A review by zena_ryder
Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff
5.0
This book is narrated in the first person which, as usual, bothered me — at least at first. With first person narration, it seems to me that the reader is never quite "in" the action, but only looking back on it from a distance. And there are parts of the story that the narrator chooses to skip over, and other parts that are recounted in unrealistic detail (given that it’s ostensibly from the narrator’s memory) which adds to the feeling of not really being part of the action. However, I got used to the narration, and despite this pet peeve of mine, I absolutely loved this book and felt sad when I’d finished it.
There is no magic and no Merlin in this book; it is not a fantasy story. It is historical fiction, portraying King Arthur as if he was a real person — a figure that Sutcliff calls Artos. There are real events depicted in the book, such as the Battle of Badon and various other attempted invasions by the Saxons. There is lots of fascinating historical detail in the book, and Sutcliff does a masterful job of bringing alive the Britain of around 500 CE.
I got very attached to Artos and his Companions (Bedwyr, Cei, Gwalchmai, etc) as well as his wife, Guenhumara. There are two particularly heartbreaking episodes in the book. The first is when Artos’ and Guenhumara’s baby daughter dies; the second is when Artos discovers that Guenhumara and Bedwyr have betrayed him and fallen in love. It is painful to go through those experiences with Artos, and I miss him now the book is finished.
Sword At Sunset is fantasic, and has joined the list of my all time favourites.
There is no magic and no Merlin in this book; it is not a fantasy story. It is historical fiction, portraying King Arthur as if he was a real person — a figure that Sutcliff calls Artos. There are real events depicted in the book, such as the Battle of Badon and various other attempted invasions by the Saxons. There is lots of fascinating historical detail in the book, and Sutcliff does a masterful job of bringing alive the Britain of around 500 CE.
I got very attached to Artos and his Companions (Bedwyr, Cei, Gwalchmai, etc) as well as his wife, Guenhumara. There are two particularly heartbreaking episodes in the book. The first is when Artos’ and Guenhumara’s baby daughter dies; the second is when Artos discovers that Guenhumara and Bedwyr have betrayed him and fallen in love. It is painful to go through those experiences with Artos, and I miss him now the book is finished.
Sword At Sunset is fantasic, and has joined the list of my all time favourites.