3.5Originally posted at Fantasy Literature.I thought I was tired of Arthurian Legend and I’ve avoided reading one for quite a while now, but Gillian Bradshaw’s beautifully written story about Sir Gawain has changed my mind. Hawk of May takes place early in Arthur’s career and is inspired by the Welsh legends of King Arthur, the Sidhe, and Cú Chulainn. I’m looking forward to reading the rest of Bradshaw’s DOWN THE LONG WAY trilogy.In Hawk of May, we meet Gwalchmai, son of the Morgawse, the beautiful sorceress who hates her father Uther Pendragon, and who seduced her half-brother Arthur years before. Morgawse is the wife of Lot, one of the kings of Britain who, now that the Romans are gone, are engaged in a power struggle amongst themselves and are simultaneously trying to fight off Saxon raiders. It seems that Arthur is the only man who realizes that all the in-fighting must stop and the kings must band together so that the entire country isn’t overrun by Saxons. Arthur is the strongest, but when he declares himself high king, the petty kings balk at this young illegitimate up-start.Gwalchmai is a middle son and feels like he can’t measure up to his father’s expectations. His older brother Agravain is a great warrior, but Gwalchmai’s stature and temperament is more delicate. His mother offers to train him in her arts and Gwalchmai learns to read and write before being introduced to Morgawse’s more secret powers. When he finally witnesses one of her darks rites, and realizes that she is also influencing his younger brother, Gwalchmai is deeply disturbed and runs away. Then he has a mystical experience with “The Light” and decides to find and join Arthur’s band. On the way he experiences the brutality of the Saxons and the dilapidation of the Roman Catholic Church — issues that Arthur is trying to address. When Gwalchmai finally meets Arthur, the high king will not accept him and Gwalchmai doesn’t understand why. Gwalchmai must try to win Arthur over and prove that he serves the Light. Fortunately, the Light has given him a cool sword and some special powers and eventually he develops into a warrior (which is not a spoiler because, you know, it’s Sir Gawain). There is a pro-Christian slant to Hawk of May, as you might expect from Arthurian Legend. The “Light” seems to represent Christianity while the “Darkness” represents the witchcraft and old ways of pre-Roman Britain.Besides Morgawse, Arthur, Sir Gawain and the rest of Arthur’s band, we meet some of Britain’s petty kings, Cerdic the Saxon king, the bard Taliesin, and… dun dun dun!… Medraut (aka Mordred). Guinevere has a small role which will, I assume, become more significant later. We all know pretty much how the story goes, so there aren’t a lot of huge surprises here — oh my gosh, a Saxon raid? Really?? And Arthur and Morgawse??….. but she’s his sister! — which is probably why I don’t read a lot of stories about King Arthur, but as I mentioned, Gillian Bradshaw won me over with her lovely prose and her realistically grungy portrayal of Britain’s dark ages. Also, you could really forget that Hawk of May is Arthurian at all — you could simply read it as a coming-of-age story in which a sensitive young man experiences the Darkness and the Light and struggles to make the right choice about how he should live. The story is focused much more on characters, especially Gwalchmai and Arthur, than battles and politics.I listened to Sourcebook’s audio version of Hawk of May. It’s almost 12 hours long and is read by Nicole Quinn. At first I was put off by the choice of a female narrator for a story written from a boy’s first person POV, and I think a male narrator would have been a better choice, but Nicole Quinn did a great job. She has a beautiful British accent and handled all the parts well. Her voice for Morgawse is absolutely (and appropriately) mesmerizing.
King Arthur's rise to power - it's what makes England what it is in so many ways. The overcoming of darkness and petty feuding between rivaling 'mini' kings to be united, together, under one man - one king - and the light.This is a lightly veiled intro into Christianity actually. I don't really remember seeing Arthur's story that way, but it is. And - truth be told - this book isn't about Arthur per se. It's about another character - Sir Gawain - and the complicated story of how he came to be the man he was and how that story fit into Arthur's life and times. It's also a look at how a past power of faith collides with what is now a present one. So it is both familiar and strange, and that makes it a great story to read. Somehow I was under the impression that this book was a stand-alone (don't ask why - probably because I didn't hear about it first on Goodreads!). So I was mildly surprised to come upon the first few pages of the second book of the trilogy at the end of this one! But glancing back I can see why it has to be. Although this story is concluded, you know the whole story isn't. So it will be onwards with the next book.All in all this is a great adventure book. It took me some time to get over the names and keep the characters straight - and I'm still unsure of some of them regardless of continually wrapping my head around the letters. But that really is neither here not there as there are really only a few that you're interested in. I like to keep the terrain in my mind, so there was a map of sorts at the front side of the book for reference - although I thought it could have been larger and better illustrated. It's pretty weak. Considering this is not an imaginary place but the early times of Britain, and I am not a scholar on all things historical on Britain (despite extensive reading of fictional stories that is), it would have been nice to have a better bloody map to track the 'where' of the 'who'. But that's a personal pet peeve and if you just let it go and go with the flow, the story is fine. It certainly has a spiritual feel to the story which, as noted before, I wasn't expecting. Certainly was expecting the mythical aspect of it - as King Arthur really is that - but not the spiritual. It lent a fresh way to see it for me and I didn't find it unpleasant. Onwards with the second book!
What do You think about Hawk Of May (1992)?
My home library consists of a room, shelved from floor to ceiling on three sides, with thousands of books lining the walls. This doesn't count the specialty shelves in other rooms.Trust me when I say I have lots of books - and Hawk of May, while not my all-time favourite, has consistently reigned in the top five for the last few decades. It would always be amongst my choices in the 'ten books I'd take to a desert island' scenario.The novel relies hugely on a knowledge of Arthurian legend. Don't make it your first venture into the genre. That would be a serious mistake.The delicious tension in it is only realised when the reader knows something the main character doesn't: the source of Arthur's implacable distrust of Gwalchmai, better known to Arthurian aficionados as Gawain. Gwalchmai does not seem able to do anything capable of convincing Arthur that he is loyal. No matter how high or heroic his deeds, Arthur wants to exile him.Anyone with more than a passing acquaintance with Arthurian legend knows why. That's what makes the book so effective. We know the answer to the mystery of Arthur's baffling behaviour while the entire court is at a loss.The finest moment for me is when Arthur finally realises his dread of Gwalchmai has no basis. The Hawk of May isn't waiting for the most destructive moment to bring about the end of Camelot. He has no idea whatsoever of Arthur's secret. At last Arthur himself realises what the court has long recognised: his behaviour towards Gwalchmai has been vile, inexplicable and judgmental. Yet, in the very moment that Gwalchmai's innocence dawns on Arthur, he betrays his own secret. After a long period of reading Arthurian-based fiction, I was tired of the same-old, same-old. Hawk of May revitalised my interest. I was only sorry I sought out and read the sequel so quickly afterwards. It was fantastic - far better than anything I'd read in years. But it paled in comparison with Hawk of May and I wished I'd waited longer so I could have appreciated it in its own right.
—Anne Hamilton
Not as in love with this one as with Kingdom of Summer, its sequel; it is a lot harder to write a child's point of view than an adult's, to be fair, and there were some lovely moments of interaction between Gwalchmai and Agravain. But all in all: Gwalchmai's growth is pretty hard to make sense of — I get his desire to learn from his mother, but his rejection of her is more opaque, and it is especially difficult to understand what happens to him on the Isle of the Blessed — the tension between Light and Darkness is overly simplistic, and I felt as though Bradshaw was only reluctantly writing fantasy. She's clearly much more interested in the power struggles in post-Roman Britain than in epic moral battles and magic. Which is totally fine! I just wish she hadn't tried to do both — own you historical geekery, Gillian! You are really good at it!
—Elizabeth
Gwalchmai (which means Hawk of May) is the second son of Morgawse and Lot of the Orcades. He just wanted to fit in - but he couldn't be a warrior to make his father proud, so he turned to his mother's sorcery. However, the magic his mother wields is like nothing he imagined and he remains unable to protect that which he holds most dear. Until something changes one night and he heads off to find Arthur - his uncle and High King.This is a very different take on Gwalchmai's story. I've read a lot of Arthurian literature and there hasn't been too much told in detail about his life before (that I can recall). The boy who will be called Gawain is a typical child, who wants to fit and be loved by his family. He doesn't always understand what that will take - since he's not part of a regular family - but a royal family.Overall I liked the story. The one thing that distracted from the story is the fact that it was a very uncorrected proof copy and I had to puzzle out exactly what was meant at times. This is the first of a trilogy and I think you'll find this an enjoyable read.Down the Long Wind series: Hawk of May (1), Kingdom of Summer (2), In Winter's Shadow (3)
—Star (The Bibliophilic Book Blog)
