Just finished The Bright Sword.
No offense to Locke Lamora, which was a very good read, but this is by far the best book I've read this year. Maybe in four or five years.
Arthur has been dead for two weeks and Camelot has fallen, but the protagonist, who runs away from home to become a knight of the Round Table, doesn't know any of that yet.
It's a story about resilience and hope in the face of dark times, about the lesser-knowns of the Round Table trying to fill the void left by Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Galahad and the rest, and the necessity of accepting change.
While the most famous Arthurian characters do appear, sometimes just in flashbacks, the focus is more on lesser-known characters like Nimue, Sir Palomides, Sir Dagonet, Sir Bedivere and the rest. At times it's pretty modern -- some of these characters' back stories would likely not have been written this way before the 21st century -- but it really works. At times, it feels a bit like an Arthurian version of the Avengers with everyone's fascinating backstories and solo adventures (Sir Scipio's story is especially great).
To say more would be to risk spoiling things, but this is just a fantastic, fantastic read. If you remotely like King Arthur or enjoyed the Magicians books, this should be at the top of your to be read pile.
