Rating: 
Summary: "Cromwell" ?
Review: There are no better books than these in the Arthurian genre. Rosalind Mile's books are bodice-ripping garbage.
Rating: 
Summary: Painful Read - Poor Investment
Review: You know a book is bad when you have to FORCE yourself to read at least 100 pages before deciding whether or not to shelve it. The only thing that prevented me from puting this book away for good is the fact that I stupidly invested in the entire trilogy before reading this first installment.
In the first several pages Cromwell introduces such an amount and variety of characters that I neither understod or identified with any of them. Page after page, I suffered through drawn out descriptions of scenery when all I truly wanted to understand was WHO THE CHARACTERS WERE!! Finally, I found Derfel to hold a modest amount of interst and so I plugged away hoping for the best.
While I agree that Cromwell found a new approach to an old tale, I disagree with anyone who says he did it well. The second star in my rating is a gift simply because he chose a subject I find hard to hate.
Cromwell's writing is long-winded. I literally skipped PAGES ahead, passing over his drawn out descriptions on scenery, armor, and "who's who" lists at counsel gatherings. Each time I was able to pick up the story without missing a beat.
Cromwell also repeats himself incesently! Time and time again I heard the detailed description of Sagramore's black skin, the fact that Derfel survived a Druid death pit, and the purpose of a ghost wall. I am not certain if Cromwell feels his readers are not savy enough to remember these tid bits of information or if he wasn't smart enough to know he already told us this information a few pages ago... and a few pages before that...and before that...and before that! Perhpas he was just trying to fill pages? I can't imagine why this story had to overlap into multiple volumes - many better writers have captured it in far less space - and in better form.
I highly recommend that this fall to the bottom of your "to read" Arthurian ledgends. I found Queen of Camelot and Grail Prince to be FAR better written! Start with those. Cromwell will drag you along - there are periodic points of interest. But if you want a book that pulls you into the story - this isn't it.
Rating: 
Summary: A View of a Distant Time
Review: Bernard Cornwell shows his talent and diversity by telling the story of a divided Britain during the Dark Ages through the eyes of descriptive and insightful Derfel, a Saxon-born ward of Merlin and keen observer of Arthur.Although THE WINTER KING is named for Arthur, it is really a story about Britain during a time when it was divided into small kingdoms and the kings fought among themselves while also being threatenned by the Saxons. Derfel, as the narrator, gives his descriptions, observations, and insights of not only Arthur, but also Merlin, Guinevere, Lancelot, Galahad, and numerous rituals, rites and customs. Derfel puts the reader in the midst of a very brutal culture where fear of the future and the forces of nature, man and the unknown are counteracted with spells, potions and rituals. Christianity is seen as a strange, mysterious religion threatenning their way of life. The dialogue is full of insults and is often courteous to the point of hilarity. Bernard Cornwell transports the reader to a different time and place, when man's baser instincts are on display. He sheds light on the way The Dark Ages might have been and in its midst is the hero Arthur. THE WINTER KING is an enlightenning, enjoyable book with plenty of action. It gives the reader an excellent taste of a distant time.
Rating:
Summary: A whole new Arthur
Review: I love Cornwell. His novels are realistic and make you feel as you are in the book. He does just this with "The Warlord Chronicles". This is not the Arthur that we have hear about all of our lives, but a very different take on him. All of the famous names appear in this book, and in the next two, but they serve different takes than what we have grown to know and love. As said before in a review for this book, if you are looking for an Arthur novel that is all fairytale like, dont read this book.
Cornwell makes this book, to me, the most real rendition of Arthurian legend. I am a Medieval studies major, and although I dont study Arthur much, I know the tales, and I also know there was a real Arthur, exagerated by a thousand years of word of mouth.
Through my eyes, I believe Cornwell knew this also, and so he wrote these books based on the "real" Arthur". Rather than having faries and magic, we have a realistic look into the dark ages (the time after the roman empire fell, and the coming of Charles the Great). If you love this time period and love battles, get this book. You will love it.
Rating:
Summary: At Last, A Believable Arthur
Review: Some of my earliest memories of the world of fiction and story telling involve tales of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table. Most have read at least one such story in their childhood while many of us have consumed many versions of this classic and continue to do so to this day. So it was with a mixture of anticipation and some trepidation that I began this trilogy. Not having read Cornwell's well-received "Sharpe" novels, but having been inundated with praise for them, I wondered at how he would tackle this tale. Isn't it a bit presumptuous to re-tell such an oft-told tale? In fact, Cornwell, himself, says much the same thing. After all, hasn't it all been said? Not at all! We catch a quick glimpse of Cornwell's approach, right from the start, with the title. This is "The Warlord Chronicles". And, indeed, it is. Arthur is the son of Uther and therefore not in line to become King. Instead, he is a warlord, assigned as Mordred's protector. His main goal, however, is to unite all of Briton's divisive tribes against the common enemy: the soon-to-invade Saxons. If you are looking for a traditional approach to the telling of the tale of Arthur, look elsewhere. This rendition is brutal, realistic, and fascinating. As Cornwell, himself, says, "There is a sword and there is a stone, but one is not in the other." In fact, many of the popular elements that we have come to expect are simply not there. Most of the familial relationships are different than I had assumed, i.e. Mordred, Uther, Morgan, Igraine, Guinivere, Arthur, etc. Cornwell takes them all and comes up with a plausible course for his characters to take. The story is told from the point of view of a young warrior, Derfel, who moves from being under Merlin's protection, to serve with Arthur's army and eventually become friend, confidant, and advisor to Arthur. He tells the story from a down-to-earth blood and guts perspective. Cornwell is well known for the historical research that he conducts for his novels and even though the "facts" are elusive for Arthur's tale, the time period and settings are well detailed. The resulting tapestry is a credible playground for Cornwell's characters to interact upon. Cornwell uses the plausible and traditional Welsh names for his places and characters, a technique which may make it a bit more difficult for some readers to follow. I found myself referring often to the lists provided at the beginning of the book, to keep places and people straight in my head. By the way, don't look for Camelot here, either. Small portions of the story, I felt, dragged just a little. And there is a lot of realistic, up close and authentic fighting to wade through. But there is another battle waging here, as well. The battle between the old Pagan ways and the burgeoning Christianity frequently takes center stage. All in all, I quite enjoyed this novel. I have since read the other two volumes in the Warlord Chronicles and believe that they are even slightly better than this one. This is a true trilogy where one must read all three novels to appreciate the epic. If you come to this one with an open mind, then I think you'll be happy you did.
Rating:
Summary: Unbelievable. Intelligent. Exciting. Romantic.
Review: In the Winter King (the Warlord Chronicles) it is the characters which make this book tremendously enjoyable. Every character is completely believable and to me sometimes, hauntingly familiar. Arthur is made exceptionally likeable - his opinions and ideas show an enormous understanding of the world around him in a very skeptical, analytical flourish. Yet, this is the dark ages, and therefore he is limited to the knowledge of the times, and what he sees for himself. While reading, I sometimes found myself thinking: "Arthur, if only you knew some psychology!" The blindness of his character to information which we take for granted today is deliciously rich. Guinevere - what can I say? I love her to death. Honestly, I would have married her at any cost - as Arthur does. Few wouldn't. She is ambitious, intelligent, witty, but then she is frightening, because as it becomes apparent, she, like many of the other characters, do not see the world as perceptively as Arthur does. Merlin is illustrated as an intelligent, yet exhilaratingly deceptive druid. In a time where the more abstract and therefore less disprovable religion, Christianity, is creeping into the national consciousness of the Britons, Merlin is the shining star of paganism. In the book, his powers are neither proved nor disproved, weaving a fascinating layer of religious conflict which underlies the turbulent times. In short, this is a book of shadows. It is a battle of wits in the darkness. And it is one hell of a ride through the dirt, fear, beliefs and the starlight of the dark ages.
A highly enjoyable novel. It will play like a movie in your mind.
Rating:
Summary: The Winter King
Review: King Arthur takes command and fights fierce battles in this realist retelling of the legend, narrated by the young warrior Derfel. Cornwell's recreation of Dark Ages Britain is wonderful, complete with many facets of utter barbarity, religious strife, ethnic diversity, politics and war. Some of his best passages here are the "battles" between opposing magicians and shamans (we can never be sure if the magic is real, but the characters certainly believe in it). With Arthur and Aelle talking high politics, a witch and two shamans are having a private war; spitting, hopping on one foot, piling stones in significant patterns. It's great stuff. Derfel is an attractive everyman sort of character, a powerful warrior but a bit of a romantic. Other characters are quite strong as well--in fact Cornwell, who doesn't always do well with villains, women and secondary characters, outdoes himself here. Setting is heavily described, so much so that I found the plot to drag just a bit here and there. Still, plenty happens, and the exciting and believably authentic battle scenes should please most readers--especially since this was why we would read a Cornwell Arthur story in the first place! But even the battles aside, this is a good book and more elegantly written than I would have expected.
Rating: 
Summary: Hoping it gets better... Won't hold my breath
Review: First off, me being an Arthurian fan, I found that Uther still being alive and rejecting Arthur and banishing him a little curious. I know many people have a different spin or view on the Arthurian legend, but I like the traditional view of the legend and not all the different spins. Also, the writer seems to have a rape fetish. I am almost done with the first part of the book and already the author speaks of rape several times. Kind of disturbing if you are a kid reading about your favorite king of legend (sorry, no ratings like on video games and movies). The reading is rather dull in many parts, although it is picking up somewhat (gosh, I hope I didn't jinx it). There is very little dialogue and you feel like you are reading a documentary on the dark ages rather than a novel. I'm sorry, but I have read many fantasy and Arthurian novels so I feel qualified to rate this book. I don't think I will be reading the sequels if this one doesn't get any better. The author really knows how to build a scene and a character regardless of its dull flavor. He is very intelligent, although most of the names in the book leave me scratching my head on pronunciation! Well, that's my take on it.
Rating: 
Summary: A Promise Unkept
Review: I love medieval adventures and the Arthurian tales have long been rich in these. And yet this one didn't work for me as well as it might have. Actually, it started off rather nicely (lots of books which get published these days seem to) but it didn't really carry through. In the end it was a rather pedestrian tale, with little staying power once I'd closed the covers . . . though it was readable enough. I think it suffered from the decision to make it a trilogy since you don't really see that in the beginning and when the story finally winds down to its climactic battle (and "winds down" is not a poor way of putting it), it leaves the reader rather cold . . . as though the book just ground to a halt, mid-stream, with everything still to be determined! The story, itself, while workmanlike, was also quite uninspired. Not much insight here into the times portrayed or the people who filled those times. In fact, the only real character of interest was Merlin, portayed as a quick change artist, although his presence is telegraphed well before he reveals himself to the seeking Arthur. Who Arthur really was and what he did remains something of a mystery . . . but he sure wasn't much, or worth all those legends, if this was him. I hate it when the promise of the first few pages gets broken and scattered between the covers of a book. But that's what happened here. Based on the first volume, I decided to forego the next two installments, for better or worse. But others, plainly, do not share my disappointment so perhaps I am being unduly harsh. The book is readable, though it did not meet my expectations! Give it a try if Arthurian tales are your thing. In light of all the positive reviews here, I may just have been the wrong reader for this one. SWM
Rating:
Summary: One of the Greatest King Arthur books out there
Review: This is one of the Greatest King Arthur books out there today. Rather then set in a world of wizards and magic like most are, it is set in Dark Age England like it would have been. Rather then knights in shining armor, as is the norm, they protray them rather as dirty, grubby fellows in crude leather armor, with even cruder arments. Other then that everything else is there that you would expect, character and otherwise. One of the best parts is how different the characters are from the norm, esp. Merlin. All in all if you are looking to break away from the norm story of magic and the gods check this book out, you (hopefully) won't be upset with your purchease.
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