A Book Review: Enemy of God by Bernard Cornwell (The Warlord Chronicles #2)

The history behind Arthurian legend is complex. With many incarnations, King Arthur appears in our culture. In the most popular incarnation of Arthur, the story usually portrays Arthur as a noble king. This incarnation is rooted in Welsh oral traditions about Arthur, which became the source material that inspired the medieval Christian retelling of Arthurian legends, such as Le Morte d'Arthur.

However, historians found in the traditions of some Celtic churches (such as Life of St Padarn), Arthur was depicted as a tyrant who oppressed the Christians. So what was going on? One explanation, when looking at the historical background of Dark Ages, is that Arthur (if he existed) was probably a pagan warlord, who, attracted hostility from some churches because he did not help the Christians getting rid of paganism in Dark Ages.

Inspired by the above premise, Bernard Cornwell wrote Enemy of God. This book stands as the second novel in The Warlord Chronicles, a critically acclaimed historical fiction trilogy. Enemy of God continues Arthur's story that began in The Winter King.

Synopsis:

Arthur and his warriors bled and fought bravely at the Battle of Lugg Vale. Their sacrifices secured Arthur's dream of a united Britain. Unfortunately, as the new religion of Christianity clashed against Britain's old tradition of Druidism, the balance of Arthur's united Britain was gradually reaching a tipping point.

Merlin was Britain's most powerful and renowned druid. He did not conceal his ambition of restoring Druidism back to its full power in Britain. Merlin placed further strains on the fragile peace, when he set out on a quest to retrieve the last of Britain's 13 treasures; the fabled Cauldron of Clyddno Eiddyn. Merlin's new mission made Christians nervous, for they too wished to achieve religious and cultural monopoly in Britain.

As the clashes between these two religions intensified, Arthur struggled to keep Britain together lest the quarrels open a door for the invading Saxons. Could Arthur keep the peace in a society whose unity was torn apart by religious intolerance? Or will religious intolerance undo everything Arthur and his warriors fought for?

In the eyes of religion, those who are not with them are against them. In the summer of Arthur's life, he would use all of his strengths to preserve the unity of Britain. For that, religion would remember Arthur as an Enemy of God.

My thoughts on this book:

I am not an avid reader of historical fictions but I do enjoy books in this genre. I tend to prefer historical fictions based on the pre-medieval history of Europe (for examples, Viking novels usually tickle my fancy). Historical fiction novels about political intrigues, wars, religious conflicts and strong characters interest me the most. The Warlord Chronicles tick all these boxes. I added this trilogy's opening installment, The Winter King, to my list of favorite novels of all time. Enemy of God proves itself to be a worthy sequel to The Winter King. I did not hesitate at adding Enemy of God to my list of favorite books.

  Following the events from The Winter King, Bernard Cornwell wrote beautifully and powerfully in Enemy of God. The writing is superb. Cornwell depicted every character and every scene in rich, vivid details. However, Cornwell never went overboard with details and this gripping story flowed at a fast pace. The story in Enemy of God is rather complex, but Cornwell possesses uncanny skills as a master storyteller. The narratives in this book weaved a number of complex, intricate plots into a story that is very easy to follow.

  Cornwell presents his version of Arthur's story as “the truth behind the legend”. Merlin's mission to recover the Cauldron of Clyddno Eiddyn is a parallel for the holy grail quest and it is central to the plot in this book. Meanwhile, the famous tale of Tristan and Iseult also appeared in this book and it was integral to the general thrust of the story. In Enemy of God, the romance story of Tristan and Iseult ended in such a horrible fashion that haunted me for the rest of the book. Tristan and Iseult's story played a significant role in this book, because their story brought to surface, the reality of the human conditions, in turn challenging the limit of Arthur's vision for a united Britain ruled by strict orders and laws.

  Enemy of God, like its predecessors, The Winter King, possesses intriguing aspects that propelled its quality ahead of other books in this genre. I have mentioned some of these aspects in my review for The Winter King, aspects such as strong characterizations, a gripping plot, political intrigues, religious conflicts, heart-pounding battle scenes, and a story based on carefully researched history. However, in my review for The Winter King, I did not mention yet another attractive quality for this series. That is, while The Warlord Chronicles belongs to the classification under historical fictions, but in fact this trilogy sits on the border between fantasy and historical fictions.

  In this book, Merlin and the druids appear to possess supernatural powers. In the meantime, Cornwell also provided enough information so the readers could construct naturalistic explanations for Merlin and the druid's “powers”. However, an air of ambiguity was deliberately instilled into the narratives, leaving much room for open interpretations. But the story highlights the importance, that the characters in this book really believed Merlin and the druids had real powers. Therefore, combining with this trilogy's cast of morally ambiguous characters, I believe The Warlord Chronicles may also appeal to lovers of grim dark fantasy fictions.

Enemy of God continues this trilogy's trend to depict characters vividly with strong, impressionable qualities. The story is still narrated by Derfel, and the story is written in the 1^st person view. In this book, Derfel has grown into a fascinating character. He is easily my favorite character in this book. On the other hand, Cornwell also showed the inner side of Arthur and I really empathized with Arthur. I have a deeper appreciation for Arthur's character here than in the previous novel. When I was reading this book, the story moved me profoundly because Arthur truly envisioned a better future for his people, and he fought earnestly for it. Arthur didn't care about religion, he just wanted to build Britain into a kingdom governed by orders and laws and let its people follow whatever religion they want, in peace. Arthur's dream inspired his warriors to follow his vision, and together they sacrificed everything to make that dream come true. However, Arthur's dream of peace, purchased at the heavy price of blood, was short-lived not because Arthur erred, but because people were acting like people; they allowed their fervor to overcome their rationality and then did foolish things that eventually put everything, not just Arthur's peace, but also their own lives, into dangers and unspeakable horrors.

  Enemy of God is not the closing chapter for this trilogy, but I can sense darker things to come in Excalibur, the third and final installment for this trilogy. I feel a burning eagerness to read Excalibur, but at the same time I am afraid to read it. This is because I speculate in the next book we shall probably bear witness to the tragedy where Arthur's heart finally breaks as his dream disintegrates into oblivion. Therefore, knowing the tragic darkness that lies ahead for these beloved characters, I venture into Excalibur, to the twilight of Arthur's story and the conclusion of this most gripping and exhilarating tale.

  Until the next time, happy reading.