moriahtsharpe's review
5.0
I love Arthurian legend and books where girls disguise themselves as boys, so I knew this book would be right up my alley. The storytelling felt very mythical, and the illustrations were gorgeous and added visual interest. It's clear that Griffith knows the world in which she's situated her story, and as a history buff myself I appreciated her author's note at the end that outlined the research and inspiration behind the book. Spear is a fantastic book.
krisalexcole's review
1.0
I should've stopped reading when the main character's menstrual blood was described as sweet.
swordsandsapphics's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Retellings are my bread and butter, but I’m usually wary of Arthurian retellings. They seem notoriously difficult to get right, because most authors I see basically write bland Merlin (the show) fanfiction with magic people being oppressed or something. But Spear goes back to what makes the legend of King Arthur so great in the first place, tapping into its timelessness while also breathing fresh life into it.
It helps that the protagonist isn’t Arthur or Guinevere or Merlin. It’s Peretur, aka Sir Percival reimagined as a woman who disguises herself as a man, receives renown for her heroics, and wins over quite a few ladies in the process. She felt a lot like a classic fantasy hero setting off into the unknown, but she also felt human. And I have to say, I like what Griffith did with the other Arthurian characters:
On the classic fantasy vibes: that’s definitely what this book felt like. Classic fantasy. The writing is gorgeous and I almost wish I picked up a library book to savor it more, but in the end I think listening to it on audio was the best choice because it felt like the author was telling me an old folk tale. (Literally — the author narrates it. Love it when that shit happens.)
Also, the depth of Griffith’s research is impressive. I love it when fantasy is somewhat grounded in historical settings and she did an excellent job bringing early medieval Britain to life. Her author’s note, man — was she showboating? Yeah. But as far as I’m concerned, she earned the right to showboat, damn it.
This was solid. Quite solid, in my opinion. It’s a novella — or a very, very short novel, it straddles the line between those categories tbh — but I’d still recommend taking your time with it because the experience is pretty magical.
It helps that the protagonist isn’t Arthur or Guinevere or Merlin. It’s Peretur, aka Sir Percival reimagined as a woman who disguises herself as a man, receives renown for her heroics, and wins over quite a few ladies in the process. She felt a lot like a classic fantasy hero setting off into the unknown, but she also felt human. And I have to say, I like what Griffith did with the other Arthurian characters:
Spoiler
casting Nimue as Peretur’s endgame love interest was, frankly, an inspired choice. And Artos, Lance, and Gwen being a poly triad? THAT IS GENIUS!On the classic fantasy vibes: that’s definitely what this book felt like. Classic fantasy. The writing is gorgeous and I almost wish I picked up a library book to savor it more, but in the end I think listening to it on audio was the best choice because it felt like the author was telling me an old folk tale. (Literally — the author narrates it. Love it when that shit happens.)
Also, the depth of Griffith’s research is impressive. I love it when fantasy is somewhat grounded in historical settings and she did an excellent job bringing early medieval Britain to life. Her author’s note, man — was she showboating? Yeah. But as far as I’m concerned, she earned the right to showboat, damn it.
This was solid. Quite solid, in my opinion. It’s a novella — or a very, very short novel, it straddles the line between those categories tbh — but I’d still recommend taking your time with it because the experience is pretty magical.
bory's review
2.0
I need to stop going into book blind. Had I known this was an Arthurian re-telling, I probably would have skipped it.
I was not a fan of the writing style - I don't generally care about prose, but run on sentences that stretched into entire paragraphs frustrate me to no end. Further, Peretur, for me, was not an enjoyable point of view character because she was very bland and too perfect. No training with a spear? No, worries, she's still the best because magic. Her romance with Nimuë had all the chemistry of two rocks banging against each other, and was only there because the Arthurian legend demanded it.
Meh.
I was not a fan of the writing style - I don't generally care about prose, but run on sentences that stretched into entire paragraphs frustrate me to no end. Further, Peretur, for me, was not an enjoyable point of view character because she was very bland and too perfect. No training with a spear? No, worries, she's still the best because magic. Her romance with Nimuë had all the chemistry of two rocks banging against each other, and was only there because the Arthurian legend demanded it.
Meh.
bookwyrmsam's review
4.0
I've recently been super in the mood for Arthurian fiction so when I read the description for this book, I wanted to pick it up immediately! (And I'll be honest and say the cover is what enticed me to read the description in the first place... similar illustrations are scattered throughout the text).
I really enjoyed this book overall. The writing style was beautiful and reminded me of two authors: Katherine Arden for the way the natural world was described, and Ursula K. Leguin for the more distant simple (yet stunning) descriptions of characters and their interactions. This book very much felt like reading a fairy tale so even though I didn't feel super connected to most of the characters, I didn't mind. I felt that the book did interesting things with the story it was trying to tell, and it was nice to see casual queer rep, and a focus on female protagonists in an Arthurian context.
Also, I thought it was interesting that Nicola Griffith opted to use a lot of older Welsh spellings and historical context in this book (she includes a notes section in the back about some of the choices she made and her sources/inspirations).
Overall if you're in the mood for a short, vibey, atmospheric read, I'd recommend this one.
Content Warnings for violence and mention of fertility issues.
I really enjoyed this book overall. The writing style was beautiful and reminded me of two authors: Katherine Arden for the way the natural world was described, and Ursula K. Leguin for the more distant simple (yet stunning) descriptions of characters and their interactions. This book very much felt like reading a fairy tale so even though I didn't feel super connected to most of the characters, I didn't mind. I felt that the book did interesting things with the story it was trying to tell, and it was nice to see casual queer rep, and a focus on female protagonists in an Arthurian context.
Also, I thought it was interesting that Nicola Griffith opted to use a lot of older Welsh spellings and historical context in this book (she includes a notes section in the back about some of the choices she made and her sources/inspirations).
Overall if you're in the mood for a short, vibey, atmospheric read, I'd recommend this one.
Content Warnings for violence and mention of fertility issues.
readwithrhys's review against another edition
3.0
the audiobook had me confused, so i think i’ll reread this but as an ebook or physical edition
smortimer's review
3.0
Fans of medieval retellings will probably enjoy! The pacing felt off for me, but appreciated the different point of view offered.
abby_b's review against another edition
2.0
I’m really not a fan of this new trend of “queer retellings” where the author puts absolutely 0 effort into the story itself and expects the book to coast just on people’s familiarity with the source material and the fact that a character is gay now. No effort into plot or character development or even the fleshing out of the queer relationship in the story. Here’s what happens in this book: the first ~35% is a cool magical chosen one quest. The rest of the book is people sitting around and chatting. The queer relationship is completely flavorless and the main character is just a cardboard cutout of a woman. I really wanted to like this especially since the writing is actually quite beautiful. Unfortunately a lot of otherwise good authors just really struggle with novellas, so I guess I could be convinced to read some of her other full length works.
lindsaythelibrarian's review
adventurous
lighthearted
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25