Reviews with content warning for War - The Once and Future King

A brilliant and entertaining "modernization" of the Arthurian Myths.

I put modernization in quotation marks because it's obviously been quite some time since White wrote this, but it's obvious he was writing it with his concurrent audience in mind, comparing customs and attitudes of Arthur's people to things that would be relevant and popular during White's life. I quite enjoyed the journey from Arthur's childhood to his death, and the part of Arthurian England White chose to focus on to bring his vision of these stories to life.

His writing style is captivating, with well timed comedy and wonderful dramatic suspense. The details he chooses to include are powerful and purposeful and I enjoyed his occasional direct references to Mallory. (occasionally he recommends the reader go read Mallory's version of the tales themself if they want details White has chosen to gloss over).

I will admit that some of White's bias was upsetting to me, particularly the way he spoke about and portrayed the "Gaelic" people. I would not necessarily recommend this book to fans of Sir Gawain, I think there are other versions that do him more justice. I also don't believe I agree with White on his conclusions about society and humanity, however he does invite many interesting questions on the nature of people, and how best to bring about a good society. Might and Right. Certainly a complex issue that Arthur was trying to solve.

Overall, I am very pleased to have finally read this. I hope to delve deeper into Arthurian myths in the future to expand my understanding of these complex legends. s

Content Warnings

katelyn_stark's review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Content Warnings

mrtlives's review against another edition

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adventurous slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Content Warnings

dste's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging slow-paced

Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

The Once and Future King is a book that feels connected and yet separate. The first portion, made up of the previously standalone novel The Sword in the Stone, reads like a book that parents of the late thirties may have read to their children a chapter at a time before bed. Composed of many small adventures with not much overarching plot, it's also far lighter in tone than much of what follows. While I wouldn't recommend it in its original form for children today, for reasons I'll get to later, this is the novel that Disney's The Sword in the Stone was based on. For anyone who grew up with that movie as I did, this should give you some idea of the magical adventures and a bit of the humor to be found here. The second book, however, The Queen of Air and Darkness, takes what feels like a dramatic tonal shift, and the end of the book is serious in the extreme.

All of this makes for a rather unique reading experience. It may induce you to either give up after the first portion, if it's the sort of thing you enjoy, or to give up before you even reach the portion you would enjoy if it isn't. I would suggest skipping the first book if you care to, but the later books draw on knowledge of the earlier ones. I might then suggest reading the first book when you're young and saving the rest for when you're older, but... the problematic content is of the type a young person may not be equipped to view through an appropriately critical lens. For a book that takes place in medieval England, there are a surprising number of remarks disparaging Native Americans. There's also usage of the "n" word. And there's even the type of racism that places certain races of the UK above others (Normans over Saxons and Saxons over Gaels). Among other questionable things. Honestly I made note of so many problematic passages that I would need a separate post to go over them all.

In terms of other content warnings, well, you probably can guess there's violence, although the first book clearly makes an effort to keep it below a certain level. For example, there's a sword fight in which the joke is that no one gets particularly hurt because both parties are wearing armor and clearly neither wants to cause serious injury to the other. In later books you'll find out the fates suffered by foot soldiers who don't wear armor and knights who are going at each other in earnest. You'll also find references to torture and incest and suicide, although these are told through narration rather than being explicitly depicted. In fact, the third person omniscient is used to great effect in allowing the reader to maintain a certain distance from what may otherwise have been incredibly disturbing. The author was working with established mythology and a bloody time in history, and he takes the approach of stating the situation as it is but sparing all the gory details.

Personally, I found myself plodding through the reading for the most part until partway through book three. The first book had some sections that were enjoyable enough that they kept me reading to the end of the little adventure. The second book served as a bridge to different parts of the timeline. But the third is where an overarching plotline that consistently kept my interest was introduced. It may be up to individual readers to determine whether they have the patience for this.

Another factor to consider is that at many points the narrator makes reference to Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte d'Arthur, openly stating that events covered in that classic work won't be recounted here. I've only read portions of Le Morte d'Arthur myself and had no trouble understanding this book, but those who want to really dive into this mythology may be best suited starting with the earlier book and getting to this one later. Or maybe reading that one instead.

Personally, I found it interesting to see how the time period in which this book was written affected the way the stories were told. The impact of the first (and later second) world war is clear to see for those who keep an eye out for it, and this led to some reflections about war and violence and how/whether it might be possible to build a just and peaceful society that were what I liked best about the work as a whole. Except that it seemed at times to treat some of the horrors of the second world war a bit too lightly, and I made note of more than one sentence that seemed to lean towards antisemitic. So I'm not fully praising the viewpoint the novel takes on these issues. Really I appreciated that it established a framework that led me to wonder what I myself would have done if I were in King Arthur's shoes.

Other highlights include explanations of medieval life that are easy to understand and assume little prior knowledge of the subject. If you want to learn about a castle layout or the practice of hawking or many other little things without turning to nonfiction resources, this book can help you establish a foundation you can carry into works of fantasy that take your understanding of these things as a given. Not to mention books that take your knowledge of Arthurian legends as a given. There sure seems to be a lot of modern culture that assumes your familiarity with British culture and traditions.

There's also a certain feeling that books like these are to be kept on a pedestal, which in my case was amplified by the fact that the cover of the edition I checked out of the library had quotes by no less than four people praising it as if it's one of the greatest books ever. Personally, while I can say there are some great passages to be found here, especially towards the ending, and while I can understand a certain type of fantasy fan might find the first part to be a fun adventure with vibes similar to The Hobbit, I personally would only recommend this book if you're that type of reader, if you have a particular love for Arthurian legends, or if, like me, you're interested in the cultural significance. There are plenty of other books retelling the stories of King Arthur and his knights, and I certainly don't think this one should be above criticism.

But hey, feel free to say I must be somehow incapable of recognizing this book's true genius. Maybe my Irish ancestors passed down to me "the enormous, the incalculable miasma which is the leading feature of the Gaelic brain" (The Queen of Air and Darkness, Chapter 5). Or maybe we should pause while we read to consider whether harmful implications are being made and whether retellings of certain cultural mythologies might be revered above others for reasons that aren't solely dependent on their objective quality. Maybe we should all be free to form our own opinions. I don't know, just spit balling here*.

* For anyone who has difficulty discerning, yes, that final paragraph was sarcastic. And this footnote is genuine. Keep being you!

Content Warnings

lanid's review against another edition

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adventurous funny reflective slow-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

linnylionheart's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

torgotorgo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

maidofbees's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? N/A
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I read this one mainly because of how inspirational it has been for a lot of fantasy writers. Overall it had some good, funny moments, but was very of it's time - several instances of WWII era casual racism/sexism.

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