I'll Sleep When I've Read... The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell

 

Title: The Winter King

Author: Bernard Cornwell

Publication: 5 October 1995/reprint: 15 April 1997

Format: paperback & Kindle ebook

Amazon Description: 

It takes a remarkable writer to make an old story as fresh and compelling as the first time we heard it. With The Winter King, the first volume of his magnificent Warlord Chronicles, Bernard Cornwell finally turns to the story he was born to write: the mythic saga of King Arthur.

The tale begins in Dark Age Britain, a land where Arthur has been banished and Merlin has disappeared, where a child-king sits unprotected on the throne, where religion vies with magic for the souls of the people. It is to this desperate land that Arthur returns, a man at once utterly human and truly heroic: a man of honor, loyalty, and amazing valor; a man who loves Guinevere more passionately than he should; a man whose life is at once tragic and triumphant.

As Arthur fights to keep a flicker of civilization alive in a barbaric world, Bernard Cornwell makes a familiar tale into a legend all over again.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I stayed up late Friday just to read. I did the same on Saturday. I almost didn't get a pre-work nap on Sunday because I was soooooooo close to being done.

And then I was.

And now I have a massive book hangover.

There have already been teaser snippets on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, and now you get some more because that's part of the beauty of I'll Sleep When I've Read... posts. I make up my own rules. Since I had already covered Parts One and Two, this will only have blips from Three and Four and will pretty much focus on characters. Most people know the main characters of Arthurian Legends -- Arthur, Merlin, Guinevere, Lancelot, Galahad ... and, of course, Camelot -- so I thought it would be nice to highlight what Cornwell does with them. Part Five was too busy ripping my soul apart to have me take any suitable notes. I guess you'll just have to read the book ... and the next ... and the next ...

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If you want to share whatever has kept you up past your bedtime because you just needed one more chapter ... or the entire book ... please comment! My TBR pile is already toppling, but I can always add more.

The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell (Book Beginnings & Friday 56)

 

Title: The Winter King

Author: Bernard Cornwell

Publication: 5 October 1995/reprint: 15 April 1997

Format: paperback & Kindle ebook

Amazon Description: 

It takes a remarkable writer to make an old story as fresh and compelling as the first time we heard it. With The Winter King, the first volume of his magnificent Warlord Chronicles, Bernard Cornwell finally turns to the story he was born to write: the mythic saga of King Arthur.

The tale begins in Dark Age Britain, a land where Arthur has been banished and Merlin has disappeared, where a child-king sits unprotected on the throne, where religion vies with magic for the souls of the people. It is to this desperate land that Arthur returns, a man at once utterly human and truly heroic: a man of honor, loyalty, and amazing valor; a man who loves Guinevere more passionately than he should; a man whose life is at once tragic and triumphant.

As Arthur fights to keep a flicker of civilization alive in a barbaric world, Bernard Cornwell makes a familiar tale into a legend all over again.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

I mentioned on Tuesday (and again on Wednesday) that this book was going to get an awful lot of love ... and posts ... go back to Tuesday for the teasers and ramblings from Part One. Today I get to ooh and aah over Part Two. Arthur and Guinevere are around but I really love Derfel and Nimue. Derfel is the one telling the tale, and Nimue is the "she" from the 156ish ... which I think is actually 158 because 156 was good but not as good as Nimue. 

She might be one of my all-time favorite "book bitches" at this point.

I am not at all familiar with the actress they have cast for the series and I think I might be a good thing. I'm a little hesitant already with the casting of Arthur and Merlin (who still has only been mentioned in the book and not actually seen). Since I care about Derfel and Nimue more at this point, I'm still quite ecstatic to see what happens. No matter what, though, I'm pretty sure this will definitely be a case of "the book was better."

 

Now on to Part Three ....

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Friday 56 (share a blurb from the 56th page or 56% mark) is hosted at Freda's Voice 

& Book Beginnings (share the first few sentences) is at Rose City Reader

 

 

 

The Winter King by Bernard Cornwell (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

 

Title: The Winter King

Author: Bernard Cornwell

Publication: 5 October 1995/reprint: 15 April 1997

Format: paperback & Kindle ebook

Amazon Description: 

It takes a remarkable writer to make an old story as fresh and compelling as the first time we heard it. With The Winter King, the first volume of his magnificent Warlord Chronicles, Bernard Cornwell finally turns to the story he was born to write: the mythic saga of King Arthur.

The tale begins in Dark Age Britain, a land where Arthur has been banished and Merlin has disappeared, where a child-king sits unprotected on the throne, where religion vies with magic for the souls of the people. It is to this desperate land that Arthur returns, a man at once utterly human and truly heroic: a man of honor, loyalty, and amazing valor; a man who loves Guinevere more passionately than he should; a man whose life is at once tragic and triumphant.

As Arthur fights to keep a flicker of civilization alive in a barbaric world, Bernard Cornwell makes a familiar tale into a legend all over again.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

Be prepared to see an awful of Bernard Cornwell this week .... and probably next .... and, likely, off and on for eons to come. I actually started this in September and it got set aside because life got messy and then I got sidetracked with NetGalley and trying to finish the alphabet and whatever. Thought about picking it up again in December and then life got messier and I just couldn't.  

 

You know what? Screw the messiness. That's what books are for and Cornwell is sooooo amazingly good at pulling you in and not letting you go. He is, perhaps, the King of Escapism. At least for right now.  

 

So The Winter King is the first of The Warlord Chronicles (also referred to as "The Arthur Books"). Thanks to ThriftBooks I already have them all .... and lots of other Cornwells .... and there will probably be more on the way before long. The Winter King is divided into five parts and right now I'm thinking each part will get it's own post. Maybe. I finally got people to leave me along long enough to finish Part One and we haven't met Arthur in person yet. 

 

Bad Wolf is in the process of producing the first season of what will likely (hopefully) be several seasons based on the books. I'm already extremely excited based on the cast and what I've read so far. Heck, I knew I was going to love the books before I even bought them. After all, this is the man who brought The Last Kingdom and Uhtred son of Uhtred into my life. (I have yet to read those books as I'm still recovering from the last season of the show and there's still a movie supposedly on its way.) 

 

Anyway, back to the book .... errr .... the show based on the book. The cast? Huge ... but some highlights for me will be :

* Iain De Caestecker as Arthur ("Fitz" from Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D) 

* Stuart Campbell as Derfel, the narrator ("Bill Fraser" from Rogue Heroes -- another show that added a ton of books to my TBR) 

* my beloved Andrew Gower as Bishop Sansum (A lot of parts in a lot of shows, but I fell for him as "Nick Cutler" during the fourth season of Being Human. The real one, not the U.S shite remake.)

 

I know, not a lot about the book .... yet .... but I did say that we haven't met Arthur yet, didn't I? Go ahead and read the Intro and Teaser .... I have a feeling he'll get some blips on Friday.

 

***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** ***** *****

"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two

of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two
from anywhere in the book currently being read.

Gallows Thief by Bernard Cornwell (Tuesday Intros & Teaser Tuesday)

 

 Title: Gallows Thief

Author: Bernard Cornwell

Publication: 1 October 2001

Format: Kindle ebook

Amazon Description

The year is 1820. Rider Sandman, a hero of Waterloo, returns to London to wed his fiancée. But instead of settling down to fame and glory, he finds himself penniless in a country where high unemployment and social unrest rage, and where men—innocent or guilty—are hanged for the merest of crimes.

When he's offered a job as private investigator to re-open the case of a painter due to be hanged for a murder he didn't commit, Sandman readily accepts—as much for the money as for a chance to see justice done in a country gone to ruins.

Soon, however, he's mired in a grisly murder plot that keeps thickening. Sandman makes his way through gentlemen's clubs and shady taverns, aristocratic mansions, and fashionable painters' studios determined to rescue the innocent young man from the rope. But someone doesn't want the truth revealed.

Ramble-y Teaserish Stuff

Last week I received a $25 gift card from work for being "Employee of the Month" for June. I used it to nab five Bernard Cornwell books from ThriftBooks ... which pushed me over the rewards edge for a free book ... so now there are six Cornwells on the way from ThriftBooks ... at least four or five more already on my shelves at home ...

and then there's this one : Gallows Thief. 

I don't know why I didn't grab one of the ones I already own and, instead, opted to download this on Hoopla thanks to my library ... and I ended up ordering a hard copy anyway. I will likely be done with the ebook long before the paperback could possibly arrive, but by the time I had hit the 10% mark I knew that it was one that I would have to own.

If you don't already know Bernard Cornwell, he's the mastermind behind the books that became The Last Kingdom on Netflix ... and the far-too-short-lived Sharpe which I will eventually binge on BritBox ... and the first installment of his Warlord Chronicles Arthurian-legend-based trilogy is currently in production in Wales.

The man is a freaking historical rockstar. 

This is not fluffy brain candy, kids. 

Do not attempt unless you want your life to be overthrown.

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"First Chapter First Paragraph Tuesday Intros" is from the first paragraph or two of a book being read now (or in the future) and is hosted by Socrates' Book Reviews. 

"Teaser Tuesday" at The Purple Booker asks for a random line or two from anywhere in the book currently being read.