The tale after king Arthur died, an unlikely protagonist rises, is he our new hero? Collum—with the last of the knights of the round table, not the heroes, the leftovers, the "losers"—sets out to bring Britain back to Arthur's age, to glory, if that's even possible... When God has forsaken the land, who chooses it's king?

The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman is as epic as an Arthurian story can get, it holds the heart of Arthuriana with all it's weird quests and events while bringing something fresh to the table. I'm not sure casual Arthurian enjoyers know how batsh*t crazy, and random old Arthurian stories were and this novel honours that very essence perfectly. That being said it brings something new and refreshing to the story, it honours the dreaminess mixed with darkness of the medieval Arthurian tales while bringing it's own modernisation to it.

SIR BEDIVERE IS IN LOVE WITH KING ARTHUR AND I LOVE THIS—it should be done more, honestly.

There are queer and trans characters and a bit of cultural diversity that I really enjoyed. Though there was a disability portrayal that I loved, it met a slightly disappointing end but also fitting for this story so I can't fault it for that.

Something that I felt lacked when hitting the halfway mark, was a more gentle approach to female characters—as a devout enjoyer of the "feminist" Arthurian retellings who center the women. But it all comes down to it being so complex and slow-paced and so I was actually pleasantly surprised about the female characterisation in the end. Getting Queen Guinevere's POV and that twist for her in the end (if you know you know), I really enjoyed it.

It truly is a complex story with complex characters, like Arthuriana ought to be. I ended up loving a character, then hating them, then loving them again etc... Are they good, are they bad? Heroes, villains? It's never truly that black and white. Like, the reveal and plot twist of ultimately our biggest or final antagonist was suprising—the author did this really well, this kind of twist can be done badly, a twist for a twist sake, shock effect, but it worked out so well for this story and was well done.

"It's messy, but the messiness is, I would argue, an authentic part of the Arthurian tradition."

I'm going to be very honest, I don't think this book is for everyone and I'm speaking from knowing the different types of audiences on my little corner of the internet; this is not a fun, modern, fast-paced little retelling. It has a classic feel to it; I kind of want to compare this novel to T.H. White's The Once and Future King, but I would have to reread that to fully make that statement... But as it goes; bizarre quest, descriptive writing, complex heroes and a slow-paced story is what I know both of these have in common.

That being said there are plenty of softer moments, funny moments and above all moments where you wish you were part of this mismatched band and their developed camaraderie.

"Nations come and go, and centuries, and traditions, and kings, and writers, but King Arthur always returns."

Thank you Netgalley for sending me an ARC in return of an honest review.

I’ve been keen to read a Lev Grossman book for years but, for one reason or another, the stars never aligned. When I saw this book, which promised a bunch of oddballs, I was sure it was for me.

I conveniently ignored the fact that I’ve never been that interested in the legend of King Arthur. Sure, I watched The Sword in the Stone when I was a kid but that doesn’t count.

Initially I was hooked. I really liked Collum, who’s on his way to Camelot.

“Oh, you’re too late for that.”

Unbeknownst to Collum, King Arthur is dead and all that’s left of the Round Table are the leftovers, the ones that didn’t die.

While I enjoyed the chapters that focused on the characters’ backstories, I found it difficult to get into the actual quest at hand and by a third of the way into it, it started to drag for me.

The writing really engaged me in the beginning so I don’t think it has anything to do with the author’s style. I’m actually more keen than ever to read The Magicians trilogy, which is one of my favourite TV series.

I don’t think this is a case of this not being the book for me. I think it’s the right book at the wrong time. Once I read The Magicians trilogy, I don’t think you’ll be able to keep me away from it.

“The sword’s in the sea, and the last ship has sailed.”

Thank you so much to NetGalley and Del Rey, an imprint of Penguin Random House, for the opportunity to read this book. I’m rounding up from 3.5 stars.

This was such an interesting concept - Camelot AFTER Arthur that I was immediately intrigued and requested an ARC. There is a wide cast of this story and lots of plot points that link together. This book touches on a lot of different elements - the meaning of family, love and sex, religion, legends magic and the importance of oaths. There were elements of this books I really enjoyed, for example the backstories of the remaining Knights such as Palomides and Dinadan. The writing style is quite unique too. Collum as a main character is also an enjoyable one - he is simultaneously naïve and yet has been through so much that his character voice was an interesting one to work through. He definitely can be frustrating as a character, but as he comes into himself it was great to see him grow.

However, this story very much does not follow a linear path. The story meanders around, jumping between time points and some these stories were definitely less relevant than others. I believe it was the authors intent to do this, to show that adventures and magic do not always follow a linear path but at points it became convoluted. The use of magic is never really explain - again, I think intentionally to show the lack of knowledge the characters have about magic but it becomes a bit difficult to follow for the reader.

I'd give this three stars. Thank you to Netgalley and Del Ray for the ARC!

One of my favourite king Arthur retellings?

Collum was a common bastard who had no business showing up at Camelot looking for a place at the Round Table. Just a big boy with a sword, from a nowhere island at the edge of the world, green as grass and fresh as dew.
Yet he arrives to find King Arthur is dead and Britain is dying. All that is left is the dregs of the Round Table.

Told from Collum’s point of view in the present and past flashbacks of the remaining knights, the leftovers, Grossman builds a picture of what life was like from Arthur pulling out the sword from the stone to all the quests the knights embarked on and Arthur’s downfall and the consequences.

”We're not the heroes, we're the odd ones out. The losers. But did you ever think that might be why we've lived so long? Losing makes you tough."

Grossman cleverly tells the story of the lesser known knights. The cripple. The fool. The foreigner. The hated Morgan Le Fay. And he throws in subversive twists to consider through a modern lens such as trans identity, homosexuality, imperialism, and abuse.

Of course you think you know it all already, or most of it, but you have probably managed to avoid thinking about the story too closely, the truth hastened past with a certain squeamishness, a dark thread in the otherwise golden tapestry of Camelot. Incest, neglect, prejudice, rape, revenge, and plunder.

Grossman reimagines Arthur as a footnote in his own story, the misbegotten by-product of a rape. A king who never should've been. But one who was honourable and beloved and made the best of his position.

This was delightful! Yes, it delves into the weird and magical, but if you are put off or intimidated after reading The Magicians - don’t be.
The writing isn’t quite as lyrical or profound, making it more accessible, propelling, and the bizarreness never becomes overbearing.

Why would the future be simpler than the past? Stories never really ended, they just rolled one into the next. The past was never wholly lost, and the future was never quite found. We wander forever in a pathless forest, dropping with weariness, as home draws us back, and the grail draws us on, and we never arrive, and the quest never ends.

Thank you to Viking Books for sending me the physical arc in exchange for a review!
High four stars!🌟

A fun, deconstructive, but also clearly affectionate adult take on Arthuriana, and more importantly, what happens after Camelot. It's a bit overlong (thankfully not as much as the source material), more than a bit on-the-nose, and gleefully anachronistic in both its details and broad themes. But Grossman's attempt to address the question of what to do when goodness and light and magic are gone is affecting and far too timely, so I'm willing to forgive the rough edges. His answers aren't easy ones, but under current circumstances we could do worse than to sit, and wait, and work towards a future that won't look like what we want but still isn't a poisoned, imaginary past.

An excellent read. A great take on high fantasy and folk lore, with enough modern day twists to keep it current. Really loved it, would highly recommend.

Lev Grossman delivers a unique if overlong fantasy take on the Arthur legend with his new novel The Bright Sword.
Set in a period following Arthur's demise, it follows the cast offs and left behinds of his round table as they set out to complete one final magical quest and restore a King to the crown.
The story is delivered through the ensuing quest and takes place in a world where old magic, fairies and mythological spirits exists just beyond the veil. The quest is intercut between the personal backstories of each knight to reveal how they came to be part of this honoured band.
It's an interesting take, told with Grossman's usual flare and style. Unfortunately, after an interesting set up it just meanders too long and runs out of steam.

Lev Grossman is back with a bang and this was a fantastic retelling with many twists and turns. An impressively new story by Grossman.

3.5, This was pretty fun. I had never read Lev Grossman, but have always wanted to, and found his writing to be pretty easy to read.

The ‘hero’s journey’ was realised in a satisfying instalment of Arthurian legend by an inspiring author. The story takes a bunch of despondent heroes and gives them motivation and a chance to reignite their story and purpose.

I enjoyed this book and the different approach to storytelling. The characters are a bit more rough around the edges than a lot of authors portray, an approach I preferred, and I enjoyed the written dialogue between the characters. There was a lot of wit and I loved the diverse in-depth backstories of the characters. The storytelling is rich and engaging and kept me gripped.

I’d not read any Lev Grossman works before but ive recently been delving a bit into Arthurian mythology so thought I’d give this a go as it appeals to my love of myth and legend. Highly recommended read.

A plot centric telling of the knights of the round table from a secondary knight at the table. I would have wanted the book to be more character focused but I think that’s because I wasn’t already familiar with the story.

This was not what I was expecting. However I will try again in the future and would recommend it to fans of Arthurian retellings. I just struggled to connect with the story and writing style.