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Title: What a treat!
Review: I really loved this one. I liked the first two - a lot - also, but this was a humdinger! This is such an original retelling of the legends, and the first that really makes sense to me even though I've always loved the Arthurian stories. Paxson has a real genius for delving into the back-story of the stories we all think we know - and coming up with plausible explanations for much of what is puzzling to modern minds, even while seeming to remain true to the ancient culture. A great exercise in fantasy. And there are moments of real beauty here too. I could have wished the book were longer - but it's the economy that gives her retelling such impact; she just goes to the heart of each important scene, and then moves on, so the reader is left with a series of really vivid images; and this method is so appropriate to the nature of the Arthurian legend, whose truth comes to us in glimpses, through the distortions of history. This is a wonderful writer.
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