Moon Lord: The Fall of King Arthur. The Ruin of Stonehenge., November 5, 2013
By
Neil Wiseman (Cape Cod, Massachusetts) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Moon Lord: The Fall of King Arthur - The Ruin of Stonehenge (Kindle Edition)
Moon Lord: The Fall of King Arthur. The Ruin of Stonehenge.JP Reedman
2013 Mirador Publishing, UK.
265 pages with Index.
Paperback: £8.99 / $13.38
Kindle: £3.18 / $4.95
A Review
JP Reedman's Opus of the two-book saga, Stone Lord, was received last year with wide acclaim from many different literary corners. As a refreshing, original take on the Arthurian Legend, she sought to cast the well-known panoply of characters into the deep Bronze-Age and give them familiar motivation in the shadow of the most iconic prehistoric monument in the world: Stonehenge.
The success of this effort need not be detailed, but sufficient here is a nod to an author who should be congratulated for an outstanding contribution to this narrow genre.
Moon Lord stands by itself and completes the Tale begun with the first. The two are complimentary, though very different stories.
Picking up the legend twenty years after the close of events in Stone Lord, we find the long peace and bounty of the land threatened by a blossoming evil that had germinated long before. Ardu is now older and cagey with wisdom. His guileless, plucky young heir Gal'havad chafes at the delay of his Manhood Rites. Merlin, life-tired and nearing the end of his cycle, unwittingly becomes ensnared in the high plots and policies of the Lady of the Lake. Sinister Mordraed schemes the downfall of his father and the mighty citadel of Khor Ghor itself, while the secret lovers Fynavir and An'kelet have grown into careless unease ...
As the next generation strives to find a place within the Stone Lord's esteemed war-band, Morigau, Ardu's evil half-sister, brings her long-woven conspiracy to unholy fruition.
The narrative is an intimate, richly layered dialogue between the Reader and the landscape. The action and pacing are controlled, decisive and dramatic. The texture is deceptively silky, painted with the vivid earth-colors which subtly mirror those of an October forest.
The characters are flesh and blood, thoughtful, and prone to grave mistakes ─ but also great virtue. Their motivation is never suspect, mysterious or sprung upon us unannounced, yet are indeed often cleverly shielded from view by the same pitfalls of foible and manipulation to which we are all occasionally subjected. In matters great and small, glad or dreadful, we cannot stand aloof, but are compelled by a comfortable intimacy to identify with each; to laugh, bleed and weep with them.
In short, Moon Lord is darker in tone yet more sweeping in scope than its prequel and showcases the burgeoning talent of Reedman. I will be waiting impatiently for her next effort and I urge others to do the same.
and another ...
Arthurian legend from a different perspective, 7 Nov 2013
By
Magnolia Belle "Belle" (Texas) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Moon Lord: The Fall of King Arthur - The Ruin of Stonehenge (Kindle Edition)
MOON LORD: THE FALL OF KING ARTHURTHE RUIN OF STONEHENGE
BY
J.P. REEDMAN
Ms. Reedman takes the well-known and oft told tale of King Arthur and makes it her own. The story centers around Mordraed, illegitimate son of Ardhu Pendraec (Arthur Pendragon) and Ardhu's half sister Morigau (Morgana). Mordraed has been groomed by his mother to ascend to political power, and even in his revulsion of her, does her bidding.
There is phenomenal attention to detail, copious amounts of research in both the legend and geography, and an authentic, intelligent writing style. She takes her readers on an adventure of betrayal, regret, power struggles, and fights for survival. The characters' names are changed a bit, as if they morphed through the ages to their current pronunciation and spelling. For instance, Fynavir is Guinevere, Lord An'kelet is Lancelot, and the son of Ardhu and Fynavir, Amhar, is given the adult name Gal'havad (Galahad). They reside in Kham-El-Ard (Camelot).
For fans of historical fiction, and of the Arthurian legend, I highly recommend this book. Note: I received this book to review.
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