Review: The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell

Published: 1996

Pages: 560

Synopsis: “Uther, the High King of Britain, has died, leaving the infant Mordred as his only heir. His uncle, the loyal and gifted warlord Arthur, now rules as caretaker for a country which has fallen into chaos - threats emerge from within the British kingdoms while vicious Saxon armies stand ready to invade. As he struggles to unite Britain and hold back the enemy at the gates, Arthur is embroiled in a doomed romance with beautiful Guinevere. Will the old world magic of Merlin be enough to turn the tide of war in his favour?”

Rating: **

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I am in no way qualified to judge Bernard Cornwell, but for me this was a struggle.

The Winter King was, without a shadow of a doubt clearly very well written and researched but very dry and difficult to read at the same time. There were times when it almost felt as though I was reading a non-fiction account as opposed to fiction.

The Winter King differed in aspects to the more widely known Arthurian legends, mainly in how the characters were related to one another and their ages, which took a little getting used to. For example, it is widely ‘believed’ that Mordred was Arthur’s illegitimate son, whereas in The Winter King, Mordred was the name of Arthur’s half-brother and Nephew.

I was disappointed, and don’t think I would read the rest of Bernard Cornwell’s King Arthur series, but have and would read other books by him.