Book picks similar to
Excalibur! by Gil Kane


fantasy
fiction
arthurian-legend
arthurian

War in Heaven


Charles Williams - 1930
    Examining the distinction between magic and religion, War in Heaven is an eerily disturbing book, one that graphically portrays a metaphysical journey through the shadowy crevices of the human mind.

The Arthurian Legends


Richard Barber - 1979
    Each excerpt is set in its historical and literary context, so that anyone who enjoys this anthology can make his own exploration of the many and glittering treasures of Arthurian legend.

Parsival Or A Knight's Tale


Richard Monaco - 1977
    Horror and bloodshed mingle with a soft, imaginative romanticism making an instant classic. --Salisbury Times, Britain

Arthur Rex


Thomas Berger - 1978
    Thomas Berger has previously written "Little Big Man", "Killing Time" and "Changing the Past".

Eaters of the Dead


Michael Crichton - 1976
    The refined Arab courtier Ibn Fadlan is accompanying a party of Viking warriors back to their home. He is appalled by their customs—the gratuitous sexuality of their women, their disregard for cleanliness, and their cold-blooded sacrifices. As they enter the frozen, forbidden landscape of the North—where the day’s length does not equal the night’s, where after sunset the sky burns in streaks of color—Fadlan soon discovers that he has been unwillingly enlisted to combat the terrors in the night that come to slaughter the Vikings, the monsters of the mist that devour human flesh. But just how he will do it, Fadlan has no idea.

Twilight of Avalon


Anna Elliott - 2009
    In the shadow of King Arthur's Britain, one woman knows the truth that could save a kingdom from the hands of a tyrant... Ancient grudges, old wounds, and the quest for power rule in the newly widowed Queen Isolde's court. Hardly a generation after the downfall of Camelot, Isolde grieves for her slain husband, King Constantine, a man she secretly knows to have been murdered by the scheming Lord Marche -- the man who has just assumed his title as High King. Though her skills as a healer are renowned throughout the kingdom, in the wake of Con's death, accusations of witchcraft and sorcery threaten her freedom and her ability to bring Marche to justice. Burdened by their suspicion and her own grief, Isolde must conquer the court's distrust and superstition to protect her throne and the future of Britain. One of her few allies is Trystan, a prisoner with a lonely and troubled past. Neither Saxon nor Briton, he is unmoved by the political scheming, rumors, and accusations swirling around the fair queen. Together they escape, and as their companionship turns from friendship to love, they must find a way to prove what they know to be true -- that Marche's deceptions threaten not only their lives but the sovereignty of the British kingdom. In Twilight of Avalon, Anna Elliott returns to the roots of the legend of Trystan and Isolde to shape a very different story -- one based in the earliest written versions of the Arthurian tales -- a captivating epic brimming with historic authenticity, sweeping romance, and the powerful magic of legend.

The Winter Prince


Elizabeth Wein - 1993
    Instead, his younger half-brother, Lleu, is chosen to be prince of Britain. Lleu is fragile, often ill, unskilled in weaponry and statesmanship, and childishly afraid of the dark. Even Lleu's twin sister, Goewin, seems more suited to rule the kingdom.Medraut cannot bear to be commanded and contradicted by this weakling brother who he feels has usurped his birthright and his father's favor. Torn and bitter, haunted by jealousy, self-doubt, and thwarted ambition, he joins Morgause, the high king's treacherous sister, in a plot to force Artos to forfeit his power and kingdom in exchange for Lleu's life. But this plot soon proves to be much more - a battlefield on which Medraut is forced to decide, for good or evil, where his own allegiance truly lies...

In Camelot's Shadow


Sarah Zettel - 2004
    When Gawain, King Arthur's handsome and promiscuous nephew, saves a beautiful maiden from a sorcerer, will his love be able to overcome the forces of evil?Risa of the Morelands was cursed even before she was born. While returning from King Arthur's coronation, her father made a deal with an evil necromancer named Euberacon to save his beloved dying wife. In return for his wife's health, the sorcerer asks for the life of the child growing inside her womb. Her father accepts the deal and thus dooms the unborn Risa to a life of unthinkable depravity.Now a beautiful 19-year-old with red-gold hair, Risa confronts her father after another suitor is turned away. When he eventually tells her about his deal with the sorcerer, she runs away -- only to be caught by Euberacon. Gawain fatefully witnesses the assault, saves Risa, and falls in love with her. But when Euberacon turns Risa into a monstrosity, will Gawain's love be enough to defeat a sorcerer, a pagan god, and all the naysayers at Camelot?Like many Arthurian stories, In Camelot's Shadow is a tale about honor -- its moral obligations and all its unintended consequences -- but ultimately it is a story about the power of love. Lyrical, heartwarming, and engaging until the very last page, this novel is highly recommended for fans of romantic fantasy as well as Arthurian legend and lore. Paul Goat Allen

Guinevere


Sharan Newman - 1980
    In Guinevere, Newman offers a reinterpretation of the Arthurian saga and as memorable as The Mists of Avalon and The Hollow Hills.

Out of Avalon


Jennifer RobersonAdrienne Gormley - 1998
    Mist-shrouded, wrapped in magic. The legendary island of the Goddess, resting place of Arthur. This mystical island's legacy has remained strong over the centuries, becoming a symbol of hope and wonder.Out of Avalon presents fifteen original stories of magic, adventure, and romance from an era lost to history - yet always remembered by those with imagination...

The Merlin Prophecy


Meg Cabot - 2007
    Who also happens to be the alleged reincarnation of King Arthur.Ellie couldn't be happier to have Will in her life, but she's also worried that his estrangement from his parents is tearing him apart. To make matters worse, Will's doubt that he really is King Arthur could prevent the Merlin Prophecy--an age of enlightenment--from occurring. Can Ellie convince Will to believe in something that even she isn't sure about? And more importantly, can she get him to give his parents another chance?With all the mythology and mysticism of avalon high, Meg Cabot's very first manga is indeed a tale for the ages.

Guinevere: A Medieval Romance


Lavinia Collins - 2014
    Told from the point of view of Guinevere, this epic romance chronicles the life and loves of the queen of the Round Table. From being torn away from her native Breton to wed Arthur, being held captive by his enemies to her affair with Lancelot and the subsequent fall of Arthur’s kingdom, every dramatic event is explored in a rich, compelling narrative.With acute attention to the existing literature and historical studies, Medievalist scholar Lavinia Collins brings the world of dashing knights, week-long banquets and cruel wars to light for a contemporary audience eager to get an insider view of life at Arthur’s court. While this book will make fans of Arthurian literature ecstatic, it will also bring delight to any reader of quality contemporary fiction.Guinevere – A medieval romance was previously published as three volumes: The Warrior Queen, A Champion’s Duty and The Day of Destiny.

The Legends of King Arthur and His Knights


James Knowles - 1860
    The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and his historical existence is debated and disputed by modern historians. The sparse historical background of Arthur is gleaned from various sources, including the Annales Cambriae, the Historia Brittonum, and the writings of Gildas. Arthur's name also occurs in early poetic sources such as Y Gododdin. The legendary Arthur developed as a figure of international interest largely through the popularity of Geoffrey of Monmouth's fanciful and imaginative 12th-century Historia Regum Britanniae (History of the Kings of Britain). However, some Welsh and Breton tales and poems relating the story of Arthur date from earlier than this work; in these works, Arthur appears either as a great warrior defending Britain from human and supernatural enemies or as a magical figure of folklore, sometimes associated with the Welsh Otherworld, Annwn. How much of Geoffrey's Historia (completed in 1138) was adapted from such earlier sources, rather than invented by Geoffrey himself, is unknown. Although the themes, events and characters of the Arthurian legend varied widely from text to text, and there is no one canonical version, Geoffrey's version of events often served as the starting point for later stories. Geoffrey depicted Arthur as a king of Britain who defeated the Saxons and established an empire over Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Norway and Gaul. In fact, many elements and incidents that are now an integral part of the Arthurian story appear in Geoffrey's Historia, including Arthur's father Uther Pendragon, the wizard Merlin, the sword Excalibur, Arthur's birth at Tintagel, his final battle against Mordred at Camlann and final rest in Avalon. The 12th-century French writer Chretien de Troyes, who added Lancelot and the Holy Grail to the story, began the genre of Arthurian romance that became a significant strand of medieval literature. In these French stories, the narrative focus often shifts from King Arthur himself to other characters, such as various Knights of the Round Table. Arthurian literature thrived during the Middle Ages but waned in the centuries that followed until it experienced a major resurgence in the 19th century. In the 21st century, the legend lives on, not only in literature but also in adaptations for theatre, film, television, comics and other media. The Sir James Knowles version of King Arthur is considered as the most accurate and well known original story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table.

I Am Mordred


Nancy Springer - 1998
    The doomed narrator, forever dressed in black, fights his destiny. Only lovely Nyneve believes the lad can be good, traps manipulator Merlin, gives boy white pup Gull, takes them to his mother's castle.

Lancelot and the King


Sarah Luddington - 2011
    If his king needs him and he is called to the sword, he knows where he must be.His country is threatened, the dark wings of war are gathering and his love... that will just have to wait.The needs of one man’s heart cry for peace, but Lancelot understands what he must do.He will stand shoulder to shoulder with the man he loves and if they survive the battlefields, if they can survive the peace, then maybe, just maybe, a knight and his king can put aside their call to arms and listen to the call of their hearts. The Knights of Camelot series is a reimagining of the Arthurian legends. Each book features two (or more) men in love with one another, steamy encounters, and more. These books are not intended to be read as standalones, so be sure to start at the beginning with Lancelot and the King.