18 books like The Once and Future King

What to read after The Once and Future King — books similar to it, matched on shared themes.

The Crimson Chalice Victor Canning · 1976 · 179p · ≈ 5h · Moderate When a party of marauding Saxons destroy her father's villa, young Roman girl Gratia, 'Tia' escapes. She comes upon the body of the heir to the chieftanship of a British tribe in the west. Baradoc, a prisoner of Phoenician traders, was sold as a slave and is also escaping the Saxons. However, after being attacked he was left for dead by his cousin, the next heir. Tia nurses him back to health,… Shares: Britons, Arthur, Adaptations, Arthurian romances

Arthur Rex Thomas Berger · 1978 · ★ 3.9 · 499p · ≈ 16h · Moderate King Arthur, Merlin, and the knights of the Round Table live in ancient Britain but have contemporary concerns because Guinevere and the other women act liberated. Shares: Britons, Arthur, Adaptations, Arthurian romances

In winter's shadow Gillian Bradshaw · 1982 · ★ 4.0 · 415p · ≈ 13h · Moderate Praise for Gillian Bradshaw:"A welcome new light on the horizon of popular Arthurian legend." – Book listVows broken. . .Friendships betrayed. . . The fate of heroes finally revealed. . .As powerful enemies attack the throne from inside the kingdom, Arthur, his queen, and his greatest warrior Gwalchmai will be put to the ultimate test. Never faltering in her loyalty to the king, Gwynhwyfar has… Shares: Britons, Arthur, Adaptations, Arthurian romances

Enemy of God Bernard Cornwell · 1996 · ★ 4.5 · 409p · ≈ 13h · Moderate The continuing story of Arthur, the second in a trilogy which began with THE WINTER KING. The novels bring Arthur and his world to vivid life. A man battling for his vision of the future in a brutal age, dragged down by suspicions and magics of the past, surrounded by intrigue, dependent on his skill at war and genius for leadership. Shares: Britons, Arthur, Adaptations, Arthurian romances

The Winter King Bernard Cornwell · 1995 · ★ 4.3 · 431p · ≈ 14h · Moderate Uther, the High King of Britain, has died, leaving the infant Mordred as his only heir. His uncle, the loyal and gifted warlord Arthur, now rules as caretaker for a country which has fallen into chaos - threats emerge from within the British kingdoms while vicious Saxon armies stand ready to invade. As he struggles to unite Britain and hold back the Saxon enemy, Arthur is embroiled in a doomed… Shares: Britons, Arthur, Adaptations, Arthurian romances

Pendragon Stephen R. Lawhead · 1992 · ★ 4.2 · 416p · ≈ 13h · Moderate E-Book Extra: "Stephen R. Lawhead on…" (The writing process; The Atlantis/Britain connection; Whether or not Arthur existed, etc.)Arthur is King, but darkest evil has descended upon Britain's shores in many guises. And Arthur's most trusted counselor Myrddin, whom legend will name Merlin, is himself to be tested. So Arthur must stand alone against a terrible adversary to win immortality and the… Shares: Britons, Arthur, Adaptations, Arthurian romances

Pendragon's banner Helen Hollick · 1995 · ★ 4.1 · 433p · ≈ 14h · Moderate Who was the man... who became the legend... we know asKING ARTHUR?Pendragon's Banner is the second book in Helen Hollick's exciting King Arthur trilogy, covering 459-465 A.D. This is not a fairy tale or fantasy. There is no Merlin, no sword in the stone, and no Lancelot. This is the most accurate Arthurian legend ever written, based on historical evidence and meticulous research.At age… Shares: Britons in fiction, Britons, Arthur, Adaptations

Excalibur Bernard Cornwell · 1997 · ★ 4.5 · 442p · ≈ 14h · Moderate A story of love, war, loyalty and betrayal, EXCALIBUR begins with the failure of Lancelot's rebellion and the ruin of Arthur's marriage to Guinevere. The Saxons, sensing the disunity of the Britons, seize the chance to destroy Arthur. The climax of the war comes with the legendary triumph at Mount Badon, and Arthur's great victory. But the promises he made then come back to haunt him after the… Shares: Britons in fiction, Britons, Arthur, Adaptations

The Mists of Avalon Marion Zimmer Bradley · 1979 · ★ 4.1 · 876p · ≈ 29h · Moderate When Morgan le Fay (Morgaine) has to sacrifice her virginity during fertility rites, the man who impregnates her is her younger brother Arthur, who she turns against when she thinks he has betrayed the old religion of Avalon. Shares: Britons in fiction, Britons, Arthur, Adaptations

Sword at Sunset Rosemary Sutcliff · 1963 · ★ 4.1 · 480p · ≈ 16h · Moderate This brilliant Arthurian epic cuts through the mists of pagan, early Christian, and medieval splendors that have gathered about the subject and tells the authentic story of the man who may well have been the real King Arthur—Artos the Bear, the mighty warrior-king who saved the last lights of Western civilization when the barbarian darkness descended in the fifth century. Presenting early Britain… Shares: Britons, Arthur, Adaptations, Arthurian romances

Lady of Avalon Marion Zimmer Bradley · 1997 · ★ 4.1 · 480p · ≈ 16h · Moderate New York Times bestselling author Marion Zimmer Bradley brings the mesmerizing world of myth, romance and history to life in the spellbinding novel of epic grandeur!Before the legend of King Arthur and Camelot, there was Avalon, a beautiful island of golden vales and silver mists. A land where the lives of three powerful priestesses shape the destiny of Roman Britian as they fight to regain the… Shares: Britons in fiction, Britons, Adaptations, Arthurian romances

Arthur Stephen R. Lawhead · 1989 · ★ 4.0 · 512p · ≈ 17h · Moderate E-Book Extra: "Stephen R. Lawhead on…" (The writing process; The Atlantis/Britain connection; Whether or not Arthur existed, etc.)They called him unfit to rule, a lowborn, callow boy, Uther's bastard.But his coming bad been foretold in the songs of the bard Taliesin. And be had learned powerful secrets at the knee of the mystical sage Merlin. He was Arthur -- Pendragon of the Island of the Mighty… Shares: Britons, Arthur, Adaptations, Arthurian romances

The Sorcerer Jack Whyte · 1997 · ★ 4.3 · 523p · ≈ 17h · Moderate Throughout the widely praised Camulod Chronicles, Merlyn Britannicus has been driven by one sacred dream--to see Britain united under one just, powerful king. In The Sorcerer: Metamorphosis, it is time for the Sorcerer to fulfill his promise--to present the battle-proven Arthur as the Riothamus, the High King of Britain. When Arthur miraculously withdraws the Sword of Kingship from the stone in… Shares: Britons, Arthur, Adaptations, Arthurian romances

The acts of King Arthur and his noble knights John Steinbeck · 1611 · ★ 3.8 · 336p · ≈ 11h · Demanding Steinbeck was interested in the Arthurian legends for all his life. This is a beautiful retelling of these stories, with deep psychological insight. Shares: Britons in fiction, Britons, Arthur, Adaptations

The Pendragon Chronicles Michael Ashley · 1989 · ★ 4.0 · 417p · ≈ 13h · Moderate Stories and short novels from the world of Arthurian legend. Shares: English Fantasy fiction, Britons, Adaptations, Arthurian romances

The Road to Avalon Joan Wolf · 1988 · 363p · ≈ 12h · Moderate The pageantry and passionate intrigues of King Arthur’s court are expertly re-created in this historical novel—the only Arthurian novel in which all of the central characters are portrayed as intrinsically good people. This realistic retelling of the legend shows Arthur severing the bonds of bastardy, vanquishing the Saxons, and loving one woman. As the daring teenage warrior prepares for the… Shares: Britons, Arthur, Adaptations, Arthurian romances

The book of the sword Diana L. Paxson · 1999 · ★ 3.7 · 271p · ≈ 9h · Moderate A retelling of the classic Arthurian legend, full of action, adventure, and epic thrills!Mighty Rome subjugated the isle of Britain only to abandon it, leaving behind a bloody patchwork of warring tribes. The fragile peace imposed by the conquerors has been shattered, compelling Artoria Argantel -- Lady of the Lake and Druid priestess -- to call upon the Spirit of War and Justice to deliver a… Shares: Arthur, Adaptations, Arthurian romances

Arthurian Chronicles Wace · 2006 · 128p · ≈ 4h · Moderate This work from the early 20th century contains translated editions of two early Arthurian tales by the authors Wace and Layamon. Shares: Arthur, Arthurian romances

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