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NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A New York Times Editors’ Choice • The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Magicians Trilogy returns with a triumphant reimagining of the King Arthur legend for the new millennium NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, NPR, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, VANITY FAIR, TIME, OPRAH DAILY, TOWN & COUNTRY, ELLE, VOX, PASTE, LIT HUB, POLYGON, KIRKUS REVIEWS “Lev Grossman’s The Bright Sword stands out as the best fantasy of the year.” —The Wall Street Journal “Grossman, who is best known for his The Magicians series, is at the top of his game with The Bright Sword.” —The New York Times Book Review “A thrilling new take on Arthurian legend. . . . Marvelous.” —The Washington Post “If you love King Arthur as much as I do, you’ll love Lev Grossman’s The Bright Sword, a fresh and engrossing take on the Matter of Britain featuring a colorful cast of Round Table knights who don’t often get as much story time as they deserve. The creator of The Magicians has woven another spell.” —George R. R. Martin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Game of Thrones A gifted young knight named Collum arrives at Camelot to compete for a place at the Round Table, only to find that he’s too late. King Arthur died two weeks ago at the Battle of Camlann, and only a handful of the knights of the Round Table are left. The survivors aren’t the heroes of legend like Lancelot or Gawain. They’re the oddballs of the Round Table, like Sir Palomides, the Saracen Knight, and Sir Dagonet, Arthur’s fool, who was knighted as a joke. They’re joined by Nimue, who was Merlin’s apprentice until she turned on him and buried him under a hill. But it's up to them to rebuild Camelot in a world that has lost its balance, even as God abandons Britain and the fairies and old gods return, led by Morgan le Fay. They must reclaim Excalibur and make this ruined world whole again—but first they'll have to solve the mystery of why the lonely, brilliant King Arthur fell. The first major Arthurian epic of the new millennium, The Bright Sword is steeped in tradition, complete with duels and quests, battles and tournaments, magic swords and Fisher Kings. It's also a story about imperfect men and women, full of strength and pain, trying to reforge a broken land in spite of being broken themselves.
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A New York Times Editors’ Choice • The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Magicians Trilogy returns with a triumphant reimagining of the King Arthur legend for the new millennium NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, NPR, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, VANITY FAIR, TIME, OPRAH DAILY, TOWN & COUNTRY, ELLE, VOX, PASTE, LIT HUB, POLYGON, KIRKUS REVIEWS “Lev Grossman’s The Bright Sword stands out as the best fantasy of the year.” —The Wall Street Journal “Grossman, who is best known for his The Magicians series, is at the top of his game with The Bright Sword.” —The New York Times Book Review “A thrilling new take on Arthurian legend. . . . Marvelous.” —The Washington Post “If you love King Arthur as much as I do, you’ll love Lev Grossman’s The Bright Sword, a fresh and engrossing take on the Matter of Britain featuring a colorful cast of Round Table knights who don’t often get as much story time as they deserve. The creator of The Magicians has woven another spell.” —George R. R. Martin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Game of Thrones A gifted young knight named Collum arrives at Camelot to compete for a place at the Round Table, only to find that he’s too late. King Arthur died two weeks ago at the Battle of Camlann, and only a handful of the knights of the Round Table are left. The survivors aren’t the heroes of legend like Lancelot or Gawain. They’re the oddballs of the Round Table, like Sir Palomides, the Saracen Knight, and Sir Dagonet, Arthur’s fool, who was knighted as a joke. They’re joined by Nimue, who was Merlin’s apprentice until she turned on him and buried him under a hill. But it's up to them to rebuild Camelot in a world that has lost its balance, even as God abandons Britain and the fairies and old gods return, led by Morgan le Fay. They must reclaim Excalibur and make this ruined world whole again—but first they'll have to solve the mystery of why the lonely, brilliant King Arthur fell. The first major Arthurian epic of the new millennium, The Bright Sword is steeped in tradition, complete with duels and quests, battles and tournaments, magic swords and Fisher Kings. It's also a story about imperfect men and women, full of strength and pain, trying to reforge a broken land in spite of being broken themselves.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
Due to publisher restrictions the library cannot purchase additional copies of this title, and we apologize if there is a long waiting list. Be sure to check for other copies, because there may be other editions available.
From the coverOne Azure, Three Scepters, a Chevron Or
Collum punched the other knight in the face with the pommel of his sword gripped in his gauntleted fist, so hard the dark inlaid metal dimpled under his knuckles, but his opponent showed absolutely no sign of falling over or surrendering to him. He swore under his breath and followed it up with a kick to the ankle but missed and almost fell down, and the other knight spun gracefully and clouted him smartly in the head so his ears rang. He would’ve given a thousand pounds to be able to wipe the sweat out of his eyes, not that he had a thousand pounds. He had exactly three shillings and two silver pennies to his name.
The two men backed off and circled each other, big swords held up at stiff angles, shifting from guard to guard, heavy shards of bright sunlight glancing and glaring off the blades. They’d dropped their shields after the tilt to have both hands free. No mistakes now, Collum thought. Circles not lines, Marshal Aucassin whispered in his mind. Watch the body not the blade. He threw a diagonal cut that glanced harmlessly off the other knight’s shoulder. The inside of his helmet was a furnace, sharp smells of hay and sweat and raw leather. He’d come here to test himself against the flower of British chivalry, the greatest knights in the world, and by God he was getting what he came for. He was getting the stuffing beaten out of him.
They stepped lightly, testing, offering, up on the balls of their feet. Every tiny movement made their armor squeak and clank and jingle in the quiet of the meadow; even the tips of their swords made tiny whips in the stifling air. Why—why had he thought this was a good idea? Why hadn’t he stayed back on Mull? Heatstroke prickled at the back of Collum’s neck. They weren’t fighting to the death, but if he lost he’d lose his horse, and his armor, which he hadn’t gone through all the trouble of stealing it from Lord Alasdair just so he could hand it over to some nameless knight who probably had half a dozen spares waiting for him back at his cozy castle.
And without his horse and armor Collum was nobody and nothing. An orphan and a bastard, poor as a church mouse and very far from home. And he could never go back. He’d made damn sure of that, hadn’t he?
He didn’t even know who he was fighting; he’d stumbled on this man purely by chance, or possibly by God’s will—thanks a bunch, as always—sitting under a crooked ash in a meadow, head in his hands, as if the weight of the sunlight itself were too much for him. He’d looked up and shouted a challenge at Collum, and who did that anymore? It was like something out of the stories. Whoever this was, he was a knight of the old school.
His armor was old-fashioned, too, the breastplate black steel damascened with a pattern of fine silver whorls and a rose at the center. A rich man’s armor. A nobleman’s. His helmet had a pointy snout like a beak, and like Collum he bore the vergescu, the plain white shield of an unfledged knight. Collum bore it because he was not technically—as he’d tried to explain—a knight at all, not yet, he hadn’t sworn the vows, but there were other reasons to bear the vergescu, like to hide your identity if you were in disgrace. Or Sir Lancelot bore it sometimes because otherwise no one would fight him.
This man was no Lancelot, but he was pretty damn good. Thoroughly fledged. Collum was taller but the mystery knight was faster—he barely saw him move when bang!...
Reviews-
Starred review from May 13, 2024 Bestseller Grossman (the Magicians trilogy) turns his hand to Arthurian legends, delivering a breathtaking tale that honors past iterations while producing something entirely unexpected. Young Collum escapes the lordly household where he’s been raised, liberating a suit of armor and a steed in the process, and travels to Camelot, where he hopes to serve King Arthur. He arrives too late—Arthur has already fallen at the Battle of Camlann. The few knights left at Camelot know that others will come seeking the throne but aren’t sure what to do. Grossman interweaves stories of each knight’s past with the ongoing quest to find a worthy heir to Arthur’s crown, which takes them and Collum into the Otherworld in search of a holy lance. In his historical note, Grossman acknowledges that he is among the camp of Arthurian writers “who pick and choose what they like,” producing a work “full of a lot of authentic historical detail but also a lot of anachronisms and contradictions.” Indeed, Grossman has his own take on beloved characters: Sir Bedivere is in unrequited love with Arthur, witty Sir Dinadan is trans and learned swordcraft from a fairy, and Sir Palomides is secretly a prince of Baghdad. There’s even a hint that Collum may be something more than he first appears. Grossman does a remarkable job of pulling together these disparate strands while providing enough combat and magic to keep the pages turning. Epic fantasy fans will hang on every word.
Grossman (The Magicians) returns with an intricately woven, richly detailed, and thoroughly researched Arthurian tale. Collum, a knight-aspirant to the fabled Round Table, finds himself drawn into the realms of magic and treachery when he arrives at Camelot in the wake of King Arthur's demise, as told in Le Morte d'Arthur. Only a handful of forgotten and misbegotten knights remain. Searching for a new king for Camelot, they set out on a great quest that challenges them beyond their usual stations. Each character has a place in the tale, and their individual backstories are interwoven with the main narrative to add depth to the ongoing quest. Don't be fooled, however--these ancient stories are given new life by Grossman, who embraces the challenge to rethink who these knights may have been and what they looked like. Grossman's skillful recreation and evolution of Arthurian storytelling is bolstered by Nicholas Guy Smith's exceptional performance as narrator, imbuing each character with a richness and fullness that will have listeners hanging on his every word. VERDICT A triumph of classic fantasy storytelling that embraces tradition just as much as it turns tradition on its head, this is sure to resonate with high-fantasy readers everywhere.--Collin Stephenson
Copyright 2024 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
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Bahrain, Egypt, Hong Kong, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Yemen
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