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Enemy of God The Arthur Books #2 Bernard Cornwell Books

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Enemy of God The Arthur Books #2 Bernard Cornwell Books

I've read the entire Sharpe series, the Archer series and the Grail Quest series, along with this one. I've thoroughly enjoyed them all. For what it's worth, the main character in each of these stories seems to me to be pretty much the same person. That's not unusual in fiction. For example, in Robert Heinlein's works, the protagonist in all of his stories strikes me to be the same person as well. That being said, there's not a great deal of character development, per se, but the protagonists are easy to like and the antagonists are easy to despise. Merlin is a little hard to figure out as you're never really sure who's side he's on. As a matter of fact, at one point he even states that he's NOT ON ANYBODY'S side and that he has his own agenda and everyone else in England is just playing a role as far as he's concerned. Still, if you like historical fiction or you're looking for a story that will totally consume you for a week or two, go with Bernard Cornwell. You won't be disappointed.


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Enemy of God The Arthur Books #2 Bernard Cornwell Books Reviews

The Warlord Chronicles is Bernard Cornwell's interpretation of the story of King Arthur. The trilogy is comprised of The Winter King, Enemy of God, and Excalibur and is told from the perspective of Derfel Cardan, a man that Britain's greatest druid Merlin plucked as a child from a death pit to become Arthur's most trusted warrior.

Cornwell's is not the romanticized version of Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur or T.H. White's The Once and Future King. The historical Arthur is thought to have lived around the year 500, just after the Romans had abandoned Britain and the beginning of the Dark Ages. Cornwell stays true to that time. There are no knights in shining armour, but warlords in old Roman armour. There is no magic, only superstition and coincidence. There are no stone castles, but forts made of wood and earth. Decay is in the air. The Roman cities crumble, and knowledge of their construction and repair fades.

The story begins with Uther Pendragon, King of Dumnonia and the High King of Britain, nearing death. His grandson, Mordred, is his heir; however, Mordred is only a baby. Arthur, a bastard of Uther, takes an oath of loyalty to Mordred and is chosen as Mordred's guardian. Until Mordred is old enough to rule Dumnonia himself, Arthur is effectively the king.

Arthur dreams to unite the various kingdoms of Britain and push out the invading land-hungry Saxons. This is the story of Arthur. Over and over again, just when you think that Arthur's dream is to become a reality, the dream is shattered due to his own weaknesses, his sense of justice, the machinations of kings and those closest to him, the conflict between Christians and pagans, or most often his oath of loyalty to Mordred. Certainly, for a moment there is Camelot, but even then dark clouds are on the horizon.

I highly recommend these books. As usual, Cornwell excels at describing the battles and the single combats. His take on characters is refreshing. For example, Lancelot is considered the greatest warrior in the land, not because of any actual accomplishments, but because of his ability to control his image, manipulate others, and pay the bards to sing his high praises; in truth, he is a coward. I've read many versions of the Arthur story. While it is difficult to rate one version against another as they are often so different, this is one of the best.
Cornwell continues the story of Arthur in this second book of The Warlord Chronicles. This is certainly a unique view of Arthur's story as opposed to the legends of Camelot normally available. I expect Cornwell captures a more realistic view of early England, and it shares similarities with other medieval period stories. I was uncertain about the story being narrated by one of the characters (later in life); however, it is well done and I enjoy the brief glimpses of the narrator's present time when writing the story. I would warn the story is more about the life of Derfel, friend and servant of Arthur's. Derfel's character is more fully developed than Arthur's. Nonetheless I have enjoyed both books and just started the third and last.
This is the second in the Arthurian trilogy as written by Bernard Cornwell. This is a must read for anyone interested in Arthurian lore; it is quite possibly the best rendition of Arthur I've ever read, and I've read more than a few sagas featuring Arthur. Most people, when they think of Arthur will either reference the Chretien de Troyes work (which did serve to revitalize interest in Arthur, and he took his inspiration from the older Welsh traditions) or the John Boorman movie, Excalibur, which was partially based on de Troyes' work. I read de Troyes' work as a kid, and then years later as an adult, I picked up a more literal translation. If I could sum that up in one word, it'd be "flowery". Small wonder that the concept of chivalry should be born from it as it tells tales of impossible feats by impossibly courteous and solicitous men who are also trained killers. Still, since the age of ten I've always wanted to be a knight and who better than a knight of the Table Round?

Anyhow, as I've gotten older, my taste in literature has made a predictable curve toward more realistic fare- that is not to say that I do not love fantasy because I do- whether it is in games, movies or books, but I appreciate books (and the authors who wrote them) that at least make the attempt to tell the story from a more realistic point of view. Arthur, and his warriors, as depicted here are not the paragons of virtue as described in the aforementioned book and movie. These men are much more realistic; at times plagued by doubt and fear, they live, they love and they make war but it is the way that they do it that grabs the reader. There are no stock characters here save one, and even that one has realistic motivations and sensibilities, albeit of the bad variety.

The trilogy is set during the beginning of the 5th century (which is not arbitrary as there has been some evidence and loads of conjecture about a time in history that Arthur might have existed in; some scholars argue that he was a Romano-Brit cavalry officer with a foot in both camps. I happen to like that assertion as it makes a sort of sense to me as there is absolutely no record of Arthur in 12th century England (or Wales where the tales first originated) and certainly not in any later period as the film would suggest (with the use of full plate harness armor which would not become the norm until the 15th century). This Arthur is a seemingly-simple character, slow to anger, quick to laugh; commands the respect of his troops and any soldiers who first meet him. He is also a consummate warrior and leader, but anyone familiar with Arthur already knows that. So what sets this book apart, besides the referential timeline? The supporting cast. One of the things that I look for in a book is how strong are the other characters- are they stock, two dimensional, essentially blah? If that's the case, I'll still read, but I probably won't enjoy it as much. So not the case here; the book is written from the perspective of a displaced Saxon youth who will eventually prove himself worthy of Arthur. In addition to a strong supporting (well written) cast, Cornwell's depictions of battle are truly worth reading, then re-reading to absorb all of the layers he gives you. Most books of this genre will feature battles, and usually there's one or another hero who is focused on but even then, you don't get the impression of actual battle. You read it, you process it mentally, then you move onto the next portion of the story. Cornwell gets down to the nitty gritty; the horror of the shield wall, where heros are made, but even more are killed. When the shieldwalls of opposing armies meet, it is a loud reverberating clash, followed by the ring of metal weapons on wooden and leather shields, metal helmets and armor, the smell of the warrior across from you trying his damnedest to kill you while you return the favor as strongly as you might. His breath, mead-soaked (since it takes a lot of courage to charge a shield wall, most warriors prefer to do so after getting drunk) and rank, the stench comes off in waves from the unwashed bodies of everyone around you- including and not limited to the smells of urine and feces for those who couldn't hold their water or their bowels. Blood...blood everywhere; no one's clean after a battle. The heroes, the great slaughterers are usually covered in it from head to toe! Ok, I won't give anymore of the story away - suffice it to say, all three books are superbly written, I've read them multiple times and in fact, I've just finished reading the trilogy and that prompted me to revisit the Saxon Tales saga, written by the same author.
I've read the entire Sharpe series, the Archer series and the Grail Quest series, along with this one. I've thoroughly enjoyed them all. For what it's worth, the main character in each of these stories seems to me to be pretty much the same person. That's not unusual in fiction. For example, in Robert Heinlein's works, the protagonist in all of his stories strikes me to be the same person as well. That being said, there's not a great deal of character development, per se, but the protagonists are easy to like and the antagonists are easy to despise. Merlin is a little hard to figure out as you're never really sure who's side he's on. As a matter of fact, at one point he even states that he's NOT ON ANYBODY'S side and that he has his own agenda and everyone else in England is just playing a role as far as he's concerned. Still, if you like historical fiction or you're looking for a story that will totally consume you for a week or two, go with Bernard Cornwell. You won't be disappointed.