Gifts With Hard Swordsby Scott Telek

In the early days of King Arthur’s Reign, there was much strife, many difficulties, and people either trying to influence or curry favor with the young king. And with many not believing him to be capable of being High King, or simply not willing to accept him as such, war was inevitable. As a young man who has not been a king for long, in this book Arthur is still struggling to find his way and wishing he were free to control his own destiny rather than following the path laid out for him by Merlin. Yes, he knows that Merlin’s desire is for the good of everyone, not just the rich and powerful, but when you are a young man, it is hard to suddenly find yourself the one suddenly held responsible for everything. Mistakes will happen. The question seems to be whether or not Arthur can handle it when those mistakes may be life changing—for both himself and for his people.

I read a review copy of this book, and I loved it. Mr. Telek’s story is based on historically found tales of Arthur and his knights. It is not simply a retelling of the stories that many of us have heard many times throughout our lives, though for the most part we can anticipate much of what will happen. But this series is unique in that while it is very based off of the most historical versions of Arthur’s story, the gaps that were left by the original authors have been filled in with Mr. Telek’s own contributions to the tale. And those contributions are not insignificant; they meld in perfectly with the existing information that was his source material for this story.

As such, I should warn you that there is a part of this story that some may find disturbing. The event shows Arthur’s fears for his future, and it ultimately contributes to his eventual downfall. But given that it was part of the original tale, it was not something that could, or should, be ignored by Mr. Telek. It was an important part of the story and does show us a great deal of Arthur as a young man who is unsure of himself as king. It also gives us a glimpse into the fact that there are some events that even the great Merlin could not have prevented. It may be a bit disturbing, but it was necessary to this story. And honestly, there are many historical tales of kings and other leaders who have done much worse.

Mr. Telek has woven a wonderful and very enjoyable tale for us to enjoy. One where we get to see not only Arthur’s strengths and successes, but also his failures and weaknesses. We get to see that while King Arthur may someday become a legendary figure, at this point in time he was simply a young man who felt the weight of the kingdom that rested on his shoulders. One who has been repeatedly told that only he could bring about the golden age that was to come, though how he was supposed to do that, he didn't know. It makes for a wonderful tale, and I very much look forward to seeing what happens in the next book in this series. 

If you enjoy tales of King Arthur, his Knights, Merlin, and the others, this is a series you will want to read. I do recommend starting at the beginning of the series if you have not previously read the books before this one. There are some surprises early on in the series that you won’t want to miss. Mr. Telek’s version of the King Arthur story is very unique and worth taking the time to read. Highly recommended.

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"Wonderly Wroth" by Scott Telek

Book 5 of Mr. Telek's Swithin series, starts where book 4 left off. A 14 year-old Arthur, having forgotten his foster brother Kay's sword and needing to bring him one, had pulled the sword from the stone not realizing at the time that it was the one that would determine who was the rightful King. After much confusion, and being asked to repeat the act multiple times, it seems that the church believes he is the rightful king, though even Arthur doesn't seem too convinced about it.

This book tells the tale of young Arthur's training to become a knight, as well as of many other things that he will be expected to know. And while all of this is happening, we get to see not only what influences the young man's decisions along the way, but we get to learn more about some of the other characters that have yet to take center stage in this tale as well. It gives us a fascinating look into what drives and motivates them, as well as how each of them came to believe as they do.

As is no secret, I love a good King Arthur story, and this series has been one of my favorites. Mr. Telek has done a wonderful job of telling the familiar tale of King Arthur in a unique way. While those of us familiar with the basic story can usually make a pretty good guess about what is to come, Mr. Telek still manages to throw in a few surprises along the way that keep the reader riveted. It was very difficult for me to put this book down at night, as I kept wanting to keep reading to the end. (And when done, I was honestly surprised to find that this book was longer than it had felt while reading it.)  

If you enjoy a good King Arthur story, you will want to read this book/series. I loved it and think many of you will enjoy it as well. It is well worth taking the time to enjoy this one.

"The Flower of Chivalry" by Scott Telek

The story of King Arthur and his knights of the round table has fascinated readers for ages. This book is no exception. This is the fourth book in this series and begins strong & I felt finished even stronger. I had a very hard time putting it down to sleep at night!

In this book we get to learn what Arthur's childhood was like. It begins with both Arthur & Kay as infants being raised by Sir Ector and his wife. We are shown how the boys grew & we are given great insight into both their character as young children and what likely caused them to grow into the men they are destined to become.

Reading this book left little doubt in my mind as to why, as they grew, that they came to make the choices they made, all while clearly letting us see the differences in their personalities and why those differences existed that explains so much about each of them and their differences, despite being raised as brothers.

We get to see what lessons they learned along the way to turn them into the legendary knights that almost everyone is at least somewhat familiar with. We also see many of the other characters who will become central to this story before most of them will have truly ventured far on their journeys in life.

Most of us can guess as to one of the major events at the end of this book, though I won't give you the specifics of what happens in this review as each version of this legend is spun a little differently by each author who takes the task of telling it upon themselves.

What I will say is that this is one that you really don't want to miss out on reading. The story told is well written and very enjoyable. It is well worth the time spent reading it and you won’t want to put it down. I am very definitely looking forward to the next book in this series. Highly Recommended.

"Arthur Rex: Ex Lapis" by J.A. Cummings

This book begins with a scene that those of us who enjoy tales about King Arthur and his knights are very familiar with. We get to see a young Arthur Pendragon reveal his true birthright by travelling to Londinium and pulling the sword from the stone when everyone else has failed. As expected, there are some who immediately acknowledge him as their king, while others refuse to believe that it is more than merely a trick to have “Merlin’s puppet” seated upon the throne. And so, it seems that war is inevitable.

In this book, we see a combination of both the familiar stories and an original take on the legend shared by Ms. Cummings. King Arthur is a wonderful tale that has been described in many ways by many writers, but I enjoyed this version. Here, we see how he was not immediately prepared and had to train hard in fighting, battle tactics, as well as study diplomacy and negotiations before he took charge. And while he was always calmer and more determined than those around him, he also knew enough to know how much more he still needed to learn and was prepared to work hard to do so.

One thing for the reader to be aware of is that like the first book in the series, there is a good deal of rather descriptive sex in this book. I believe that all of it was a necessary part of this story and describes how Arthur grows to become the man he is destined to be, but some might find it to be more than they were looking for in an arthurian tale. It is definitely not a story meant for younger readers

This book takes us into the early reign of King Arthur, still in the days when he was fighting to unite the kingdom and find a way to make it a better place for everyone, not just those rich and powerful enough to have whatever or whomever they wished. I enjoyed reading this author’s take on what to me is a fairly familiar tale. (I have long been a fan of Arthurian stories in their many different incarnations.) I greatly enjoyed reading it and I believe that others will as well. I am looking forward to seeing where this author decides to take this tale next. Recommended for those who enjoy King Arthur stories.