The Winter King

By: Bernard Cornwell

Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble

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.

Bernard Cornwell fan

I’ve long been a fan of Bernard Cornwell, and his version of Arthurian Legend is a gritty realism of the time period. It strips away all the chivalry that was added during the romanticism, and he brings the reader back to the reality of the hardships of early life in Britain following the fall of Rome. This is not a courtly telling of knights in shining armor, so if that is your expectation you may want to pass.
Jonathan Keeble does a good job, although some of his character voices are a little “over done” and don’t fit the personality of the character, but not anything that makes it unlistenable.

Great fun!

Liked the Saxon Chronicles better but this was still good. And I love hearing Jonathan Keeble.

Great King Arthur Adaptation

I really did struggle with the first good chunk of this book. It was super boring in the beginning and was getting lost and I almost gave up with this book. However I’m really really glad I toughed it out because it got really good! Great action and amazing narration! On to the next book in the trilogy!!

My new favorite telling of the Arthurian Legend.

I love a good sword and shield journey. I read/listen to MANY. Same for the classic legends and hero tales. Arthur was one I was, frankly, tired of hearing. However, listening to The Winter King was thoroughly entertaining. You follow the storyteller, a Britton raised Saxon through his life with Merlin and the gang....Yes and no. Things happen; but nothing like you expected and yet never a disappointment. This will be the framework in which I now imagine these legends.

AMAZING!!!

Very well written and exquisitely read! looking forward to book 2!! One of the best stories I have encountered!