The Winter King (Warlord Chronicles Series #1) [NOOK Book]

What a writer and storyteller!!!!!

If you love good action, strong characters, unusual plot twists, and a historical setting, then Bernard Cornwell's Arthurian trilogy is for you. His books are not for the timid--especially if you still hold the old ideals of Camelot. I felt I discovered a real, almost factual, telling of this classic legend. Cornwell is the writer I dream of becoming. Just a little tease, in the second novel, Enemy of God, there is a wedding scene I had to read twice to make sure I was visualizing it right. But, don't jump ahead, read Winter King first or you will be lost. And, make sure you read the final novel, Excalibur, to see what happens to all the characters you will grow attached to.

3 out of 4 people found this review helpful.

Winter King is the start of an amazing adventure.

Bernard Cornwell takes you on an interesting journey to a time when magic and mystery ruled the land. His interpretation of the King Arthur legend is both refreshing and entertaining. He has a unique way of intermingling
the charectors and story line, that holds your attention and makes you
eager for the next chapter in this capitvating tale of the dark ages of England.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

The Winter King is an entertaining retelling and expansion of a

The Winter King is an entertaining retelling and expansion of a myth that has captivated humans since the 6th century. Mr. Cornwell weaves a tale that captures the reader and transports them into the realistic world of Early Britain during the Dark Ages complete with all the brutal savagery that satisfies the reader’s most dark curiosities. Abandon all preconceived images of the “heroes” of the Arthur legend, the author has challenged all our images and spun those one-note characters of legend into a rich tapestry of complex, emotional, and riveting entities that just leap off the pages. Battle scenes galore will meet the reader and the author’s artistry with descriptions of geography and the grittiness of early human life will cause you to read far into the night. It’s very hard to put down this book, once you enter the unpredictable kingdom of Dumnonia and its surrounding realms.

In the end however, there were a few topics and details that brought down my overall rating: combating and shockingly insulting Religious topics (that began to upset and bore me), long political and war strategies (that unfortunately dragged the pace and story down), repetitive scenes/ actions and curses, the continued almost uncharacteristic emotional displays of strong male characters, Arthur’s portrayal etc. Overall, I would still recommend this book and will read the next two in this series. Mr. Cornwell has broken any mold I have ever experienced or known that existed and paints with his pen a world that I will be pleased to enter again.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Highly receommended - action packed and well written

Cornwell can get a little carried away with descriptive prose but in this book he sticks to an action packed storyline and wanders very little ! Set in the middle ages, this book is captivating from start to finish. Recommended for anyone who enjoys historical fiction.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Arthur from a Whole New Point of View

This novel brings to light an entirely new personality for Arthur. It explains so much that I have always wondered about. I can't wait to read the next in the series. I bought them all.

This would make a wonderful book club discussion read. It asks the reader to see Arthur as a human instead of the epitome of chivalry. It gives so much background information on the people in Arthur's life and a much greater understanding of Merlin.

I highly recommend this book to all those who want to know more than just "The Legend of Arthur".

King Authdr

Flipping awesome. Cant wait to read the next book.

Favorite New Books

Earlier this month read "King versus King" and liked the King Arthur stuff, read its authors Facebook and found out her liked Bernard Cornwell, so I found a copy of "The Winter King". Wow I have found a new favorite series, can't wait to read the next book.

Intriguing

Book is everything I had hoped it would be, the author (cornwell) has a way of making a story come alive - hard to put the book down.

Another Great Tale

Bernard Cornwell brings us King Arthur without the poetry and beauty of previous versions. Britain at the time of King Arther was a place of war, famine, disease and other hardships. Mr. Cornwell places the legend of King Arthur in that setting and in context with that setting. I especially love the way he portrays Lancelot and he does it in such a way where you see his future betrayal of Arthur as inevitable. So as was mentioned previously, if you an Arthur purist you may not like this series. But if you are a Bernard Cornwell fan or want to read your first Bernard Cornwell book, this is the one for you. I have yet to read a book of his that I did not love.

An excellent re-imagining of the King Arthur story, as it actually might have been.

Well-written, absorbing, true (as far as I can tell) to its setting in time, this is a thrilling re-creation of the story of King Arthur as we all learned it growing up. Cornwell goes to great lengths to tell the story in the way it might actually have happened, giving rise with many embellishments over time to the traditional myth we have all heard. Highly recommended -- and better yet, it is only the first of three volumes!

Great Arthurian Legend Retold!

This is a great example of the retelling of the Arthur legend. The Characters are very believable and ait seems that a great deal of research has gone into this book. The background is a rich tapestry and the Characters draw the reader into the story. Can't wait to read the next two volumes.

Great Arthur Novel!!!!

I loved this book, and am very glad for that. I happened to come upon the third book in this series, Excalibur, on a free book shelf, but like, tends to be my luck, the first and second were not there. I ordered this book to make sure I'd like it before I also invested in the second, and I am now regretting not having ordered both at once! First chance I get to go to the book store, however, I am going to pick up Enemy of God, the second installment in this Warlord Chronicles series.
Well, this is an attempt to write a story about Arthur which is more historically plausible than the typical myths. There really is no definite proof of his existence, so authors have to take several bits of historical facts and compile them to come up with the most likely scenario, though in the author's notes, Cornwell did admit to adding bits which are definitely not true or highly unlikely to not take all of the favorite parts of the legend out (i.e. Galahad and Merlin). He clearly did a lot of research into the time period, though, as everything has a certain grittiness, rawness, and casual brutality to it which could often be expected of times of war during the dark ages. Overall, I was taken into the story which was well-crafted by Cornwell and sped through this book fairly quickly for me. Thank you, Mr. Cornwell.

Simply Amazing

To this day, probably one of the best stories I have ever read. Bernard Cornwell takes Arthur and his band of well known characters to a whole new level. Once you read this series you will never look upon the legend in the same way again.

Slow Start - Strong Finish

Overall another great Cornwell novel. I had a little trouble adjusting to the writing style in the first few pages. The sheer number of characters introduced early on in the novel is a little tough to grapple with. But as always with Cornwell novels, the story telling is excellent. The characters come alive as the story unfolds and you are transported to another place and time vividly described by the author. This story is nothing like you are likely to have read before in a story about "King Arthur," so put your preconceived notions about Arthur aside and dig in. I am eager to get the next couple of books in the series and continue with the story.

Love this book!

What a great about a period of time people do not know much about, Britain's Dark Age. This book told from one of Arthur's soldiers, Derfel, brings to life the early years of Arthur's reign. You'll learn that he risks Britain's peace all for a girl, Guinvere. Once this decision is made he spends the rest of the book trying to still restore peace in the Post-Roman Britain. The final battle scene is epic. Looking forward to reading the next two in this series!

A Must Read

I read anything I can about Arthur, and I was very happy to come across this triology. What a great take on the whole Arthur genre, Cornwell is a master storyteller, and I plan on reading his Saxon series next. Do not pass this up !

A different more believable Arthur

In this first installment of the Arthur story Cornwell makes it immediately obvious that this is not just another retelling of Malory¿s classic Camelot. In this telling of the Arthur myth/legend the Arthur is a believable man that the reader can¿t help but fall in love with. We celebrate his victories and lament his pain, but that is a subplot for the series. The real main character is Derfel, an enigmatic character who seems to have been the Forest Gump of the Arthurian period. The story is the retelling of Derfel¿s life as he writes down his memories of Arthur for his young queen Igraine. Derfel was everywhere, sees everything and in his old age remembers it all. After reading this series the reader will know and love Derfel. I found this telling of the Arthurian legend much more believable the ¿Le Mort d¿Arthur¿, although ¿The Winter King¿ does lack much of the pageantry of the earlier work. Derfel was a warrior and therefore tells the tale from a warrior¿s point of view. I found it very good reading and a fun twist on the Arthur story.

Best Book I have Ever Read

Find me a better book, I dare you. THis book has been an amazing read and has captured my attention and held it for much longer than any other book I have read in my entire life I simply can't put it down.

A Great Depiction of Arthur

I read this book during my phase of trying to do all the reading I could on the supposed Arthur. I fell in love immediately, and have reread the series numerous times. So realistic and truly made you fall in and out of love with the characters. Once you read it, you can't get it out of your head.

awesome

this book is great, it has a great plot and amazing battle storytelling