Queen of Mercy
by Natania Barron
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Pub Date 3 Jun 2025 | Archive Date 1 Jun 2025
Rebellion | Solaris
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Description
“The first born of Arthur will bring his end.”
When the high priestess Vyvian du Lac dies, Morgen le Fay—acolyte to the priestess, midwife to queens, apprentice to Merlin—is left mysteriously bereft of magic. She finds herself transported to the wild, ancient forest of Brocéliande, which she must cross—and survive—to save Carelon from disaster. And death itself, it seems, is close on her heels.
Morgen’s daughter Llachlyn, her cousin Sir Galahad and their friend, the squire Percival, share a vision of the mysterious graal. Mawra—Arthur’s jealous, spiteful queen, with ambitions on the graal of her own—threatens to send Llachlyn to a nunnery, but with Galahad’s help she and Percival escape north to her cousin Sir Gawain’s home.
Gawain and Hwyfar, who have spent ten peaceful years away from court in a forbidden marriage, are now swept back into the secrets, lies and politics of Carelon. Merlin’s darkest prophecy looms, the Council of Nine – Morgen’s secret council of sorceresses – is broken, and the battle for Arthur’s legacy has just begun…
Advance Praise
Praise for the Queens of Fate series:
“A captivating look at the intriguing figures in King Arthur’s golden realm.” —Kirkus on Queen of None
“A layered, engaging retelling, sure to please fans of the Arthurian tales.” —Publishers Weekly on Queen of None
“Barron’s take will leave readers with entirely new insights into Arthurian legend.” —Booklist on Queen of None
“Blends human earthiness with the mystical elements we have come to expect from Arthurian legends, allowing readers to feel as though they could slip from the mundane to the fantastical at any moment.” —Library Journal on Queen of None
“Barron’s delightful reinterpretation of Arthurian legends continues.” —Booklist on Queen of Fury
“Barron’s immersive approach to worldbuilding sweeps the reader along through mists of magic and geography.” —The Fantasy Hive on Queen of Fury
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9781837860654 |
| PRICE | CA$22.99 (CAD) |
| PAGES | 432 |
Available on NetGalley
Featured Reviews
Catey C, Reviewer
This series has been amazing! If you love King Arthur retellings then you will love this book! The fantasy is great and the story was fast paced.
Beth V, Reviewer
I LOVED THIS.
Natania Barron is one of my favorite authors because I love how she tells a story. Every series has been different, and I like that I am learning about so many different mythologies because while I've dabbled in some King Arthur stories, I don't know these characters. Morgen Le Fay was the only one I had ever heard of, and even then, I only knew that she was supposed to be some villain who allied with Merlin at some point?
This book ties the rest of the series up in a bow, and you do need to read the other books first. Anna's little manipulations from Queen of None are finally relevant now, and this book takes place 10 years after the end of Queen of Fury.
Vyvian du Lac has died, and the world has changed. Decades have passed since Merlin's manipulations and death, Christianity has come in, and magical Carelon is dying. Morgen Le Fay is tired, and she knows that the old prophesy of King Arthur's downfall will soon come true, now that all the magic Vyvian used to maintain is now gone.
The children of the old manipulations are now teenagers:
- Anna's baby switch of the newborn crown prince
- Merlin's magic which led to Morgen bearing her half-brother Arthur's child
So Morgen gets trapped in a forest and has to find her powers to get out. Best friends Lachlan Le Fay, the squire Percival, and Galahad have a shared dream of a graal, kicking off a new Arthurian quest. Queen Mawra and Lanceloch are having an affair. The kids bring Gawain and Hwyfar back to court after their 10 year honeymoon (and time hiding from King Arthur who did NOT approve the marriage). And a very old prophesy said that Arthur's downfall would be his firstborn child. So many threads of fate are finally converging, the old generation is dying, and the new generation will soon take its place.
This is the book that made this trilogy really feel like a series. Before, I had been a little confused how everything was connected. I had assumed that we were just getting a bunch of different feminist retellings of different women from Arthurian legend. But now I see that the legend is all about Arthur and the magical women of his family. This isn't just a Morgen story. This isn't about Morgen dying or killing Arthur or whatever I had expected. This is about the woman who exchanged the babies in Book 1 finally seeing what she has wrought two decades later. Nimue may have killed Merlin, but no one is truly free from him.
Nothing will ever beat my love for These Marvelous Beasts, but this book made this series a close second for me. I love how Barron tells myths.
Thank you to Netgalley and Solaris for this ARC. I already preordered a copy, and I can't wait to lend it to a friend (and make them a Natania Barron fan).
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