I have always enjoyed Mercedes Lackey's writing. And I love a good story about King Arthur, particularly when Guinevere is portrayed as a sympathetic character instead of one of the bad guys. Therefore this book was a particularly good read (or rather listen) for me.
This story is based on Triad of “The Three Guineveres, ” which Lackey came across while doing research for a potential story based on the Arthurian legend. Triad 56 of the Trioedd Ynys Prydein—translated as "The Triads of the Island of Britain"—lists the "Three Great Queens" of Arthur's court. And yes they are all named Gwenhwyfar.
I've always loved the story of King Arthur, but over the years as I've gotten older, I've come to the conclusion that perhaps Arthur was not all that wise and certainly not when it came to women. Frequently I find myself irritated with Author and feeling sorry for Guinevere. What I enjoyed about this story is that the main Gwhenhwyfar of the story (the one from whose point of the view the story is told - there are three in the book) is a strong female character. In some ways a role model, though she does make that tragic mistake with Lancelot. It also didn't hurt that this book reminded me of Marion Zimmer Bradley's Avalon series.
With all the Welsh names, I'm sure this book was much easier to listen to than read. The reader for this audio book, Ann Flosnik, has a wonderful accent that makes the listener feel as though they have indeed traveled back in time to Arthur's time.
If you enjoy tales of King Arthur and Guinevere, this is a book for you. However if you find that you are bogged down by hard to pronounce names, skip the print version and listen to the audio.
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