Queen Of The Summer Stars (1991) - Plot & Excerpts
I liked this one way better than its prequel. This is a very nice book, with a good plot, good characters and, finally, nice twists on many things. This installment added to the whole story the originality it needed -not only to earn another star in my review xD-, since the main flaw of its prequel was the lack of originality in many points. Now, this book has something that makes it stand among the other retellings.THE PLOTThe plot follows roughly the first 10 years of Arthur's kingdom, and what happens during this period of time. It's FULL of events, and the author puts in it many many storylines from the tradition -many even not so common to find in retellings, blending all them together in a wonderful way, so that the book doesn't look like crowded with unlinked and irrelevant events. Also, every event has its twist which makes it fresh and interesting for the reader (even if... a couple times I would have preferred some twist more adherent to the sense of the original story, but I'll explain myself later).There is the loathy lady storyline, there is Tristan and Isolde's love, there is Guinevere's abduction by Meleagant (WHY, WHY does it always have to end up in rape? There is no rape in the original story!), the battle of Badon hill, and the forging of the round table into something more than a gathering of warriors and chiefs. Also, there is also the blooming of Lancelot and Guinevere's love, in one of the most realistic and interesting versions I've ever read.WHAT I LIKED -Tristan and Isolde's story: I adored how Isolde grows up here. She starts like a spoiled child all captured in her love for Tristan, untill she realizes how destructive this love is, and that the best thing for her is to let it be, and focusing on her duties as a queen. it's a really nice twist, considering that usually this particular story ends up very badly.-Lancelot and Guinevere's relationship: Gosh, it has never been more realistic than in here. Here you can really understand why Guinevere turns to Lancelot. Guinevere deeply love Arthur, but there are things -like tenderness, some level of intimacy, of sweetness- that she knows he can't give her, but nevertheless, she longs for them. Arthur keeps pushing her away, even if he loves her really much..and that's what turns her to Lancelot.-Guinevere's love for Mordred-Arthur's reaction towards Mordred: so realistic!-There is the loathy lady storyline, and that's good, but I'd have liked to have the sense of "the choice is yours" that is the basis of the original story.-Gawain is *.*- I like how Woolley's sympathetic to Elaine of Carbonek (it won't last long, but let's not remember the POV is Guinevere's...you can't have sympathy for Poor Sweet Elaine)-Elaine has a domestic cat. Yay for Elaine-The lily maid's storyline was brilliant. I usually don't like Elaine of Astolat's story -it's useless and steals the space that should be Elaine of Corbenic's-... but here the twist was really interesting-I still like the sense of historical accuracy (it might be not entirely historically accurate but...it gives you the feel of those years)...and even the religion gets better (she remembered celts venerated also male gods! YAY!)WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE-Morgan: I can't understand her. Really, I can't. She has no real motivations behind her actions, and this bugs me a lot. If you want to have a realistic villain, then give him/her realistic reasons. Morgan doesn't really seem to have reasons, unless you don't count unexplained lust for power (but then how do you explain her behaviour towards Guinevere? She hates her...for apparently no reasons).-Morgause: OMFG I'm tired of sexual predator!Morgause! Please, give me some other interpretation, PRETTY PLEASE!-As I said, I would have had preferred the loathy lady story to stay more true to the original sense of the story-Geraint is a good guy?! ARE WE SERIOUS?! I like him way better like this but...why do we have to erase his faults like this?(well, at least I'm spared horrible!Geraint!
This review first appeared on my blog, Laura's Reviews at http://lauragerold.blogspot.com/2011/...Queen of the Summer Stars is the second book in Persia Woolley’s Guinevere series. Guinevere and Arthur are the young recently married High King and Queen of Britain. Arthur has a dream to unite the Kingdom and Guinevere is an efficient Celtic Queen who works hard to keep the dream alive. King Ban’s son, Lancelot, joins the round table. He quickly becomes Arthur’s right hand man, but exhibits coldness towards Guinevere. Slowly, the two become friends, and realize that they have feelings for each other beyond friendship. Will Guinevere risk it all for love as her friends Isolde and Tristan did? Or will she remain a true Celtic Queen and stay with Arthur?I love, love, love the Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot love triangle. I’ve never seen it written more movingly then in Queen of the Summer Stars. Arthur is Lancelot’s best friend, a man he genuinely respects and cares for. Loving Guinevere is heart wrenching for him, but even more so for Guinevere. Guinevere loves and respects Arthur, but has come to realize that he will always care for Britain more than he will for her. They have a good relationship, but are missing the intensity of true love. Guinevere and Lancelot are kindred spirits and love each other, but can’t act on that love for their mutual love of Arthur. It is a gripping read and a truly wonderful love triangle.I also enjoy that this story is told from Guinevere’s perspective. Guinevere is no silly, fickle queen as portrayed in other versions of the legend. She is a strong queen who is very much a co-ruler with Arthur. She also gets her hands dirty, be it helping out in the kitchen, or getting different castles set up to live in or host visitors. Persia Woolley writes the Guinevere trilogy in a historical fiction setting. Her novels are very well researched and are set in the period after the Romans have occupied Britain. There is a power void in Britain and Arthur has stepped in to fill that void and bring the various people of Britain together to fight against invaders. Her writing is superb and gives one a real sense of being in Britain during the early middle ages.I love Arthurian legends by Mary Stewart and Marion Zimmer Bradley, but Persia Woolley’s Guinevere trilogy is my favorite version of the legend. I wish Starz would have made this trilogy into a series rather than their quite terrible Camelot series!Overall, Queen of the Summer Stars is a wonderful book with a great historical fiction background and a very romantic love triangle. It is quite simply, the best version of the Arthurian legend that I have read.
What do You think about Queen Of The Summer Stars (1991)?
I keep re-reading this one and The Mists of Avalon over and over again, comparing and contrasting the two differing takes on the Arthurian legend. In this one, the heroine is Guineviere, down-to-earth, plain but good-hearted and who loves Arthur with all her heart. Morgaine is Arthur's nasty, manipulative sister. In Mists of Avalon, it's basically flipped. I think I like the writing of this one better, and I've been looking for years for the two other books in the series and have never found them. They're just guilty reads, but I love 'em!!
—Tracy
I read this series several years ago when it was first published. I loved it then and I love it just as much now. I am very pleased that Sourcebooks has chosen to reprint this classic tale with the gorgeous covers that just add to my enjoyment (again) of the story. Arthurian tales are one of my favorite sub-genres. My mom started me on The Knights of the Round Table at a very young age and I have never been able to pass up one of these stories.Persia Woolley began her trilogy with Child of the Northern Spring. In that book we meet Gwen while she is remembering her childhood as she is riding to her wedding. We learn about this independent and intelligent girl ~ one who is really rather far ahead of the times. As we join Guinevere in this second installment, she is dealing with the impending death of Igraine, Arthur's mother. We are with her through loss and battles that are both personal and Britain's. The author brings to us in vivid, living color a woman who tried to balance who she was on the inside with who the King and country needed her to be on the outside.I love that these books are written from Guinevere's point of view. It is refreshing to see the female side of this epic tale. The fact that this Gwen is portrayed as anything but the simpering twit that so many of the versions make her out to be is a treat. Woolley uses a more modern speech than some might expect for a historical fiction. I found this to be helpful as it is easy to get bogged down in the correct dialogue and phrasing when reading these type of stories. The tale moves along a very nice pace due in part to this change of verbiage.I won't go too much more into the details of the plot. It's a treat to be enjoyed yourself. This series is on my all time favorite list and I think it will be on yours as well. I highly recommend it. Sourcebooks will be coming out soon with the third book: The Legend in Autumn - keep your eyes open for it.
—Jules
The Guinevere in Queen of the Summer Stars takes on the role of a bridge between the young girl, innocent version of Guinevere from the first book and the Guinevere who is involved in the downfall of Camelot. Given that role, this Guinevere is more worldly and mature than her predecessor. She is actively involved in political discussions with Arthur and his men. She comes into her own as a lover, queen and a friend, as well as deals with issues of motherhood. We really see her relationship with Arthur grow into something much more solid than their early marriage showed. We see her torn between love and duty – something that is much more strained as she identifies her relationship with Lancelot.I have to say that her relationships with Arthur and Lancelot were different than how I had imagined them prior to this book. I always believed that she belonged with Arthur and hated her for running off with Lancelot in the legends – but Woolley creates the relationship with Lancelot from the bottom up. You really get a sense of why she could be torn between these two great men and the emotions and decisions that impacted both Lancelot and Guinevere. I am very happy that Woolley took time to carve out Lancelot’s character – this allows the reader to identify with him more. The relationship between these characters felt like it developed naturally and by the end I was moved to their side. This book is certainly much more emotionally developed than the previous book in this series and very much appreciated by this reader. When the narrative isn’t focused on Guinevere’s relationships it shifts focus to the politics of the time – and there is a lot of it here. Arthur is striving to bring together many different people and bring them under one law. We get to meet many of these groups of people and understand the difficulties in doing this.The one story thread that I now really want to explore more is the story of Tristan and Isolde. Woolley brought their story to the forefront for a short period and I loved reading Guinevere’s reaction to their forbidden love. I am now looking forward to Book 3 – Guinevere: The Legend in Autumn (releasing in November 2011) more than I was for Book 2. Queen of the Summer Stars is an overall better read in my mind than Child of the Northern Spring and I hope that Book 3 continues to build on that trend.This book was received for review from the publisher - I was not compensated for my opinions and the above is my honest review.
—Heather
