Book Review ~ The Shadow of a King @cgray129

“I need to finish my tale,” called Uther,

“and so I shall keep on with the telling...”

As you well know, I have a little bit of an obsession with everything Arthurian, so when I was offered an ARC of The Shadow of a King by C.M.Grey, I was hardly going to say no!

Let's take a quick look at the book...

Legends of old can never fade.
The truth can never die.
The tip of a spear settles any dispute.
But the love of a King comes before all.

In his fifteenth year of rule, King Uther Pendragon - High King of all the Celtic Tribes - is set on a quest by Merlyn and the druids of Mona, to brave the winter seas and set sail for the Isle of Erin. The quest placed upon the king, despite the tribal lands being at war with Saxon invaders, is to take a war party and return with a prize that will lay to rest the ghosts of the past and allow the Celts to reclaim their lands.

But none of those who set sail realize what this quest will release within their king, and what events will unfold.

The second book in C.M. Gray's Shadowland series, The Shadow of a King is a standalone fantasy adventure and can be enjoyed even if you haven't read the first book in the series.

***

"They had thought they were in the depths of winter, until the night when it really arrived."

What did I think of the book?

There is a border between this world and the Shadowlands. At one point everyone will cross into this ghostly realm. No man or druid can halt the natural way of things. King Uther Pendragon is dying, and the Saxons are coming. The future of Britain is uncertain.

Uther is in the care of the Abbess Morgana, at Glastening Abbey.  The Abbey is a place of sanctuary, where a dying man may be given every possible comfort and attention. But the Abbess, although she appears godly, has a dark heart.  She wants answers, and Uther will give them to her before he dies...one way or another.

C.M. Gray has brought back to life Uther Pendragon in this most evocative and beautiful story, set in the backdrop of the brutalities of 5th Century, Britain. This is the story before King Arthur, and it is a fascinating and spellbinding read. From the magic of the druids to the spender of the world that it is set in, I was enchanted. 

The influence of Gildas, Bede, Nennius and not forgetting, Geoffrey of Monmouth, rings throughout this book as loud as any bell. Gray has given new life to a very old tale, and he has done it to an incredibly high standard, and I commend him for that. 

I found myself completely immersed into the world Gray has created. I could almost smell the stench of battle, and I really took to Uther. He was an incredibly well crafted and believable character.

I adored Merlyn in all his eccentricity, and I loved the way he and Uther played off each other - It was just how I imagine the two of them would be. One thing was for certain - when Merlyn was around anything could happen, and it usually did! This kept me engaged as I wondered what this old druid was going to get up to next!

Morgana was the perfect antagonist – but she had a very compelling backstory, and I could understand – if not agree – with why she did what she did. Loneliness and abandonment turned to bitterness. And bitterness makes for a very unhappy life. As much as I wanted to dislike her, I could not, she had my sympathy.

I have no hesitation in recommending this book. It is a fantastic introduction to anyone interested in Arthurian legends, and it is on my repeat-to-read list.

I Highly Recommend.

 “Merlyn, you are exasperating,

I could have been killed.”

 

Where can I buy this fabulous book?

Amazon US

Amazon UK

 

About the author  

Born in Essex, England with a heavy dose of 'travel lust', C.M.Gray has since been lucky enough to live and travel in many countries around the world. In fact he has lived for more years outside of England than he has living there! Working as a carpenter, fruit picker and even a stint in stock brokering, he has called home Buddhist monasteries in the Himalayan Mountains, the clamor of central Hong Kong to a farm in deep rural Burgundy. Forever vowing to return and sink his roots once again in English soil... some day, he hasn't quite made it back yet, but does live a little closer these days; just outside of Barcelona in the middle of the forest with his dogs and two wonderful children.
 

History, Myths and a Writers Inspiration! Find me over at The Writing Desk @tonyriches

Today you can find me over at the Amazon #best selling author, Tony Riches, blog. The Writing Desk. Where I talk about my inspirations behind The Du Lac Chronicles. I will see you there!

Guest Post - Arthurian author C.M. Grey

Today I welcome fellow Arthurian author, C. M. Grey, to my blog.

Much has been written about King Arthur Pendragon, Merlin the Druid sorcerer and the lady of the lake. There are some wonderful characters within this legend that we can really relate to and we all love the story, the romance and the clash of steel.

However, when I started writing my Shadowland books I decided that the story of Arthur and his Knights had been too well told by some amazing authors and it had almost all been said. I could have invented a story around the legends and given a slightly different take which would have been entertaining and fun to do, but I decided to look for a lesser told story within the Arthurian theme.

My tale from the dark ages starts with an old storyteller who gathers an audience of villagers around him, by a village Inn’s log fire, one midwinter’s eve. He is persuaded to tell a story from his own youth rather than a tale of fancy, and it becomes a retelling of the rise of Uther Pendragon.

Uther was the father of Arthur. He was the man who rose from a humble beginning within the Isceni tribe to unite all the tribes of Britain against a common foe - the Saxon invaders. Under Roman rule, the tribes had lived a simple, relatively untroubled life, but around AD 410 the Romans realised their empire was in peril and departed packing everything of value and heading to their ships. It left a power vacuum in Britain that the Saxon’s, Jutes and Angles immediately took advantage of – the tribes of Britain needed to unite if they were ever going to claim Britain as their own, they needed a strong leader.

In my first book, Shadowland, I tell of the rise of Uther. How he met Merlyn and how he discovered he was destined to lead the Britons against the Saxon’s led by the brothers Hengist and Horsa after his brother Ambrosius died. As much as possible I have kept faith with all the old legends and stories told of Uther and the early years of Merlyn, but because this was the dark ages and so little is factually known, I’ve thrown a bunch of fantasy and a little Druid madness into the mix to make it more interesting.

Shadowland has been really well received with over 240 Amazon reviews and although I intended it to be a stand-alone story, I have been getting so many requests to follow up with another Uther story that almost two years ago I began to write a sequel.

The Shadow of a King will finally be published in March 2016. It tells a very different tale from the first, but still taken from the legends of Uther. Persuaded on his deathbed to tell the story of how he met and wooed Igraine. Uther first recalls the story of accepting the Druid’s quest to journey to the Isle of Erin to bring back the stone ring known as the Giant’s Dance, of how he meets Igraine and how he holds back the might of the Saxon Invaders.

If you enjoy Arthurian Legend, I hope you will try Shadowland and the Shadow of a King when it’s published. Neither are written to be factual books of history, so little fact remains from those times that it leaves it open to imagination. These are merely accounts of how it might have been…

If you fancy checking out Shadowland, follow the links.

US

UK

About the Author...

Born in Essex, England with a heavy dose of 'travel lust', C.M.Gray has since been lucky enough to live and travel in many countries around the world. In fact he has lived for more years outside of England than he has living there! Working as a carpenter, fruit picker and even a stint in stock brokering, he has called home Buddhist monasteries in the Himalayan Mountains, the clamor of central Hong Kong to a farm in deep rural Burgundy. Forever vowing to return and sink his roots once again in English soil... some day, he hasn't quite made it back yet, but does live a little closer these days; just outside of Barcelona in the middle of the forest with his dogs and two wonderful children.

The Treasure of Gwenlais (The Rienfield Chronicles Book 1) #bookreview

I love historical fiction. I love fantasy fiction too.

 The Treasure of Gwenlais : The Rienfield Chronicles Book 1
 by M.T. Magee, combines both genres.

Lets have a quick look at the story.

It is said that it is easier to hate, than to try and understand a race that is so different from our own. The Rabkin are such a race. They are a frightening species, feared by the humans, for they are renowned to be exceptionally swift killers and a deadly force to be reckoned with.

Prince Caleb of Heathwin, longs for peace and security for his kingdom and he has secured a fragile alliance between his people and these mysterious creatures.

But dark forces move against this delicate alliance. Unexpectedly a tribe of Rabkin attack a small defenceless village in the neighbouring  kingdom of Gwenlais. These Rabkin are different from the others - they have no respect for life or for death - and they bear different markings to the resident Rabkin tribes. They are strangers, outsiders, mercenaries.

Princess Laurel of Gwenlais is just seconds away from death. The Rapkin have murdered her much loved mother - the Queen of Gwenlais - and they are now hunting her. Prince Caleb saves the princess just in time. This blatant disregard for life shocks him, and knowing the Rapkin as he does, he cannot understand it.

Laurel and Caleb have always been close, despite living in separate kingdoms, and the events that are about to unfold draws them closer together. But their newfound love is as fragile as the peace between the kingdoms and there is an unknown enemy that threatens to destroy everything...

 What did I think?

The joy of Kindles is that it tells you roughly how long a book is going to take you to read. According to my Kindle it was going to take me just over 31 hours to read The Treasure of Gwenlais. So either my reading speed is exceptionally slow or this book was incredibly long. Turns out it was the latter! I have to be honest, I would not normally even attempt to read a book that is this long - I just have not go the time to devote such a large portion of it to one book, but the description of the story intrigued me. After doing some quick calculations in my head, I realised that each chapter was going to take me over an hour to get through. So I quickly decided that if Chapter 1 did not hook me in, then I would give the rest of the book a miss. Two hours later I looked up from the book to check the time, and realised that I was late for an appointment!

I absolutely adore the world that Magee has created. I am trying to think of something to compare it to - think of the dramatic backdrop of Game of Thrones, a pinch of Narnia, a dash of Lord of the Rings and a very large splash of the greatest romance you have ever read and you may be getting somewhere. Actually, I don't think even that description gives it justice. Dare I say...this book is an original?? If there is such a thing.

The attention to detail is exquisite. It is almost an hour-by-hour chronicle of what is happening in these peoples lives - but instead of becoming bogged down in the detail, which is always a risk when writing like this, it just gave me a thirst to read more. It became almost like an addiction. This book monopolized all my spare time and I became ever so slightly anti-social for a week or so!

Magee is obviously passionate about her Irish and Scottish ancestry and the world she has created has a whisper of the kingdoms of the ancient Celts. Although in her world, it is perfectly acceptably to drink tea and eat dainty sandwiches! Rightly so. And occasionally a man eating plant will try to kill you...such is life.

Every single one of the characters that you meet in this book is not only unique, but also believable. She breathes life into every single person she talks about, be it a hero or villain. King or servant. Human or Rabkin.

I adored this book. I loved the world, the characters, the plot, the intrigue and the romance. What a beautiful, beautiful story.

I am so glad I took a chance and read Chapter 1. What an adventure I would have missed out on if I had passed it by. Now hurry up, Magee, and write book 2. I want to find out what happens next!

 

Kindle

 

Ebook

  

NOOK book 

 

Ebook

 About the Author

My name is M.T. Magee and I live in New England on our small farm with my husband and son. We raise an assortment of silly goats, quiet rabbits, far too many ducks and chickens, and a high strung Border collie cross named Gronk. I have always loved fantasy and fell in love with Tolkien at age eleven. I read all of his works at age twelve. I have been writing stories since I was ten years old and have always wanted to be an author. After fulfilling my dream of becoming a nurse, marrying the love of my life and having two wonderful sons, I have finally been able to fulfill my dream of publishing my first book. My youngest son is severely disabled and I am his full-time caregiver. The long winter months here in New England make it virtually impossible to go out very often, so I used this time to begin my story, The Treasure of Gwenlais. Fifteen months and 1144 pages later, I am very happy to present my story to all of you. I love strong female characters, who are still able to convey a sense of vulnerability and be very relatable. I also love strong male leads who are not afraid to show their soft side. Love of family is important to me as I am sure it is to everyone and I convey this in my story.