I finished "The Book of Mordred" by Vivian Valde and now I have all these conflicting feelings. If I should give it a vote I would give it 4/5 or 3.8/5 just for the ending because even if I liked most of it I didn't like the very ending.And now, spoilers.(view spoiler)[I started this book knowing it had two OC and that many people didn't like the last part with the last point of view. I'll start with what I loved which is a lot, actually. I liked the fact that even if the book should be about Mordred we never actually know him and we are like the three main characters, just watching him from outside. I loved how the different point of views saw Mordred, the different ways they reacted to him and how we got to get closer to him the more the story went on. There were many things I liked about this book.First of all I liked Mordred. It is now definitely one of my favourite description of him and now I have this perfect triade of "Winter prince", "Book of Mordred" and "Idylls of the Queen" with my perfect Mordred. I also liked all the other characters, from the evil Bayard (who was the perfect evil to hate) to Morgana and the Orkney brothers. I liked the relationship between the knights and Arthur and Mordred, I adored Nimue (and the way her magic was explained) and also the two OC: Kiera and Alayna. This book also wins for one of my favourite Camlann resolutions, originals way to explain Avalon and Morgana's ambiguity and Guinevere's at the stake scene. I would have an infinite list of things I love, I'll just add that the plot was interesting and original and it really made me want to read as much as possible to see how it would end.Now, about the rest. I felt like the two first parts ended too quickly. We see Alayna meeting Mordred for the first time but I didn't feel or saw (maybe it was my fault?) much affection between them. The same for Nimue. We see her meeting Mordred, working for him and starting to feel curiosity for him and respect him. We see how a great friendship could born between them but again we don't see it happening.So when I arrived at the last part, narrated by Kiera, I was confused. I wasn't sure of the relationships between Mordred and Alayna and Mordred and Nimue, also because we only had Kiera's opinions about them. When Nimue died (definitely too quickly and quite plot-wise, because it would have been complicated, in my opinion, to explain Mordred's downfall with her on his side) I didn't feel much drama. I was sorry because Nimue was a great character but I felt quite detached by the moment. Even if I could rationally understand how Mordred would be sad about it I didn't 'feel' it because the story didn't let me previously know of Mordred&Nimue and of their friendship. The rest of the third part proceeded quite lovely, tho. It was actually my favourite part because we got to meet all the characters in Camelot and see the ending coming closer and closer. The feeling was also different because Kiera didn't have a quest (while Nimue had to rescue those young men and Alayna had to rescue Kiera) so it was something more similar to a coming of age or a discovery of onself, but I didn't mind. The last part was my favourite, yes. But I didn't like the ending. After the heartbreaking moment of Arthur and Mordred, after Mordred's near death and Vivian coming to take him to Avalon (to Nimue, who was his best friend at best and his unrequired love in Kiera's opinion; to Kiera, because she choses to go there, to Arthur, literally his father who is literally waiting for him)- Mordred decides to stay with Alayna.What? It was absurd for me. Again, as it happened with Nimue's death, the book never gave me the chance to see any kind of love between Mordred and Alayna. During Alayna's point of view we see gratitude and trust, during Kiera's point of view we see Mordred's love for Nimue (but only after her death). I could feel no trace of any kind of very strong feeling from Mordred towards Alayna. I couldn't even see a particularly strong friendship and not even from Alayna's point of view. So I can't understand why Mordred would like to stay with Alayna if not for fear of facing Nimue (because he loves her or because of what he has done) and his father and this leaves me with a bitter taste because it feels like Mordred is using Alayna for his own escape.Well. It was a very good book anyway! (hide spoiler)]
I'm usually a big fan of Velde's writing, and I'm always a huge fan of telling the story from the loser's perspective. Velde telling the story of Mordred? How could it be any less than awesome?Unfortunately, Velde's trademark dialogue, writing style, and (maybe most importantly) brevity are completely lacking from The Book of Mordred. It's not even about Mordred. As one reviewer wrote, it might as well have been called The Book of Halbert for how much time Halbert got in the spotlight. The book is separated into three parts, each narrated by a different woman that waltzed into Mordred's life; it could also be called The Book of Three Women Who Interacted With Mordred Sometimes. Come onnnnnn, I wanted MORDRED. The stuff about being an incest-begotten bastard and turning against his kinsmen and fellow knights, the stuff about being part of the Orkney brothers but also not and how all his relationships fell apart.Not are-they-or-aren't-they with Alayna and Nimue and more about Kiera's and Nimue's magic than I ever cared to hear.The writing feels sloppy, too, very much like a first draft. I'm used to Velde being concise and almost minimalistic, with punchy dialogue that, if not realistic, reads really well. Not this... rambling, wordy, clumsy affair. Did she write this for NaNo and just send it in as it was?I was hoping Velde would be a break from all the halfhearted muckups of Arthurian legend fiction, but, sadly, that wasn't the case. I really have to read T.H. White - he's the only one I have any hope for anymore.
What do You think about The Book Of Mordred (2007)?
Hooray another book about Mordred... or so you'd think. Let's get right to it, shall we?The main monster in this book is the lack of character development on Mordred's part. You'd think the gals would get into some intimate relationship with him, but then, there's nothing. You've fallen into a pit trap. His descriptions are mainly based on what the girls say about him. His actions are basically those of the average, introverted man. He's just a girl's fantasy. Actually, three girls' fantasy.All three books in the...book have similar plots. Except near the end, where he degrades into a weak sausage, he's pretty much a golden, gallant, socially inept man, fighting Halbert--man, what a funny guy that wizard is. Believe me, you'll start with Mordred in mind and then leave thinking about Halbert. He will be everywhere. In the future you will pick up a book with "Mordred" scrawled on the cover and then as you open it, you'll see "Halbert".Aside from Halbert, I find it fairly disturbing that Alayna, one of the lower class, received such a warm welcome at Camelot, which consists mainly of the upper class. England was very classist. If Arthur welcomed peasants as much as he did in the story, they'd all be swarming around his castle, breaking pots and tearing apart contracts and eating all his fish sticks and custard. But no, Alayna got special treatment... major flaw.This is a very dramatic story--I could picture the drama version in my head, along with a theme song and ending credits. It's good for hormonal teenagers. Well, that is the intended audience. It's an easy read that can be finished in less than three hours. Maybe that's why some of the descriptions seem skimpy. I would've liked it more if the characters were more fleshed out.Anyway, does the cover remind anyone of the Lord of the Rings? That is Aragorn in the cover, end of story.
—Acetylcoa
Interesting read. I fully expected a book about the life of Mordred. After all, it is called "The book of Mordred". But instead I got a book with 3 stories that had Mordred as a sub-character. Each book was about a woman that either falls for Mordred or has deep connection with him. But they are not really about Mordred. I was disappointed by this and although the book is actually pretty good, when your initial view gets turned around right at the star, it makes for a disappointing book in the long run.
—Brian
CAN I JUST SAY HOW MUCH I EFFIN' LOVE THIS BOOK?Mordred has to be, by far, my favourite character from Camelot. He's characterised as the baddie, the knight who's really more of a joke to everyone else. And eesh, he's amazing. xD I'm not quite sure why, however. Maybe it's the fact that he's destined to overthrow Arthur's perfect kingdom. Maybe it's the interesting fact that he's a result of incest between Arthur and Morgaine -- And yes, I believe it is Morgaine, not Morgause, as people seem to
—Starry
