SFF

Queen of None

by Natania Barron
Vernacular. Dec. 2020. 326p. ISBN 9781952283055. pap. $14.99. FANTASY
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At just 13, Anna, the sister of King Arthur, was given in marriage to a man three times her age, Lot, the King of Orkney. By the time she was 15 she had gifted him with her first child. Deeply unhappy in her marriage, Anna is greatly relieved when her husbanddies. She is recalled to Arthur’s court only to find that she is expected to be grateful for the meager scraps of courtesy offered her and thankful for the chance to marry another man she barely knows, the much younger (and celibate) knight, Lanceloch. During this time of great upheaval and war, the realm also deals with a new religion bent on destroying the much older Druid beliefs—Christianity.
VERDICT Barron’s (These Marvelous Beasts) novel blends human earthiness with the mystical elements we have come to expect from Arthurian legends, allowing readers to feel as though they could slip from the mundane to the fantastical at any moment. While a bit disjointed at times, this work ably captures the essence of King Arthur’s court and those who inhabited it.
Reviewed by Jane Henriksen Baird, formerly at Anchorage P.L., AK , Dec 01, 2020
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