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    The Winter King
    The Winter King
    The Winter King
    Audiobook19 hours

    The Winter King

    Written by Bernard Cornwell

    Narrated by Jonathan Keeble

    4.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    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.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperAudio
    Release dateDec 2, 2014
    ISBN9780062393876
    The Winter King
    Author

    Bernard Cornwell

    BERNARD CORNWELL is the author of over fifty novels, including the acclaimed New York Times bestselling Saxon Tales, which serve as the basis for the hit Netflix series The Last Kingdom. He lives with his wife on Cape Cod and in Charleston, South Carolina.

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    Reviews for The Winter King

    4.5/5

    109 ratings27 reviews

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    • 5/5
      Bernard Cornwall is go 4th/5th century Britton Historical Fiction. The update the Arthur lore to what's more historical accurate by Welsh legends of that time. 1 down 2 to go. Wish he give it the Saxon Chronicles volume of stories.
    • 4/5
      This is some great escapist writing for me. Bernard Cornwell knows how to deliver the goods when it comes to high adventure. Probably not as historically based as the Sharpe series since there are so few sources on King Arthur but at least this story is a little more down to earth then say Marion Zimmer Bradley. Not so much high magic as more believable battle scenes. He does a good job of creating an intriguing cast of political characters and religious tension between the pagan/druids and the christian missionaries. I also love that Lancelot is complete coward and opportunist. I like to look up the names he uses to see any actual historical links. he has done a great job with the Welsh words so far as I can tell. I'm looking forward to reading the Enemy of God, the second of the series.
    • 5/5
      If you are a fan of uhtred of bebbenburg you will love this retelling of arthur and excalibur!
      it is pretty hard to go wrong with anything b cornwell writes.
    • 5/5
      The finest Arthurian novel I have read, I think. Cornwell weaves a compelling tale that is not necessarily true to the legend, but explains the legend in a manner that is truthful and intriguing. This first volume thrusts us into a world that seems strange to us, but Cornwell’s writing makes us feel quickly at home. It is easy to get lost in this place, and after three volumes you can do nothing but wish there had been more.
    • 3/5
      I enjoyed this book. Well-written, interesting characters, but I was a little disappointed in the handling of magic and King Arthur's character. It's logical, but not much fun. Merlin is cool, though. And my copy of this book had atrocious typesetting.
    • 4/5
      Okay, so I'm a sucker for the Arthurian legend... But as someone who primarily reads "literary" works, I must say a well-told story is something worth cherishing. Cornwell is a master story-teller.
    • 5/5
      Cornwell's opening act into his original interpretation of Arthur is a smash hit. I've read several reviews complaining of the slow plot development, yet this is necessary in order to introduce and build an incredible number of characters, sideplots, and scenery in Dark Age Britain. The attention to detail by Cornwell makes this work one of the best in modern historical fiction.
    • 3/5
      This book came as a recommendation when I was looking to expand beyond my usual reading genre. It is certainly well written. It just didn't hold my attention. Too much battle and politics, not enough love and life. A man's book.
    • 4/5
      I read this when it first came out many, many years ago. I bought it to re-read because it was cheap-ish on Kindle and I was actually pretty impressed: it's stood up well and I went on to buy the second and third parts of the trilogy (which I also read when they were first out) at full price.The thing I like most about it is that it sounds as though it could be true. I am not much of a history buff and I know very little about the 6th century, but I do know that discoveries made since this was written suggest this is unlikely to be an accurate portrayal of Britain at that time (such as the Roman harbour at Newport in Wales). It has all the writerly tricks which put me off other Bernard Cornwell books - the short dramatic sentences at the end of paragraphs, repetitive descriptions ("like a man reaping hay") - but I really like the way it treads the line between "realistic" and "mythic". It's a good story, it's readable, and I like these books very much.
    • 5/5
      Brilliant dark Arthurian story
    • 5/5
      Cornwell superbly captures the real Arthur in this work. He does a heck of a job carrying you to the battlefields and paints a chilling picture of Dark Age combat. Believable human characters act on a richly described stage.
    • 5/5
      I remember the story as a whole...not which events happened in each book. After saying that just let me say that these three books are my absolute favorite story. Arthur is shown in a way that could have been real. Its not the same old Camelot and the Knights of the Round Table. The only problem I have with Cornwell's writings is that the main character is always pretty much the same. That’s the case in the books that I have read by him anyway. Thomas, Saban, and especially Uhtred are very much like Derfel.
    • 4/5
      Another good solid story from Cornwell although not his best work. There were some parts, in this first chronicle, where the writing seemed stilted and repetitive. I will absolutely read the next chronicle because although this may be his weakest book I've read, Mr. Corwell's overall writing has proven to be stupendous. I expect things to pick up in the next book.
    • 1/5
      I got a hundred pages into this and then wondered why I was bothering as I was bored.Sharpe is MUCH better.
    • 5/5
      I have read many books about King Arthur. I really liked Bernard Cornwell as an author because of the detail and the imagination. It gave the reader a more realistic idea of what it might have been like to live in the Arthurian era. At the end he establishes how little is historically know about King Arthur and gives a brief history of who King Arthur might be based on in the historical past. I found this book to be fascinating and look forward to reading more by this author.
    • 5/5
      In the interesting note at the end of this book we are told that facts about the life of Arthur are sparse to say the least. One thing is certain however,and that is that if he did exist at all then he is of the 'Dark Ages' and not from the Medieval period as usually depicted.In this the first of the 'Warlord Chronicles' trilogy, Arthur emerges as a powerful leader who committed the fatal error of falling in love with the wrong woman and by so doing,plunging his beloved country into terrible war.A splendid series whichI understand Bernard Cornwell gives as his favourite.
    • 4/5
      It's the first in a trilogy of what the Arthur story would've been had it actually been true. It's completely believable - Bernard Cornwell has a true gift for writing historical fiction. From the narrator's unique perspective, to the lush descriptions of the landscapes and the people, to the fantastically gruesome battle scenes - it's all done in such a way that you feel a sort of voyeuristic pleasure at watching these people's destinies unfold. It wasn't easy reading, to be sure, but it was certainly entertaining.
    • 5/5
      First book in The Warlord Chronicles (Arthurian) trilogy.Cornwell is a first-rate writer of historical action-adventure stories. He’s also extremely creative in the ways he uses his historical material. I always enjoy reading the historical notes at the end of his books, because they give fascinating details about the site, usually, of the action and, of course, when he deviates from historical accuracy.But in this series, about the legendary Arthur, Cornwell outdoes himself. Sticking as he usually does to historical facts, Cornwell is left with very few verifiable “facts, indeed--including whether or not Arthur really existed. Not to worry--he uses what can be surmised and for which there is evidence--and completely tosses the usual Arthurian story, based on Sir Thomas Malory’s Le Morte d’Arthur, out the window. Instead he creates a story based on the historical time period in which Arthur probably lived--the 5th century C.E. No knights in shining armor--there were no such things as knights the, and men fought--usually in a shield wall--in leather armor. No Round Table, no glamor--just the realities of what would be called the Dark Ages. Christianity was by no means settled in Britain, and it had very little resemblance to what we know as Christianity today. Arthur was a warlord, who united the petty kingdoms (or tried to) against the Saxon invasion. No quest for the Holy Grail--just the desperation of beating back one of the many invasions that shaped the current people known as the English.Many of the old familiar names are present--Guinivere, Lancelot, Bors, Geraint, Excalibur, Merlin, Nimue, Pellinore, Morgan and many more. But they are hardly recognizable in the brand-new, yet far more authentic tale that Cornwell weaves.I happen to love the usual Arthurian tales; I think they are some of the best fantasy ever written. But at least in this first book, I really like what Cornwell has done with this material. It’s a whacking good story, fast-paced and well written--typical Cornwell strengths.There’s one minor almost-caveat, however. The story is told by Dervel Cadarn, a spearman in Arthur’s army. He works very well as a narrator, and lends a very personal touch to the story. Cornwell is a prolific writer, and has written other series. I am currently reading The Last Kindom, the first book in his trilogy, The Saxon Tales, which is set about four centuries later than The Warlord Chronicles. Britain is again facing an invasion, this time of Danes. Again, one king, Alfred the Great, will try to unite the British against the invaders. Again the story is narrated by a fighting man, Uhtred. It’s easy to see how such a story structure and especially the device of such a narrator works well. But if you read both series, they will have a familiarity, because character development is not one of Cornwell’s strong suits nor does it necessarily have to be, given the genre.But taken by itself, The Winter King is a remarkably good story told very, very well. highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      This has to be THE best book ever written. There is a line, about 100 pages in that reads "for at last Srthur had come" and iot never fails to bring racking sobs to my throat. How weird they must think I am ont he underground.
    • 4/5
      imaginative retelling of what the 'truth' behind the Arthur legend might have been - with Arthur a general, battling to reunite warring Celtic tribes so that they can better resist the Saxon invader.
    • 1/5
      I did not like this book one bit.

      I think you either enjoy Arthurian novels or you don't and I'm of the latter persuasion. I don't like them at all and will not be starting any more. I just can't wrap my tongue around the Welsh spelling. Then there is the issue of trying to figure out if they are talking about a place name, person or some religious object. It was all too confusing to enjoy.
    • 4/5
      The author has spun a picaresque tale loosely based on the Arthur cum Camelot legend but cleverly set in a historical context. That context is Britain in the Dark Ages of the late fifth century. Against this setting Cornwell explores familiar themes of duty vs. self-interest, greed vs. charity, courage vs. cowardice, and good vs. evil, to mention a few. Imposed on this ethos he explores a greater struggle between Britain's ancient paganism and an upstart Christianity, struggling to establish itself as the dominant spiritual force. An entertaining and thoughtful read.
    • 5/5
      No one does historical fiction better than Bernard Cornwell! Loved this book!
    • 5/5
      Fantastic spin on the Arthurian Legend.
    • 3/5

      It's an enjoyable read with believable characters and is not a bad take on the history of Arthur. There's very little that grabs the imagination, and I suspect this book will be quickly forgotten.
    • 4/5
      I love this trilogy. It could be badly done: writing about Arthur from the point of view of someone completely invented? But it works, and you come to care about Derfel.
    • 5/5
      This was the first Arthurian novel I ever read. I really enjoyed it. I felt it was well written and there were interesting characters. I also thought the battle scenes were described well and I was able to easily understand what was going on. There was also some language, so if you take offense to that then this is not your book. On the whole I really like this book and I am excited to continue on with the series.