The Bright Sword

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A triumphant reimagining of the King Arthur legend for the new millennium. Chosen as a Best Book of 2024 by the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, NPR, Time, People, Polygon, Lit Hub, Town & Country, Kirkus and Vanity Fair.

“The best fantasy of the year.” —The Wall Street Journal

“This year’s must-read novel”—Forbes

“If T.H. White’s The Once and Future King is the legend of King Arthur for the twentieth century, The Bright Sword is King Arthur for the twenty-first.”—Oprah Daily

A gifted young knight named Collum arrives at Camelot to compete for a spot on the Round Table, only to find that he’s too late. King Arthur is dead, and only a handful of the knights of the Round Table survive.

They aren’t the heroes of legend, like Lancelot or Gawain. They’re the oddballs of the Round Table, from the edges of the stories, like Sir Palomides, the Saracen Knight, and Sir Dagonet, Arthur’s fool, who was knighted as a joke. They’re joined by Nimue, who was Merlin’s apprentice until she buried him under a hill.

Together this ragtag fellowship will set out to rebuild Camelot in a world that has lost its balance, even as the fairies and old gods are returning, led by Arthur’s half-sister Morgan le Fay, and rival factions are forming around the disgraced Lancelot and the fallen Queen Guinevere. It is up to Collum and his companions to reclaim Excalibur, solve the mysteries of this ruined world and make it whole again. But first they’ll have to learn the truth of why the lonely, brilliant King Arthur fell.

The first major Arthurian epic of the new millennium, The Bright Sword is steeped in tradition, full of duels and quests, battles and tournaments, magic swords and Fisher Kings. It’s a story about imperfect men and women, full of strength and pain, who are looking for a way to reforge a broken land in spite of being broken themselves.

Praise

The best fantasy of the year.” —The Wall Street Journal

Joins 1,400 years of storytelling and resoundingly earns its place among the best of Arthurian tales.” —The New York Times

A thrilling new take on Arthurian legend. . . . Marvelous.” —The Washington Post

“This year’s must-read novel”—Forbes

“If T.H. White’s The Once and Future King is the legend of King Arthur for the twentieth century, The Bright Sword is King Arthur for the twenty-first.”—Oprah Daily

With fairies, wizards and Excalibur, it’s part history, part fantasy and all fun.” —People

“It did not disappoint … I recommend it whether you are a huge King Arthur head or not.” —NPR

“Spectacular … a King Arthur retelling we’ll be thinking about for a long, long time.”—Town and Country

For anyone who’s ever craved a seat at the Round Table. Utterly enchanting.” —Rebecca Yarros, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Fourth Wing and Iron Flame

“This book is not only one of the best of the year, but it’s one of the best Arthurian novels ever. Stand it up against The Once and Future King or The Mists of Avalon and I’d be willing to bet that it will come away the victor—it’s that good.”—Lit Hub

If you love King Arthur as much as I do, you’ll love Lev Grossman’s The Bright Sword, a fresh and engrossing take on the Matter of Britain featuring a colorful cast of Round Table knights who don’t often get as much story time as they deserve. The creator of The Magicians has woven another spell.” —George R. R. Martin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Game of Thrones

“A beautifully written, suitably weird, very human take on King Arthur that feels both modern and ancient. Reminded me of the joy and wonder I felt as a kid reading about King Arthur, when the world was bright, and full of dares…” —Joe Abercrombie, author of the First Law trilogy

Once I picked this novel up, I could not stop reading. The Bright Sword is compulsively readable and expertly told. Lev Grossman transports the reader with such assurance and finesse. Just pick it up and lose yourself inside these pages. You won’t want to leave until the tale is done.” —Victor LaValle, national bestselling author of Lone Women

A rollicking, magical ride through Arthurian legend! Grossman intimately understands the medieval source material and wields it with playful ease. A joyful new addition to the Arthurian canon—a delight.” —Alice Winn, author of In Memoriam

Breathlessly weaves themes of faith, duty, and selfhood with a classic sword-and-sorcery adventure—this is why we read fantasy.” —Ava Reid, Sunday Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning and Lady Macbeth

This is storytelling at its purest: glorious, propulsive, and dramatic … In opening the Arthurian legend to other forms of representation, Grossman recasts the narrative as a story about change.”—Locus

Satisfyingly epic but also fast-paced, this novel captures everything that’s grand and magnificent about the age of King Arthur while picking at its edges and delving into its darker depths. All fantasy and mythology fans will want to make time for this moving, entertaining epic. . . . This epic fantasy is sure to be a hit.” —Booklist (starred review)

Highly recommended for readers who can’t resist a story featuring brave knights, stalwart queens, and magic.” —Library Journal (starred review)

The story of King Arthur has been told and substantially altered many times over the centuries, and explored by a multitude of contemporary novelists, but the author of the Magicians trilogy makes room for himself here. . . . Very few writers have explored post-Arthurian Britain or focused quite so much on developing the stories of the minor characters in the saga. . . . A fresh take.” —Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

A breathtaking tale that honors past iterations while producing something entirely unexpected. . . . Grossman does a remarkable job of pulling together these disparate strands while providing enough combat and magic to keep the pages turning. Epic fantasy fans will hang on every word.”—Publishers Weekly (starred boxed review)

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