Review: Camelot by Giles Kristian

Camelot by Giles Kristian

Publication Date: May 14, 2020

Bantam Press

Genre: Historical/Arthurian

Following his acclaimed Sunday Times bestseller, Lancelot , Giles Kristian’s new novel returns us to the realms of Arthurian legend...

Britain is a land riven by anarchy, slaughter, famine, filth and darkness. Its armies are destroyed, its heroes dead, or missing. Arthur and Lancelot fell in the last great battle and Merlin has not been seen these past ten years. Now, the Saxons are gathering again, their warbands stalk the land, their king seeks dominion. As for the lords and kings of Britain, they look only to their own survival and will not unite as they once did under Arthur and his legendary sword Excalibur.

But in an isolated monastery in the marshes of Avalon, a novice of the order is preparing to take his vows when the life he has known is suddenly turned upside down in a welter of blood. Two strangers - the wild-spirited, Saxon-killing Iselle and the ageing warrior Gawain - will pluck the young man from the wreckage of his simple existence. Together, they will seek the last druid and the cauldron of a god. And the young man must come to terms with his legacy and fate as the son of the most celebrated yet most infamous of Arthur’s warriors: Lancelot.

For this is the story of Galahad, Lancelot’s son – the reluctant warrior who dared to keep the dream of Camelot alive...

Review

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

My absolutely top favorite read of 2018 was Giles Kristian's Lancelot so you can bet that I've been counting the days until the next book was released. I actually read Lancelot twice and was gushing so much that the author graciously sent me a Lancelot hat 😀

Yet when I held the copy Camelot in my hands at last I was heistant to start it, because I know once I started it I was closer to finishing it and I knew I wouldn't want it to end. And I was right. These books are pure perfection! And of course, I read Camelot while wearing my Lancelot hat 😀

Camelot picks up 10 years after the end of Lancelot. The Saxons are ravaging Britain and a young man is training to be a Monk at Ynys Wydryn, where they protect the Holy Thorn from the Saxons. That young man happens to be Lancelot's son, Galahad. He has been with the Monks since Lancelot died in battle. Without Arthur and his men Britain has fallen to the Saxons and their raiding troops steal and kill at will. When Gawain, a warrior who fought with Arthur, shows up at Ynys Wydryn and tells them that Galahad needs to come with them, that they have found Merlin, and have a plan to save Britain, Galahad must decide between his duty to his brothers, and his fate as the son of the greatest warrior in Britain.

"A man can't hide from the future, no more than he can hude from the past."

It's impossible to describe how I feel when I am reading this series. They are magical, which sounds cheesy to say, but they are. I feel like I'm on an Epic quest in a world of Gods, sacred trees, healing waters, and magical realms. It's like how I feel when I watch Lord of the Rings or Game of Thrones.

I'm pretty sure Camelot will be my top read this year. I cannot begin to explain how much I love these books. A massive thanks to Bantam Books and Anne Cater for the chance to read Camelot. I will be reading these books over again for years to come and recommending them to everyone!

About the Author

Family history (he is half Norwegian) and a passion for the fiction of Bernard Cornwell inspired Giles Kristian to write. Set in the Viking world, his bestselling Raven and The Rise of Sigurd trilogies have been acclaimed by his peers, reviewers and readers alike. In The Bleeding Land and Brothers’ Fury, he tells the story of a family torn apart by the English Civil War. He also co-wrote Wilbur Smith’s No.1 bestseller, Golden Lion. In his most recent novel, the Sunday Times bestseller Lancelot, Giles plunged into the rich waters of the Arthurian legend. For his next book, he continues his epic reimagining of our greatest island ‘history’. Giles Kristian lives in Leicestershire.