Spoiler-free
For some strange reason, by the end of 2025 I was really craving to read some form of an Arthurian retelling. I think I just kept seeing them about and so many of them appeal to me, such as the ones by Giles Kristian and the Morgan Le Fay trilogy. However, I have heard very good things about The Warlord Chronicles by Bernard Cornwell and I’ve been meaning to read some of his books anyway so it all lined up perfectly. I say this, but I think the reality of the situation is that I may have watched one too many fan edits of the TV show Merlin, so that’s what actually got the ball rolling... If you know, you know…
Fun fact - The actor, Bradley James, who played Arthur in the show went to the same high school as me lol.
Anyway, enough of that... If you are even a little bit familiar with the Legend of King Arthur then you have a fairly good idea of what to expect in this retelling. However, this trilogy takes the lesser known character of Derfel, one of Arthur’s warriors, and brings him to the forefront of the story as the sole POV character. This is an interesting approach and one in which I really enjoyed. Having this new perspective of a more everyday type person in this tale felt very fresh and original. Plus, he was just a really fun character to read about. I found him to be very likable and even quite amusing at times.
I also told myself that such high politics were not my concern. My concern was surviving the next day. - Derfel.
Britain is a mess. It’s at war with each other and the invading Saxons, not to mention the intense conflict between Paganism and Christianity. Many familiar characters are here, such as Arthur, Merlin, Lancelot, Nimue, Guinevere and Morgan and each and every one was depicted in such a vivid light. I really enjoy the depiction of these characters in this novel in particular. They all take on such a bold presentation and Bernard Cornwell doesn’t shy away from the horrors and twisted intentions of their character.
Now, I have categorised The Winter King as historical fiction and I guess that’s not strictly true. The Legend of King Arthur is a myth and while evidence suggests that it’s highly likely that there was such an Arthur, the actual story around his life very much remains a mystery.
We might know very little about Arthur, but we can infer a lot from the times in which he probably lived. - Author's note.
This approach to this retelling is so firmly rooted in the history of the times, it very much reads as historical fiction as opposed to fantasy, so I’m choosing to categorise it as such. Besides, who’s to say this didn’t all happen?
History is nothing but ifs - Bedwin.
That’s not to say that there is a lack of the myth’s sword and sorcery. The magic in this book was perhaps my favourite part and supports the claim of this book being historical fiction. Every single use of magic can be explained and could have potentially happened in real life. It’s all left fairly ambiguous as it no doubt was during this time period of the dark ages.
She claimed that her one eye saw in the dark where our eyes could not, and maybe that was true, or maybe she simply possessed a better idea of this stretch of countryside than I did.
The wizards and druids in this book are my absolute favourite type of magic users. They’re so raw and ingrained in the nature that surrounds them and are honestly, kinda disgusting. The spells they cast are never over the top, but mainly to gain a certain advantage. Perhaps an attempt to change the weather, or to grant more power to a warrior in battle. The effects of magic occur simply because people believe that they do. As a reader, you can decide for yourself if these druids truly harness the power, or if they’re simply weirdos doing freaky shit all the time.
His wizards, naked beneath their moth-eaten skins, crouched behind him. One chewed a mouthful of earth, the other rolled his eyes while Nimue, her empty eye-socket bared, hissed at them. The struggle between Nimue and the wizards was a private war that the two leaders ignored.
I feel like that quote really encapsulates how raw the depiction of wizards is, and is an incredibly sensory description. You can feel the grit and smell the stench.
His wizards were now leaping up and down on all fours like human grasshoppers while Nimue was arranging pebbles on the ground. The pebbles’ pattern must have been disturbed by the Saxon sorcerers for they began to utter small yelps of distress.
These actions from the wizards are all happening in the background of an important political conversation of war. The fact that they’re all messing around in the background doing their own weird thing is so funny to me. I love it! They’re so animalistic in their approach to magic and it really helps to ground the magic in realism. It’s no wonder so many people believed in their powers because why else put on such a performance lol.
Magic has a strong link to religion, which is a central theme throughout this book. During these dark ages of 5th century Britain, Paganism was at war with the emerging influence of Christianity. The hatred between the followers of these two religions is intense, as Christianity is becoming increasingly popular and is thereby destroying the ancient culture of Paganism.
Why not just take over the old building? I asked Sansum that, but he says it must all be new so that his precious Christians don’t have to breathe air once used by pagans
I have no doubt that this conflict will play an increasingly vital role in books 2 and 3 and honestly, I’m glad. The politics of Britain at this period of time is incredibly interesting and the additional conflict of religion only adds to the complexity of this war.
Spitting interlude
Welcome to the interlude of the review where I would like to showcase a highlight reel of characters excessively spitting.
Beg you dog,’ She turned and spat on the crucifix, then on to the church floor, then a third time at Sansum. ‘ Beg you piece of dirt,’ she snarled at him.
She spat to avert evil, then gave me a sharp glance. ‘Tell me about King Lancelot,’ she said suddenly.
In the name of Gods,’ He called, ‘ I declare your King a liar, a bastard, a thing without honour, a nothing!’ He spat at them.
Thank you for your attention. There are many more instances of spitting in this book, which I will allow you to discover all on your own.
The Winter King was absolutely fantastic and was everything I was craving. It was initially difficult to fully get my head around all of the old place names of Britain and I was referring back to that map and character glossary constantly throughout the book, but that’s all part of the fun!
Bernard Cornwell's writing is incredible. It took me a fair few chapters to get used to but once I did I was very much impressed. I wasn't expecting his writing to be as raw and and descriptive as it was. He is able to conjure such vivid scenes without the use of overly flowery language. It's blunt, to the point, and bloody fantastic!
As soon as I finished part 1, I was hooked and stormed through it. I also quite enjoyed the consistently long chapter lengths, which surprised me a lot. It really gave me a big chunk of story at once in a digestible way. I don’t know, just something worth noting as I know long chapters can be a little daunting, but it really works well in this case. So yeah, The Winter King is a fantastic start to a trilogy and one in which I can’t wait to continue. At risk of spoiling too much I will leave my more specific thoughts as to certain characters and events for spoiler chat!
🌕🌕🌕🌕🌖 4.5 stars
P.S. Yes, I know there's a TV show adaptation and I normally give my thoughts of the adaptation within the book review. However, I saw the trailer for The Winter King and I will not be watching... Yikes...
Spoiler Chat
Right where to begin… I’m going to just go through each main character and offer some thoughts.
Derfel
I was scared going into this that Derfel would be a boring Jon Snow type character. You know the macho, do good and be an honourable man, lacking any real depth or intrigue type.… But he actually was revealed to be quite cunning. He claims to be a simple man, but there is a lot of nuance to his decision making and thought process. I loved his bromances with Arthur and also Galahad. There was definitely some sexual tension between Derfel and Arthur and you can’t tell me otherwise!
I shall continue this tale of Arthur, my dear lost Lord, my friend, my lord of war. (My lover, tehe)
Arthur
Arthur was kinda how I expected him to be. Not in a bad way. I really like how he took Derfel under his wing very early on and seemed to confide in him in a way he seemingly couldn’t with others. Their relationship was really sweet and was a big reason for me liking Arthur as a character. He makes some bold decisions too. The fact that this whole war basically started with Arthur betraying his betrothal to Ceinwyn, destroying the crucial political alliance with her father, Gorfyddyd, so he could marry Guinevere. Arthur knows this too, and later shows deep remorse for his actions. He has some very strong and powerful speeches in this book and is without doubt an inspiring leader and formidable warlord. No wonder Derfel fancies him lol.
‘This war should never have been fought!’ he called. ‘That it was fought is my fault, and I accept that fault and shall pay for it in any coin other than my life. To the Princess Ceinwyn I owe more than apology and shall pay whatever she demands, but all I now ask is that we should be allies. New Saxons come daily to take our land and enslave our women. We should fight them, not amongst ourselves. I ask for your friendship, and as a token of that desire I leave you your land, your weapons and your gold. This is neither victory nor defeat’ - he gestured at the bloody, smoke-palled valley - ‘it is a peace. All I ask is peace and one life. That of Grundleus.’ He looked back to Cuneglas and lowered his voice. ‘I wait your decision, Lord King.’
I mean come on… That’s EPIC!
Merlin
It took a while for Merlin to make an appearance, but once he did it was pretty damn special. Merlin is camp! I’m so here for it. He’s so over the top and flamboyant. They way he’s constantly disappearing, only to reappear in a disguise (drag) unbeknownst to everyone... He’s as mysterious as you’d expect him to be and as humorous as you want him to be.
I saw how much he had enjoyed his public humiliation of Gorfyddyd. Part of Merlin’s reputation was made by his performances; some Druids, like Iorweth, worked quietly, others, like Tenaburs, relied on a sinister wiliness, but Merlin liked to dominate and dazzle, and humbling as ambitious king was a pleasurable to him as it was instinctive.
Dominate and dazzle… What a way to sum up Merlin. He is renowned for his strength and magical prowess, but most of all it’s the style in which he delivers said power that is revered across the land. Despite the mysteries of his character, his intentions in this story are all too clear. Merlin cares nothing for the wars in Britain and finds them to be frankly ludicrous. He cares only about finding the thirteen treasures and returning the old gods back to Britain. I really love this tangent to the story and really hope it takes a more central role in the sequel. Basically, I thought Merlin was fantastic and want him on the page more!
‘I would not care, Gorfyddyd ap Cadell,’ Merlin said, ‘ if the land opened and swallowed Arthur and his army. Nor if it engulfed yours as well.’
Morgan le Fay
So Morgan has always been a favourite of mine in Arthurian retellings and for good reason. She’s a gothic icon. I used to be obsessed with Morgana in Merlin and if you have seen the show, you know exactly why…
This depiction of Morgan was no exception. The fact that her body was disfigured with burns only added to her allure for me. The way in which her disfigurement is described is so raw and visceral. I was honestly very impressed with the quality of writing in this whole book actually. I know that’s probably a ridiculous thing to say given how popular Bernard Cornwell is as an author, but this was my first book from him and now I can definitely see the appeal to his books.
The flames had taken her left ear, blinded her left eye, servered the hair from the left side of her scalp, maimed her left leg and twisted her left arm so that naked, Nimue told me, the whole left side of Morgan’s body was wrinkled, raw-tied and distorted, shrivelled in some places, stretched in others, gruesome everywhere, Just like a rotten apple, Numue told me, only worse. Morgan was a creature from nightmare, but to Merlin she was a lady fit for its high hall and he had trained her to be his prophetess.
This introduction of Morgan is freaking awesome! I love the haggard witch approach to her character, contrasting the beauty in which she so often possesses in other retellings. She wasn’t featured all too much in this first book, so I have hopes for her making a bigger impact in the sequels.
Lancelot
My god, what a prick! He was truly detestable. A coward who takes no part in war, but reaps the rewards of glory and is the name on every bard’s lips as they retell the tales of war. Urgh, so infuriating. Put some respect on my boy Derfel’s name! I love how much Derfel detested this man, and that scene where he straight up physically assaults Lancelot was pretty badass. I feel like this is also how Derfel and Galahad initially bonded, so perhaps I should thank Lancelot for something. Slimy smug prick.
Guinevere
She was pretty nasty yanno... She is obsessed with nice pretty things and loves surrounding herself with superficial beauty. That’s all well and good but the sheer chaos and destruction she has brought to Britain due to her actions is honestly insane. Well, I guess that’s not fair as it was Arthur’s betrayal of his own marriage to Ceinwyn that started this whole thing. Still, Guinevere has a wicked tongue and isn’t afraid to use it. She spends a large part of this part at war with Sansum and Christianity as a whole, so despite her horrid personality, her plotline was incredibly engaging.
Guinevere mocked that assertion with a sneer. ‘ Mordred could not fill a pissing pot! Mordred is a cripple! Mordred is a badly behaved child who already scents power like a hog snuffling to rut a sow.’
I mean… Damn Guinevere, chill out…
Nimue
Nimue was freaking awesome and I love how nasty and disgusting she was in her use of magic. A lot of the magic featured in this book comes from Nimue and was always pretty horrific. I can’t wait to see what she does next. It seems like she knows more than she is letting on given that ending reveal from the druid Tanaburs. Not really sure what is going on there, so I'll reserve my thoughts for the sequel review. But yeah, Guinevere was nasty in personality while Nimue was nasty in the horrors of her magic. This is a much more appealing form of nasty for me!
She took ten of the captured spears and then, with the help of a half-dozen of my men, she cut the heads from ten of Valerin’s dead spearmen and carried the spears and bloody heads up the hill where she had the spear-shafts driven butt-first into the ground, then she rammed the bloody heads on to the spears’ iron points and draped the dead heads with ghastly wigs of knotted grass, each knot an enchantment, before scattering branches of yew between the widely spaced pots. She made a ghost-fence: a line of human scarecrows imbued with charms and spells that no man would dare pass without a Druid’s help.
Nimue is terrifying…
The isle of the dead
This book was filled with many epic moments but I would like to highlight the chapters where Derfel travels to the isle of the dead to rescue Nimue. This is basically an Island where anyone mad is sent into exile.
‘Families would bring their mad to the isle and there, at the third wall, release them to the unknown horrors that waited at the causeway’s end.’
The atmosphere of these chapters was so eerie and creepy, it was just incredible. It reminded me a lot of that whole vibe of one of my favourite video games - Hellbalade: Senua’s Sacrifice.
It was so cool how there is a whole different society of people making a life for themselves on this island, completely secluded from the politics of the rest of Britain. No one really knows the happenings on the isle of dead and it is assumed they simply all die of madness, but it turns out there is much more going on. There are various tribes and factions sprawled out on the island with their own hierarchies of power. It all felt very primal. I wonder if we will see Derfel return to the isle of the dead in future books or if it was a one off adventure.
You must understand we have our own communities on the Isle. You have already made the acquaintance of the gate ghouls. We here in the quarries are the hermits, a small group who prefer our solitude and so inhabit the caves on this side of the Isle. On the far side are the beasts. You may imagine what they are like. At the southern end are the sea folk.
Romance
It’s also kind of crazy how much romance plays a role in the politics of the story without ever having a deep focus page to page. This is far from being a romance book and the romantic scenes are few and far between and yet, so much of what occurs is all boiled down to the romantic ties of the characters. Arthur and Derfel just can’t seem to help falling in love with the wrong people. Guinevere for Arthur and Ceinwyn for Derfel. Not to mention the whole Guinevere and Lancelot thing... Messy! It’s interesting too because when I am reading, it’s clear that Arthur and Derfel are in fact secretly in love with each other, but won’t admit it? Huh, weird. LOL. I jest, I think?
‘For, just like Arthur, I had come to Caer Sws and been stricken by love.’
Final Thoughts
I think that’s just about it for my word vomit spoiler chat. Very excited to continue on with this trilogy. I’m tempted to just jump straight into book 2. Main takeaways from book 1 are the magic is raw and badass, Merlin is camp, Arthur and Derfel are in love, the isle of the dead scenes were awesome, the religious conflict was engaging and Lancelot is a twat.
Thanks for reading!
Comments