This section in particular will likely make some readers quite uncomfortable.Īlcohol is consumed, and it is not too hard to gather that some characters are drunk at certain points. However, one scene in the second part involves Gawain and his three younger brothers killing a unicorn, and describes the messy process of cutting off its head and bringing it back with them. Battles occur, as this is the tale of Arthur, and so some scenes can be fairly violent, though not overly gory. This will likely be overbearing for some readers. Lancelot in particular gives a stunning description of his experience in questing for the Holy Grail near the end of the third section, in which he talks about God stripping him of everything he thought defined him, and realizing that his actions as a knight should not be about himself or his own glory, but that anything he has been given has been through God's own gift. On the flip side, the later parts of the book provide some very striking glimpses into the Christian faith - despite the fact the author was a proclaimed agnostic. Living 'backwards in time' so that he remembers the future and is oblivious to the past, Merlin's magic is used fairly extensively in the early parts of the book, mostly to transform Arthur into various creatures to learn what he can from their ways. Perhaps the biggest issue in this section is Merlin, the somewhat curmudgeonly and yet still entirely loveable magician that teaches and advises Arthur in his early years and as he comes to power. This is sometimes very reluctant, but he does his best to stand for the right thing anyway, even if it is not particularly what he wants to do. A good portion of the latter parts of the book involve attempting to let virtue for its own sake shine through, the idea of replacing the old 'Might makes Right' to 'Right makes Right.' Arthur strives throughout to do what is best for his people, and to do the right thing, however difficult that may be.

Drawing on Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur and referencing it frequently in-text, White gives his readers a wonderful picture of Arthur from his early years as a squire to the last moments of his reign. This fantasy classic is essentially the story of Arthur in four parts. Deep and thought-provoking classic fantasy, with a few snarls.

King arthur the once and future king