Spear

read this book, you will not regret it. 🖤

Fantastic story. I've read a lot of Arthur tales in my life and this is one of the best. Very unique, which is impressive when you're talking about a tale so overtold. The combining of myths and lore formed a complete and compelling story. The characters felt real and unique. Over all, I found this to be a very enjoyable read. I would happily revisit the world created.

I'm enthralled with Medieval literature and Arthurian legend, and so is Nicola Griffith. Griffith's Spear is a fresh and lovely take on Arthurian legend that is full of poetic pose. It is inspired by multiple sources, and is expertly crafted to create a rich medieval world. A gorgeous queer Arthurian novella, Spear tells the tale of Peretur, who is based on the many legends and versions of Parcival. Peretur is a woman who desires to become part of Arturus' court and sets out to join. The only problem is she is perceived as a man. Much of her story is her evolution from role to role across time from a daughter to a lover to a member of the court. Peretur's personal journey of selfhood and her romantic partnership with the magician Nimuë is really the focus of the novel and it is lovely. Sure, there is a quest for the Holy Grail that has to do with Arturus and his rule, but Peretur's true quest is really one of identity. “[W]ould she one day find her one true name?” This novella deals with Arthurian legend in such a beautiful way, as it uses the lore to examining the nature of human connection. This search for a warm and lasting source of human connection extends throughout the entire novella. Sure, there are battles with armed knights and misty legends (Merlin is mentioned!) but this isn't the focus of the novella. The focus is on Per and her journey of acceptance and selfhood. Griffith takes joy in beautiful descriptions of the natural world of Dark Ages Britain in which Peretur lives. And I would be remiss if I didn't mention the beautiful cover and a series of interior illustrations by Rovina Cai, who is one of the best fantasy illustrators working right now. A wonderful work of Arthurian legend for our times.

On the surface, this is everything I love in a book (queer Arthurian retelling! Welsh Arthurian retelling! sapphic!), but it really unfortunately felt like it Was Not For Me, which I don’t think was any particular fault of the book itself, it was honestly probably just the fact that it is Finals Week and also Migraine Week for me. I think if you liked Cursed which was an Arthurian retelling on Netflix that premiered at the start of the pandemic, you’ll really like this book, but I couldn’t get into that for similar reasons (it was the start of a pandemic and I was very stressed about it). Three stars but like, I’m sad about it. Rating systems suck.

I have loved Arthurian myths for so long and this is my favorite interpretation. The nods to historical accuracy ground this fantasy perfectly, especially because women, PoC, disabled and queer people are represented in addition to the languages that predated Roman conquest. I am thoroughly nerding out so I'll simply conclude by giving this my highest recommendation.