Spear by Nicola Griffith
Product Details
Web ID: 13392122Short epic fantasy
This short fantasy still felt very epic. It was a nice exploration of one of the King Arthur myths. We watch the (at first) nameless girl grow up and eventually make her way to King Arthur's court and companions. I really liked how believable the girl was with her strengths and her ability to learn (and fight). I also enjoyed the take on the Companions, Arthur, and Gwen. Thanks to netgalley for the ARC. It was an excellent story!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Most Enjoyable
I received an ARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I have been a fan of Nicola Griffith for years and have read most of her books. My knowledge of King Arthur legends, however, doesn’t go much past Monty Python or a couple of other Arthurian movies. Spear was a pleasure to read. Many reviews comment on the lyrical nature of the writing and I certainly agree. This is the retelling of one character (Peretur) in the King Arthur legend, who happens to be a woman, and how she brings more to the legend with her history and abilities. It is not really about Arthur at this point, but how Peretur makes her way into her own and into Arthur’s circle. I was taken in and thoroughly enjoyed the book, start to finish. And then the Author’s Note on Origins. Here I found a wonderful, if brief, education in early Welsh language, character genealogy and early texts related to Arthurian legend. Griffith’s explanation of her choices for a historical basis to her retelling has Spear marked as a reread for me.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Amazing and unique novel
I received an ARC of this book from Tor in exchange for an honest review. It's taken me a while to sit down and write this review, because it felt challenging to do justice to this book. Arthurian retellings are a dime a dozen, and I went in expecting something quick and forgettable. Instead I was delighted to find that despite the small page count, this was a book that rewarded slow, careful examination; after reading the author's note at the end, I had to go back and look at the details, the word choice, and a world that emerges slowly, like a landscape hidden behind a fog bank. Griffith has not so much retold the Arthur story we all know as approached it from the side, telling a parallel story that dances in and out of the parts of the myth we know. Her characters are beautifully drawn--I especially liked Llanza, her take on Lancelot, whose tangled relationship with Arthur and Guinevere is given a new and more positive look. Equally at home describing afternoons spent in quiet forest landscapes and a single intense moment of furious combat, Spear has a direct and naturalistic style that reminded me favorably of Andrew Krivak's The Bear, a very different book in many ways but also a similar myth-inflected tale of a girl who spends most of her time alone in the woods. The plot is interesting both for its own sake and to explore the contours of the Arthurian myth, parsing the unfamiliar Welsh names and references as the reader wonders which parts of the story we know will hold true in this lake-water reflection of the tale many grew up with. Spear is a different knightly tale than I expected, and one I look forward to returning to on many a misty morning. Five out of five stars. A slim, focused novel full of beautiful imagery and interesting angles on familiar stories.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Transcendent
Dreamy and consuming, like a fire on the verge of spilling over the hearth. This was so good, y’all. It was especially interesting to read so close on the heels of finishing Kiersten White’s Camelot Rising trilogy (apparently I’m in an Arthurian queer feminist retelling mood.) Merlin does not fare well in either one; I wonder if, as a culture, we’re ready for something different than the wise old man archetype. If you grew up with any kind of sense of wonder at the natural world and what secrets of further wonder might be found there, if you ever watched other people from the fringes and wondered how to find your place there, if you wish you could peer through the clouded-glass panes of history and myth, I think this book will speak to you. But make sure you have time to sit and listen; I’m rereading the last few pages and the author’s end notes, back and forth, because I’m just not ready to jump back into the real world yet. The text feels that kind of sacred, transcendent.
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Sapphic Arthurian Retelling
I love a good Arthurian retelling, and Spear did not disappoint! This short book manages to fill itself with gorgeous prose and a sweeping story, complete with magic, intrigue, and sapphic romance. While I found the beginning to be slow, as soon as the action began the pick up the story flew by. Compared to recent Arthurian stories I've read, Spear is one of the better ones, committing to its forward-thinking additions of gender exploration and lesbian identity. Such a great read full of well-researched and innovative myth!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com
Awesome retelling!
I’m a huge sucker for queer retellings of classic stories and I must say that this enchanting novel has definitely lived up to the hype. Nicola Griffith’s prose is beautiful in every sense of the word and this story left me sleepless and begging the literary goddesses for a sequel right after I binge read this entire book in one night. I was living my best life when I was following Peretur’s journey from an unnamed young girl who was raised in a secluded cave with her mother to King Arturus’s Court in Caer Leon. Plus, I love the fact that this awesome story was set in the early medieval period in Britain because I’ve always wondered what had happened during that period and the vivid descriptions in this book made me feel as though I was seeing the people and the landscape with my own eyes. I’m not ashamed to admit that it was love at first glance when I saw this stunning book cover and I wanted to read this story immediately!
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Customer review from barnesandnoble.com