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The Bright Sword

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The Bright Sword

By: Lev Grossman
Narrated by: Mr Nicholas Guy Smith, Lev Grossman
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

No. 1 New York Times bestselling author of the Magicians trilogy returns with a triumphant reimagining of the King Arthur legend for the new millennium.

When gifted young knight Collum arrives at Camelot to compete for a place on the Round Table, he quickly discovers that he’s too late:The king died two weeks ago at the Battle of Camlann, and only a handful of the knights of the Round Table are left.

And the survivors aren’t the heroes of legend either, like Lancelot or Gawain. They’re the oddballs of the Round Table, like Sir Palomides, the Saracen Knight, and Sir Dagonet, Arthur’s fool, who was knighted as a joke. They’re joined by Nimue, who was Merlin’s apprentice until she turned on him and buried him under a hill.

But it’s up to them to rebuild Camelot in a world that has lost its balance, even as God abandons Britain and the fairies and old gods are returning, led by Morgan le Fay. They must reclaim Excalibur and make this ruined world whole again.

But first they’ll have to solve the mystery of why the lonely, brilliant King Arthur fell.

The first major Arthurian epic of the new millennium, The Bright Sword is a story about imperfect men and women, full of strength and pain, who are looking for a way to forge a broken land in spite of being broken themselves.

'For anyone who’s ever craved a seat at the Round Table. Utterly enchanting.'

Rebecca Yarros, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fourth Wing

©2024 Lev Grossman (P)2024 Penguin Audio
Dragons & Mythical Creatures Epic Fantasy Historical Arthurian Feel-Good
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Magicians are in my top books so even though this had only a few reviews I thought to give it a go.

It’s so good, realistic and amazing writing. This author never disappoints, just so clear and nuanced.

Amazing prose

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Well worth the listen. Longish but always intriguing enough to want to continue. If you are offended by not taking Christianity too seriously this may not be for you. I enjoyed the mix of dark age and high medieval with a modern cynicism. Good performance too.

A clever and enthralling tale

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what a great interpretation of the classic historical mess that is Arthurian legend - bravo. The humour was quite dry and I like that, very good.

loved it

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A beautiful and page turning story of personal, cultural and pias evolution. A strong reminder of the magic and wonder of our world

A rich tapestry

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Bought this on a whim, and couldn’t stop listening to it. A wonderful fresh take on Arthur and his Round Table. So much life in these characters, I loved them all. Funny and pacy and so many beautiful words. Brilliant! Also hats off to the narrator, perfectly cast and his characterisations pitch perfect.

What a story!

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