"The Bright Sword" by Lev Grossman is the must have fantasy for Arthurian fans.

As it seems tradition of Arthurian tellings, "The Bright Sword" is not a fast paced read. It's a read to pick up and really dedicate your imagination to go escape in Camelot. But when we get there, we see that Camelot is in disarray. King Arthur is dead. The Knights are dead. And we, along with Collum, take the gritty journey through the end.

------

I absolutely fell heads over heels for the Magicians trilogy and when I se Grossman had a new book out, I thought heck yar! I discovered Arthurian literature is not for me. There is a lot to unpack and build and because I don't naturally gravitate to Arthurian books, and I had to encourage myself to finish. It's beautiful and wonderful and Grossman includes some darker parts of the story (read the back pages first) but I don't think I was the intended reader. Now if your are and Arthurian fan, READ THIS!

I really really loved this one. I thought the framing of a post-Arthur Arthurian legend was a really inspired choice and I enjoyed the whole cast of characters. So much of this book felt so haunted but in a really satisfying way. I didn’t expect much when I started reading and was delighted.

Wow. Really, just ... wow.
Author Lev Grossman (of The Magicians fame) takes on a classic legend with his new look at King Arthur, the knights of the roundtable, and all the usual, familiar characters whom we've read about in other versions of the legends. Grossman brings us into the story with a new knight, Collum of the Out Isles.

Collum is a wide-eyed teenager, a bastard child who comes from nothing and thus has everything to gain and nothing to lose. Skilled with a sword he sets out to join King Arthur and, hopefully, become a knight of the Roundtable. He needs to prove his skill along the way, taking his first life, which is disturbing to him, but he did everything he could (he feels) to avoid the situation and in the name of Arthur he did what he had to do.

But when he arrives to King Arthur's court, Collum discovers a kingdom in ruins and Arthur himself dead, with the few surviving knights (names Collum once thought of with respect and awe) lost and floundering, trying to figure out what happens next.

It takes Collum's youthful naivete and optimism to wake up the Roundtable knights and look for options to keep Arthur's vision for Britain alive. What follows is a quest worthy of the Knights of the Roundtable, bringing them in contact with all of the characters from the legends and plenty of magic thanks to Nimue and Merlin.

This book is amazing. Grossman has certainly taken his place alongside Sir Thomas Malory, Mary Stewart, and T. H. White as one of the great Arthurian Legend storytellers.

We get a lot of the history of the individual characters through flashbacks. I'm generally not a fan of the device, but Grossman makes it work. It would do the novel a great disservice to have each character 'tell' their history when we meet them, so seeing their history is much more exciting.

Grossman takes a few liberties with characters (and their stories) that we think we know (specifically Lancelot du Lac), and of course adds Sir Collum of the Outer Isles, but, as Grossman writes in his Historical Note:

Arthur’s story has been told and retold for 1,400 years, and it’s never been told quite the same way twice. Every age and every teller leaves their traces on the story, and as it passes from one hand to the next it evolves and changes and flows like water. ... Arthur didn’t spring to life fully formed, he was deposited in layers, slowly, over centuries, like the geological strata of a landscape. It’s one of the things that makes him so rich and compelling. It also makes him, from a historical point of view, a complete mess. ... but the messiness is, I would argue, an authentic part of the Arthurian tradition. It’s always been there—I don’t imagine Malory or Tennyson sweated much over their world-building either.
We don't get the love affair of Lancelot and Guinevere or Guinevere and Arthur - this takes place after all that's done and (nearly) forgotten - but we do get some romance and it's just about the right amount and with an unlikely but appropriate pair.

The magic within the story builds slowly but plays a major part of the story, and Collum takes the heroic journey from innocent, would-be-knight to legend. But with his knightly humility, he tends to shrug it aside.

This was truly a remarkable read. It's exciting to read something - to be among the first - that you can imagine becoming a classic for future readers and something that will be referenced for what it adds to a mythology.

Looking for a good book? Lev Grossman adds to the Arthurian legends with The Bright Sword and you should be sure to read it.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher, through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

I tried to get into The Magicians but discovered it wasn’t my thing; however, when I was invited to read this book I was intrigued (I love a good Arthurian retelling).
It seems Grossman may not be the author for me as I wasn’t able to get into this novel either. I only made it about 20% through the story before I lost all interest. There wasn’t anything glaringly bad, it just moved slow and I found I didn’t care about what was happening/would happen next.

Even though it was a DNF for me, I think if you’re a fan of Lev Grossman or Arthurian retellings you should definitely give this one a try.

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking for the copy of this eARC.

This is a lush, richly imagined retelling of the Knights of the Round Table with a focus on lesser-known knights. The novel does many things right, giving the male characters complex histories and inner lives, and examining what it means to live through transformative times. I only wish the women had been as complex and nuanced as the men -- in most cases, they were more plot device than person. The result is a story that will be an easy sell to dedicated fantasy readers, but will have limited crossover appeal for my female patrons.

Collum, a young wanna be knight, arrives at Camelot to make it big...but he's too late. Arthur and most of his knights are dead, and Camelot is falling apart. There are a lot of familiar characters in this story (Guinevere, Lancelot, Morgan Le Fay) but no one is quite what you'd expect. Grossman's Camelot is dark but not as dark and twisted as his Magician's series reworked Narnia. It is full of quests and magic and flawed and complicated humans attempting to be heroes. Definitely worth a read.

I thought this was very good and I will have to add this to the shop shelves. Thank you for the chance for us to review.

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman

Lev Grossman is not the twin whose books I love more - his brother Austin Grossman’s novel Soon I Will Be Invincible is a masterpiece. But I also really enjoyed Lev Grossman’s Magicians trilogy, as well as his first book, Warped, which shows his love of TNG. For a long time I wondered what he was up to. Now I know - he was writing The Bright Sword, a chonker of a doorstooper fantasy Arthurian novel.

This book was wonderful! Way too long, but wonderful. If you told me it was originally going to be a trilogy and then got smushed into one volume I wouldn’t be surprised. This book is a King Arthur tale focused on everyone except Arthur and the other well known round table members. They all get an incredibly long backstory chapter or two which could’ve been their own novellas. This book was a great joy to read and I highly recommend it.

This was utterly enthralling. The writing was beautiful and I was so engrossed with the story I cannot stop thinking about it!

I've always wanted to like Lev Grossman, but I just couldn't get into the "Magicians" trilogy. When I saw he was tackling Arthurian legend, I was excited to give his work another try, hoping this time it would resonate with me.

If you're a true fan of Arthurian lore, you’ll likely find much to love in this book. But I've never really gotten into Arthurian legends before, and it felt overly dense and too long. Grossman’s writing is as witty and descriptive as ever, but I struggled to connect with the characters. The story shifts between multiple perspectives—Callum, the last of Arthur’s knights, Guinevere, Nimue, and Morgan Le Fay—all of whom have fascinating stories that deserve their own books. As a result, I found myself losing track of the narrative. I usually struggle with narratives that have more than two POVs, so this is just a personal issue. So with that in mind, I am willing to say that this book will likely earn a place among the many retellings of Arthur’s story, but for me, it was just too much to take in.

Thank you to Lev Grossman, PENGUIN GROUP Viking, and NetGalley for sending me the eARC in exchange for an honest review.

I have been meaning to read Lev Grossman’s Magicians trilogy for some time, it is part of my ever expanding TBR list. It has probably moved up a couple of levels now that I have read his big release this summer The Bright Sword. Ever a sucker for an Arthurian tale, when I saw that this was coming out, I knew that I would get to it before his more well known works.

Collum, later Sir Collum, is an ardent follower of King Arthur, who has never met the King, and never ventured off his far Northern island. When circumstance forces him to leave the only home he has ever known, he steals a suit of armor and heads off for Camelot. Before he even gets there he has fought a duel, wandered into Fairie and followed, albeit unwittingly, Morgan Le Fey. Collum’s path does not follow the straight and narrow, and while he quickly makes it to Camelot, is quickly knighted, and quickly sets off on a quest, he remains mostly unsure of his own abilities to the very end of the tale. The perspective of Collum allows us to travel alongside the great stories at a distance, as a passionate observer of the characters from the stories he has loved. Even as he becomes part of the stories himself, he never loses that perspective of one looking in on greatness.

By the time Collum arrives at Camelot, Arthur and most of the Knights are dead, and the round table is but a shadow of its former self. While the story follows Collum it is interspersed with side quests into the backgrounds of some of the lesser known knights of the round table. Sir Bedivere being the most well known, and closest to Arthur of the group, is given the first aside, and we learn much about his love for the once and future king. In these stories, Grossman is able to examine different aspects of the legends, and use different versions of the old stories to craft his own narrative for Collum. There is a fairy story for one knight, a gender story for another, and even a wibbly wobbly timey wimey story for one of them, which reminded me very much of the latest series of Hilda on Netflix, and may be my favorite or all the tales spun here. The stories feel familiar whilst at the same time feeling that something new is being brought to the (round) table.

The story brings you around to a female perspective more often than is usually accomplished in Arthurian tales, and the ending will definitely surprise you. Guinevere and Nimue are presented in this story in a way that hearkens less to the familiarity of the old stories, and more to the unknown. On a basic level the differences are that Guinevere is portrayed as no great beauty and Nimue is far more trustworthy. While both women have something to offer in this book, I particularly adore the story of Nimue in Grossman’s retelling. Especially her relationship and battle with Merlin. Grossman draws together minor stories and deities of legend, in a patchwork of support for Nimue, so that when the two wizards finally come to blows, she is carried through the air by reaching out to all the lesser known spirits that she has tended to over the years, it is a beautiful example of kindness over might. Even with new perspectives for Nimue and Guinevere, this is still a tale that is heavy on the testerone. If you are looking for something centered even further away from the men of the round table I would suggest Queen of None by Natania Barron, which like Grossman’s book favors Bedivere heavily, but focuses on Arthur’s sister and her experiences of Camelot and Arthur’s Briton.

One of the persistent themes in this novel that I found to be especially engaging was the relationship between Arthurian Christianity and the traditions and gods of old Briton. They feel especially relevant this year when conversations around the American church and politics has become something aside from christianity. The entrenchment of Christianity in Arthur’s Britain echoes that level of arrogance and superficiality which can be found in the American evangelical movement. There are some very interesting conversations in this book about tradition and how systems of government can change the very religions they are purporting to protect. Nimue’s perspective on her own Christianity and use of magic is especially enlightening, and in an election year like this, I feel that Grossman has really put his finger on the pulse of where religion and faith clash. I have been a card carrying Christian and regular Sunday attendee for almost thirty years now, and found some real peace to be found in the way Nimue’s faith carried her from Christ on a cross, to magic in a field.

Grossman ends the novel with several pages of information about the origins of Arthurian legend and why he has taken the liberties he has. In some ways, I wish this had been a preface instead, as it greatly enhanced my feelings towards the story. Grossman does not shy away from the darker parts of the tale, the rape of Igraine, the incest of Arthur, but he also draws together the ideas about a Britain in suffering, a patchwork of people and systems from Rome, to Arthur to the arrival of the Saxons. He does a masterful job of presenting a country in political, social and moral turmoil. Having been working on this narrative since 2015, I think its appearance in the American landscape of 2024 is a work of the fates.

Few if any mythos have engendered as many stories in Western literature as the tale of King Arthur, going back to his first mention in ancient Welsh poetry (dated anywhere from the 6th to the 10th centuries) all the way up to a dozen or so (possibly more) retellings in the last few years. Into that mix now comes The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman, who vacuums up seemingly every variant version of the story, such as The Prose Tristan, Le Morte d’Arthur, Chrétien de Troyes’ works, and others, riotously reveling in their many contradictions, doublings and additions to present us with a wildly entertaining but also thoughtful tale.
(see link for full review)

I expect nothing less than to be blown away when Lev Grossman decides to write a Camelot book. This book is beautiful, dark, haunting, and well written. It's a long read, but I barely noticed after being swept into the storyline. If you like Arthur books, or you like The Magicians, you will want to read this one. The characters are so human and yet so otherworldly. I was sad when this was over.

This epic tale of a ragtag fellowship rebuilding Camelot in the wake of King Arthur's death follows Collum, plus several lesser members of the round table. In a world on the brink of chaos, this crew must find Excalibur and a new king before the world descends into chaos. Featuring a cast of characters like Morgan le Fay, Lancelot, and Queen Guinevere, but with newly imagined facets and plot twists, readers of Arthurian legends will find much to love. With its blend of adventure, magic, and historical depth, this title will appeal to high fantasy readers everywhere.

I absolutely loved The Magicians trilogy, but this novel could not hold my interest. Ultimately a DNF.

Lev Grossman's The Bright Sword offers a familiar take on the fantasy genre, but unfortunately, it falls short in several key areas, making it a somewhat underwhelming read.

One of the most notable issues is the pacing. The plot unfolds at a sluggish pace, which can make it difficult to stay engaged. The story meanders through its various plot points, often feeling drawn out without much payoff. For a book that promises epic battles and high stakes, the slow progression makes it hard to feel the urgency or excitement that typically drives a fantasy narrative.

The world-building, a cornerstone of any good fantasy novel, is surprisingly thin. Grossman hints at a rich and complex world, but these glimpses are few and far between. The lack of detailed descriptions leaves much to be desired, as readers are left to fill in the gaps themselves. This minimalistic approach to world-building makes it challenging to fully immerse oneself in the setting, which is a disappointment for fans of the genre who expect to be transported to new and intriguing worlds.

Character development is another area where The Bright Sword falls flat. The characters, while functional, lack the depth and nuance that make them truly memorable. They often come across as bland, with motivations and personalities that feel underdeveloped. Without strong character arcs or compelling interactions, it’s difficult to form an emotional connection to the story.

In conclusion, The Bright Sword has its moments of intrigue, but its slow plot, lackluster world-building, and bland characters make it a middling entry in the fantasy genre. Fans of Lev Grossman’s previous works might find some enjoyment here, but those looking for a richly detailed and fast-paced adventure may want to look elsewhere.

I wouldn’t call myself a huge fan of Arthurian legend, but I’m familiar enough with those stories to have felt like I wanted to read this. Fortuitously, it seems I needn’t have worried too much about not knowing all the stories, because The Bright Sword imagines a Britain where King Arthur has been dead for two weeks. It’s something of a sad affair, especially for young Collum, because he just arrived in Camelot hoping to become a Knight of the Round Table. With just the dregs of the Round Table left and no one to wear the crown, the country is in chaos, but there are still more quests to go on and stories to be told. Extremely readable, The Bright Sword also manages to be very long with a winding narrative that often diverts to tell the stories of the remaining knights. Yet it fantastically folds a modern retelling of Arthurian legends into classic romances filled with quests.

After an unhappy childhood on the island Mull, Collum manages to escape and heads straight for Camelot, hoping to be knighted by King Arthur and offered a spot at the Round Table. Unfortunately, he arrives two weeks too late. King Arthur is dead, killed by his own son while also killing his son in the process. Queen Guinevere has gone to become a nun, Merlin has been buried under a hill by his apprentice Nimue, Lancelot has been missing since he ran off after being discovered with the Queen, and the remaining knights are sad excuses for knights. Filled with countless quests to recover a lost knight, find Arthur, and discover who is meant to be the next king, The Bright Sword weaves together several narratives, giving the remaining knights their own voices and stories, offering a sweet romance for Collum, and providing a parade of new quests to find Britain’s next ruler.

According to the author’s note, The Bright Sword isn’t supposed to be full of historic accuracy. Instead, it’s something of a pastiche of facts and various points in time. But it works well, offering settings familiar enough to readers to ensure the stories don’t sound too different from the classic romances fans of Arthurian legends would already be familiar with. This version of Britain shares space with the Otherworld, a place ruled by his half-sister Morgan le Fay. The fae frequently pop up throughout all the stories, and monsters and other creatures visit almost as frequently. There’s more than a touch of magic in this novel, and it offers a mystic layer that makes the whole story feel a little otherworldly. At the same time, Christianity is something of an anchor in this novel. After all, it recounts the quest for the Holy Grail, a new quest for the spear that pierced Jesus’ side, and an Arthur who ardently believes in God and Christ. It was sometimes a little discombobulating to see the pagan ways of Britain and Christianity reside side by side, and yet, for as frequently as both were brought up, it never really felt like either was more than just a piece of world building. Christianity is something that defines Arthur, and it certainly plays a large role in the story as it’s frequently mentioned, but it never felt like a focus of the story. It felt more like it was imparting information than trying to convince the reader of anything.

Quite honestly, I find myself feeling rather neutral about this novel. I very much enjoyed the writing and found it flowed well, but, at the same time, I felt like the story moved as quickly as molasses spreads. It was slow going no matter how much or how long I read; it just never felt like it was ever going to end. I did enjoy getting the knights’ backstories, but, after a while, they grew a little too long and a little too tedious. I didn’t even feel like some of the payoffs were worth it. Too often I felt like this novel rambled and meandered on before finally remembering the whole point of it, which essentially amounted to finding a new ruler for Britain. It was fun how the stories were woven together to get Collum to the end, but it was also sometimes excruciating.

I didn’t find anything wrong with Collum, but he wasn’t exactly the most exciting guy to follow around. He had a good head on his shoulders with no false modesty and no real ego to speak of. Actually, he was rather bland most of the time. I did like that he was always eager and never wanted to overstep or claim things he didn’t feel like he rightfully could. But that also led him to just feel bland. He has an interesting sequence during the first half that supposedly taught him a lot, but I didn’t feel like I saw the effects of it all later on. It was disappointing, and I found myself thinking Collum just felt beige. If it weren’t for his romance with the more interesting Nimue, I might have actually forgotten about him. She, at least, was fascinating and feisty.

The Bright Sword is probably fantastic if you’re a big fan of Arthurian legends or just seeking something more modern. It’s definitely very readable and entertaining, but I found it meandered too much. As much as I enjoyed it in the moment, I found myself feeling frustrated about it every time I came out of the story. It was nice to see a story set after Arthur’s death, it was fun to get to know the dregs of the Round Table, it was delightful to see the power the women had, and it was fantastic to see the power behind so many of the characters, both male and female. There are a lot of really good points in this novel, but it just meandered too much for me and I spent too much time wondering what the point of the whole narrative was.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a review copy. All opinions expressed are my own.

I recommend this book to anyone remotely interested in Arthurian legend and/or Camelot. Lev Grossman writes beautifully, and with this novel, he focuses on the supporting characters in Arthurian lore. They get to be the heroes, those characters central to the quest. We meet a brand-new character — young Collum from the Isle of Mull. He’s an orphan who’s been bullied and worse, growing up in the muck and mud of Mull. As soon as he’s able, Collum journeys to Camelot to join the Knights of the Round Table. Bummer that by the time he arrives Arthur’s been dead for two weeks and the only remaining knights are the B Team. The brilliance of this book is how the backstories of these characters from the margins are woven so beautifully through the new quest that has been set: Who will rule Camelot now that Arthur has left them?
[Thanks to Viking and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy and share my opinion of this book.]

I went into this book knowing that King Arthur was dead, but I was still somewhat disappointed that it didn't have the traditional Camelot feel. I did enjoy the characters and the story was overall engaging, but it's just not what I look for in a tale that's set in Camelot.

Absolutely loved the take on the modern telling of the King Arthur narrative, beautiful prose that didn’t shy away from the darker themes of the original mythology. My only qualms were with the length, think it could have been condensed a bit but otherwise loved it!