborn renewed my love for King Arthur.

The story overall was good but I found the pace quite slow at times. The last half of the book did pick up in pace as we discovered more of Per's back story and met Nimue.

I would read more of Nicola's books in the future.

Man, Spear is slim, gorgeous retelling of Arthurian lore, breathing new life not only into the leading character of Sir Percival—here named Peretur—but to others as well.

We follow Peretur as she grows and follows her destiny. She is a character who gets things DONE. When she meets the Companions and asks to fight for Artos, they tell her they can’t take a nobody with no deeds to her name into their rank, so she goes out and DOES DEEDS. However… for the first half, Peretur is a little TOO good. Not so much it’s boring to read about her fights, but we’re halfway through before something acts as a counter to her talent.

Spear is compact and concise, and Griffith does a lovely job setting up Peretur’s quest and an equally good job tying things up in a satisfying way. Griffith’s prose is lyrical, but not carelessly: every word feels carefully wrought, but not overwritten. Spear also breaks away from a uniformly straight and white and male and non-disabled cast. It’s lovely, and a breath of fresh air. It’s also a really smart retelling, and it’ll be easy to miss (and therefore appreciate!) some of what Griffith’s achieved here if you don’t know much about the various renditions of King Arthur. Griffith talks a bit about them in the Afterword, which is a thoughtful inclusion.

The only thing… as much as I enjoyed Spear, I think it’s gonna be hit or miss for the average reader. There’s romance, but it’s not a big romantic book. Peretur is a good protagonist, but she’s not iconic.

But you shouldn’t expect Spear (or any book) to be something it’s not.

Which is: a tidy retelling with GORGEOUS prose and inclusive cast. (Also, with Peretur’s affinity for animals and how she dresses as a man to become a knight, Spear’s got some BIG Alanna vibes, so if you loved those books as a kid too, this is like a grownup version.)

Story—★★★★☆
Characters—★★★★☆
Writing Style—★★★★★ (4.25 Stars)
Themes and Representation—★★★★☆
Enjoyment—★★★☆☆
Overall—★★★★☆

Recommended For...
Readers who enjoyed the Alanna the Lionness series; readers interested in genderbent/genderswapped or inclusive retellings.

A girl grows up wild in the woods with visions of a faraway lake. As she grows up, she hears about Artos from a traveler, she knows her future lies in the king’s court. During her travels to Caer Leon, she falls in love, fights warriors, and discovers her fate.

Honestly, Griffith had me before I even knew what this was about. I’m always down to read any of her books, and then I heard the words, retelling and queer. Even better! This short, little book moved quickly and was full of adventure and familiar Arthurian lore with a bit of a feminist twist. If you’re into Arthurian legends but could do with more strong lady-centric stories, definitely check this one out.

Griffith said she started working on this for an anthology of retellings, but then when she was done, it was way too long for a short-story collection, and that’s how Spear was born. I’m so glad she was inspired to write something a bit longer, and I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Definitely excited to see what she does next.

“In the wild waste, a girl, growing.”

So begins SPEAR, an utterly captivating novella that delivers a queer, gender-bent story drawn from Arthurian legend. Griffith’s protagonist is Peretur, a version of Percival, raised in a cave in Wales by a single mother driven to keep her child secret to protect her - but from what, she will not say. As Peretur comes of age and grows in her exceptional abilities (strength, agility, heightened senses, attunement to animals, and more) she seeks first her name and then her destiny, embarking on a journey to find where she might belong.

What a fantastic little book this is. The writing is stunning, full of action and vivid imagery and the misty, verdant mood of Britain, with poetic gems sprinkled throughout. It’s jam-packed with nods to various bits from the mythology surrounding Arthur, while also being a wholly original story centering those traditionally without power. We’re treated to a couple of sapphic romances and a throuple that would make Xiran Jay Zhao proud. The ending gently surprised me and was incredibly satisfying. The author’s note describing the varied source material she’s pulling from and the choices she makes with it was fascinating and made me appreciate the twists she puts on this well-trodden legend even more.

I want to end with something Griffith writes in the author’s note: “Crips, queers, women and other genders, and people of colour are an integral part of the history of Britain—we are embedded at every level of society, present during every change, and part of every problem and its solution. We are here now; we were there then. So we are in this story.”

Definitely recommend this subversive historical fantasy novella. Thanks to Tordotcom and Macmillan Audio for the review copies! The audio version is narrated delightfully by the author herself, with what I imagine to be highly authentic Old Welsh pronunciations.

Content warnings: violence, murder, death of a loved one

A very interesting take on part of the King Arthur legend. If you follow my reviews, it will seem like a broken record how often I mention loving retellings, especially queer ones. I also happen to be a fan of Griffith so this was a must read for me. Griffith writes stories that are compelling, with memorable characters (Aud, I still miss you), so I’m always interested to see what she will write about next. While I have to be honest that I didn’t love this read, I still really appreciated it and found that it stuck with me and I kept thinking about it long after I finished reading it last week.

This is a novella staring a woman who wants to be “a knight of the round table” so she dresses herself as a man and goes off to prove that she belongs. While this is novella length, I thought pace wise it worked very well. It did not seem rushed and it felt like Griffith got to really pack a lot into a shorter amount of pages. I do want to mention that this is a bit of a cerebral read. What I mean by that is it’s the kind of read you want to take your time with since there is a lot packed into the words that Griffith chose to write with. This is not a light quick read that you want to fly through as you will miss too much. I actually think this is one of those rare times that this might be even better on audio because I believe hearing the words could be pretty magical.

Because this is a novella, I don’t want to go into too much and give any spoilers away by accident. I will say that this made me more interested in a subject that I thought I knew pretty well already. The end notes about the histories and different versions were amazing (I hope everyone reads that part) and the way Griffith wove her story using the different legends, is really impressive. For the romance fans out there this does have a sapphic romance but it is not a main storyline of the book. I thought the way Griffith added queer characters into this tale was well done and seemed realistic since you know there were queer people in the middle ages. I would recommend this to fans of Griffith, and people looking to read a queer and more cerebral retelling of the middle period of the Arthur legend.

I loved this queer fantasy adventure !!
The authors writing style is truly poetic, it drawns you into the world effortlessly.

I didn't know much about medieval British history HOWEVER the book stand up for my complete lack of knowledge.
Truly a good book I would recommend to anyone fond of historical fiction.