For Camelot's Honor

As with all of Sarah Zettel's work, I really enjoyed this. The characters are beautifully drawn and the writing is vivid. I feel like I've been transported to this other world whenever I read a Zettel novel. This one, however, seemed a little slow and plodding at times. As long as they're in "this reality," things move along at a good clip, but when the characters go over into the alternate reality, the book seems to slow down and some of the tension drains away. Unlike most of Zettel's books, I thought this story could have been told with about 100 fewer pages. My mind wandered a bit as the story progressed, and I kept wondering when the characters would just figure things out so we could move on.

If I could possibly rate this novel more than five stars I would! The battle for Britain does indeed continue in this splendid Arthurian rendering! Elen is the daughter of a deceased Welsh chieftain, her mother rules in his stead. However, Urien, their neighbor does not want them to ally themselves with King Arthur of Camelot and devises a cruel strategy of enscorellment for Elen in league with his lover, Morgaine. Sir Geraint comes into the picture during the disagreement between Elen's Mother and Urien as he was already there on an embassy from King Arthur. Elen and Geraint's adventures continue with the quest to find a magical spear that once belonged to the "tylwyth teg" or shinning ones. It is being held by a king of another realm who doesn't wish to give it up and is the only weapon that will defeat Urien. This is a stand alone novel and is the second of her Arthurian titles, the first being: "In Camelot's Shadow" (also very enthralling)! This is an excellent author who knows how to keep her readers riveted to every page! Read it, you will not be disappointed!

If I could possibly rate this novel more than five stars I would! The battle for Britain does indeed continue in this splendid Arthurian rendering! Elen is the daughter of a deceased Welsh chieftain, her mother rules in his stead. However, Urien, their neighbor does not want them to ally themselves with King Arthur of Camelot and devises a cruel strategy of enscorellment for Elen in league with his lover, Morgaine. Sir Geraint comes into the picture during the disagreement between Elen's Mother and Urien as he was already there on an embassy from King Arthur.Elen and Geraint's adventures continue with the quest to find a magical spear that once belonged to the "tylwyth teg" or shinning ones. It is being held by a king of another realm who doesn't wish to give it up and is the only weapon that will defeat Urien. This is a stand alone novel and is the second of her Arthurian titles, the first being: "In Camelot's Shadow" (also very enthralling)! This is an excellent author who knows how to keep her readers riveted to every page! Read it, you will not be disappointed!

Here is the second of Zettel's series involving the nephews of Arthur. Geraint is, here, the second nephew of Arthur and brother to Gawain. A definite change from his place in the legends and also the tale diverges from that of Geraint and Enid. In fact it bears very little resemblance to it at all. It has little to do with that tale's portrayal of husbandly mistrust and testing of love. Rather this is another tale of the knight coming to the rescue of a much persecuted lady. The lady in question is Elen who is a daughter of Wales, whose entire family has been murdered by their war-like neighbour Urien. Who tried to force her mother to reject Arthur's overtures and side with his making war against Camelot. Elen herself would have met the same fate, but for her being called into the elvish realm to aid its queen in a dangerous childbirth. At the back of Urien is Morgaine the evil enchantress who is also his lover. She sees Elen's own magic as a threat and horrifically imprisons her heart in the breast of a hawk. Elen is also under the behest of whoever controls the bird - Urien. Somehow she uses her magic to send a massage to Merlin, begging Arthur's aid. He promptly sends Agravaine and Geraint. Geraint, however, is determined to do more than gather information and becomes Elen's saviour. After their escape they then quest for a magic spear to free Elen and kill Urien. This a fast tale, full of wonderfully realized magic that is both believable and dreadful. Elen and Geraint move through several realms and have to grope their way through many deceits and the machinations of various powers on their quest. So now I am again left waiting eagerly for part three. Agravaine next I hope.

I had expected this book to be filled with myth and legend and high drama spiced with a nice Authrian love story. It was all I expected. While I do not place Zettel among my favorite spinners of historical fiction (Laurence J. Brown, Bernard Cornwell, Parke Godwin to name a few), she definately has her place among my favorites of Arthurian lore and Marion Zimmer Bradley is not bad company to share! Zettel tells the story of Elen and Geraint, the rise and fall (in some cases) rise again of kingdoms and kings, loves and enemies and she weaves it all together in a tapestry of lore that kept me guessing and happily turning pages to find the outcome. She repeats many ongoing themes and often it becomes a little long - the continual description of Elen's cold, emptiness is the prime example. (You'll have to read the tale to find the reason) Even though repetitions like this did make the book a tiny bit longer than may have been necessay and did cause it to slow in parts, the story is definately strong enough to keep you interested. Noticeably absent from an Arthurian tale was Arthur, Merlin and most of the court of familiars. They make minor cameos, but the story didn't really need them and I found their absence refreshing. Geraint and Elen were strong enough characters to carry the story on their own. If you want a story of more historical acuracy - stick to Brown. If you enjoy a little magic and a story that I imagine would rival the bards of old, this is a fun read.