M. K. Hume's Warrior of the West will be published by Atria Books (Simon & Schuster) in January 2014 (it was originally published by Headline in 2009). It's the second novel of The King Arthur Trilogy.
Information about M. K. Hume:
M. K. Hume is a retired academic. She received her M.A. and Ph.D. in Arthurian literature and has fulfilled her life-long dream of writing novels about the legend of King Arthur and Merlin. She currently lives in Australia with her husband.
Click here to visit the author's official website.
Information about Warrior of the West:
Could all that King Arthur fought for be lost? From the author of The Merlin Prophecy, a trilogy that Kirkus Reviews proclaimed, will "appeal to those who thrill to Game of Thrones," the second installment in the action-packed historical trilogy is the epic tale of Arthur's efforts to save the heart of his kingdom.
Twelve long, blood-soaked years have passed since Arthur fulfilled his destiny and was crowned High King. Against all odds, he has united Celtic Britain at last and banished the Saxon scourge from his lands.
But even as Arthur's kingdom reaches its zenith, his kingdom is being undermined from within. Not only has Arthur been betrayed by the one person he should be able to trust — his bitter queen and second wife, Wenhaver — he also learns of a terrible threat from inside his own kingdom. With his guide and master tactician, Merlin, gone, Arthur must decide how to proceed if he wishes to see Britain stand strong.
As the burden of leadership and power rests solely on his shoulders, Arthur faces a terrible choice: does he commit a deed that will render him comparable to Uther Pendragon, the evil king who preceded him on the throne, or does he let the evil go unchecked?
A REVIEW OF M. K. HUME'S WARRIOR OF THE WEST
M. K. Hume's Warrior of the West continues the story of King Arthur in an exciting and entertaining way. Dragon's Child was an intriguing introduction to The King Arthur Trilogy, but this novel reveals the true vastness of the epic story arc that the author has created.
Just like Dragon's Child, Warrior of the West is a gritty, mesmerizing and well written historical novel with a few fantastical elements. The fantastical elements include casting bones and prophecies etc.
Here's information about this novel:
- The events take place a few years after the events of Dragon's Child.
- Warrior of the West has been divided into two parts. The first part tells about Artor's battle against the Saxons. The second part tells about Artor and Wenhaver and what happens at Cadbury Tor.
- This novel begins with a meeting between the Celts and the Saxons. This meeting ends badly. Artor is at Cadbury Tor and awaits news of the possible truce, but receives different kind of news. A war council is held and the Celts decide to go to war against the Saxons, because the Saxons are brutally attacking against them. The war against the Saxons takes a lot of Arthur's time, because they have to win the war. Times are desperate, so the Celts must fight for their country...
- When the battle is over, Artor knows that he must soon take a new wife. He still misses Gallia, but he knows that he must marry somebody soon. Artor takes Wenhaver as his wife, but their life together isn't happy. Life at Cadbury Tor changes a lot with the coming of Wenhaver...
That's all I'll write about the story, because I don't want to reveal too many details and happenings. I'll only mention that the author has interesting suprises in store for her readers.
At this point I'll mention that the story moves fluently forward and several things happen to the characters. I think it's good that the author has used a time gap between Dragon's Child and Warrior of the West. This time gap has allowed her to develop the characters and the happenings.
In my opinion writing about the battle against the Saxons and what happens to Bedwyr was an interesting way to start this novel, because the author concentrated fully on writing about it. After the battle the author shifted the focus shifted to Cadbury Tor and Artor's doomed marriage to Wenhaver.
The cast of characters is just as diverse as it was in the previous novel, because the author writes about all kinds of characters from ladies and lords to servants and slaves. Several characters from the previous novel appear in this novel, but the author also introduces new characters.
Here's information about some of the characters:
- Artor is the High King of the Britons. He has changed during the last twelve years, because he's harder than before. The battles have left their marks on him. He still has honour, but the blood soaked years have hardened him. He's a harsh man who has duties.
- Gruffydd and Myrddion are still as interesting characters as they were in Dragon's Child. The author writes fluently about them.
- Caius has become a steward to Artor.
- Bedwyr is an interesting character, because he's a Celt who was captured by the Saxons. The author uses Bedwyr to explore what happens among the Saxons.
- Wenhaver is a beautiful and spoiled woman. She's the daughter of King Leodegran. She's also the woman with yellow hair that Morgan prophesized about. I'll write more about her later.
- Morgan is still as evil and manipulative as before, but she has aged.
- Nimue has grown up and a tragedy changes her life. She's a sweet young woman, but she's also wild.
- Glamdring Ironfist is a Saxon war chief. He causes problems for Artor and the Celts.
The characterization works well and the author manages to deepen the character of Artor. She also writes fluently about other characters. I enjoyed reading about Artor, Wenhaver, Nimue, Gruffydd, Myrddion, Morgan and Bedwyr.
Reading about Wenhaver and her actions was especially interesting, because she had a vile temper. Her behaviour and attitude towards others became worse as time went by and she turned out to be capable of doing surprisingly bad things. She was like a spoiled child who wanted people to pay attention to her. If people didn't pay attention to her, she was offended and acted badly.
M. K. Hume writes perfectly about how bad a person Wenhaver is and shows what she is capable of doing to others. She's capable of hurting people - and even her own husband - in several ways and nobody seems to be safe from her temper. It's great that the author has managed to write so boldly about her life.
It was fascinating to reading how Artor's marriage to Wenhaver was doomed from the start, because he was't impressed by his wife and her behaviour. Artor seemed to use Wenhaver mostly for sex, because Wenhaver couldn't act like a queen or a wife should act. Their marriage was cold and unhappy for both of them.
M. K. Hume writes fascinatingly about life in ancient Britain and shows what kind of values people used to have and how the Celts regarded the Saxons as savages. She also shows how history has shaped ancient Britain and how Roman customs were absorbed by the populace (hygiene and public bathing etc). The detailed descriptions about the places, characters and battles are believable.
What separates this novel from several other Arthurian novels is the amount of details M. K. Hume has added to the story. It's easy to see that she has spent time researching historical happenings and all things related to the Arthurian legend. She has done her best to bring the happenings to life by writing about what happens to the characters and how brutal life was in ancient times, and she has succeeded in it.
It's great that the author shows what happens among the Saxons too, because it adds depth to the storyline. It was fascinating to read about the actions and brutality of the Saxons and how they treated men and women. What happened at the Saxon camp was both brutal and thrilling.
One of the best things about this novel (and this series) is that the author shows that the characters have to live with what they have done. She isn't easy on her characters, because some of them have to endure all kinds of things. I've always enjoyed reading about how the characters feel about what they have done and how they live with the consequences of their actions, because it adds plenty of depth to the characters.
I enjoyed reading about how the shadow of the late Uther Pendragon loomed over Artor and how some characters saw that there were similarities between Artor and Uther. This added a menacing sense of doom to the storyline, because the author indicated that if things were a bit different, Artor could turn out to be as bad and ruthless as Uther.
There are several good scenes in this novel that reveal what the characters feel about other persons. For example, the author revealed how Artor cares about his daughter and wanted her to be safe. I also enjoyed reading about Myrddion's feelings towards Nimue.
M. K. Hume has her own writing style. Her writing style is delightfully different, because she pays attention to historical details and keeps the story going on. It's easy to see that she loves storytelling, because she writes passionately about the happenings and the characters.
The author's descriptions about the battle scenes are good and realistic. In my opinion she manages to write about them in a bit different way than other authors do. She concentrates on writing about how Artor and the others feel about the battles and how they try to win their foes by using careful planning and strategic thinking.
Warrior of the West is a novel for adults, because there's sex and violence in it. These scenes are suitable only for adult readers.
It's nice that M. K. Hume doesn't shy away from gritty, bloody and dark happenings, because other authors would've probably written differently about these things (to be honest, it's actually amazing how gritty the story is). She writes brutally and unflinchingly about violence. She shows that men are capable of doing all kinds of brutal things to others. The scenes near the end in which a human monster attacks and preys on helpless victims reminded me a bit of the brutal happenings in the first novel (I'd like to write more about this, but I think it's best not to write about it or I might reveal too many things to readers).
Before I finish writing this review, I'll mention that there are good maps in this novel. They are useful to readers, because they give information about the places. I'll also mention that I liked the cover image.
I enjoyed reading Dragon's Child, but I have to admit that Warrior of the West is a much better novel and has more depth in it. In my opinion Warrior of the West is an exceptionally good and compelling retelling of the Arthurian legend, because the author has written her own unique vision of King Arthur, his life and his deeds.
I'll soon read and review The Bloody Cup, which is the third novel of The King Arthur Trilogy. I look forward to reading it, because it'll be fascinating to see how this trilogy ends. I'm sure that it'll be a thrilling novel, because this novel was good entertainment.
If you're interested in the legend of King Arthur and enjoy reading Arthurian novels, you should read Warrior of the West and its predecessor (Dragon's Child), because M. K. Hume has written a totally different kind of story about King Arthur. She delivers a captivating and epic story that keeps readers turning pages to find out what happens next.
Fantastic entertainment for adults!