A Book Review: Excalibur by Bernard Cornwell (The Warlord Chronicles #3)

Excalibur (or in Welsh, Caledfwlch), is a legendary sword once belonged to King Arthur. In Arthurian legend, Excalibur possessed supernatural qualities, and the sword was analogous with the sovereignty of Britain.

It is difficulty to verify the historicity of Excalibur/Caledfwlch. The sword's existence, much like the historicity of its wielder, King Arthur, is shrouded in the mist of legend. I suppose, if the historical Arthur existed and he possessed a sword called Excalibur/Caledfwlch, then it was probably a very sharp and well-crafted sword, but Excalibur most likely didn't have supernatural powers. Nevertheless, Excalibur played a vital role in Arthur's story. Therefore, Excalibur should always accompany a retelling of Arthur's story. Arthur and Excalibur are inseparable. This is perhaps why, Bernard Cornwell closed his retelling of Arthur's story, The Warlord Chronicles trilogy, with a book called Excalibur. As the book's name suggests, this story revolves around Excalibur and with it, Bernard Cornwell brought my favorite trilogy to a majestic closure.

Synopsis:

Arthur, the king that never was but a king that should have been, overcame treachery and insurmountable odds and quenched Lancelot's rebellion. Britain, was united at last!

However, Arthur paid a heavy price for his victory. Guinevere betrayed Arthur and broke his heart. Furthermore, Arthur's army became weak after his war against Lancelot. The Saxons spotted Arthur's moment of weakness, they seized the opportunity and came to invade Britain once more with a large army outnumbering Arthur's forces three to one.

Meanwhile, Merlin and Nihume emerged from their retreat with the 12 treasures of Britain. The druids were ever as intolerant of Christianity as the Christians were intolerant of Druidism. In Merlin's mind, the new religion of Christianity was an invading force not different from the Saxons. He believed the only way to rid Britain of the Saxons, as well as Christianity, was by summoning the Gods back to Britain with the 13 treasures. In order to perform this summoning rite, Merlin needed the last piece of treasure and it was Excalibur, Arthur's sword.

Merlin claimed Excalibur from Arthur's hand at the moment when Arthur needed the sword the most. However, Arthur soon discovered Excalibur was not all that's needed to bring the Gods back to Britain. Merlin's summoning rite promised great powers upon the Gods' return, but it also required a horrible sacrifice, a sacrifice Arthur would never pay. In the meantime, the Saxons approached Britain, and storms brew over the edge of Mount Baddon. Arthur must prepare and fight for Britain's survival.

Here lies the final journey of Arthur, who, after united Britain and warding off the Saxon invasion, would be remembered as Enemy of God as well as the enemy of the pagan Gods, but after his departure missed by the people like no other man has ever been missed in Britain.

My thoughts about this book:

What a book! Excalibur gave The Warlord Chronicles trilogy a most fitting conclusion. This is a moving tale with flawless narratives and powerful characterizations. I will miss the characters from this book and I want to re-read this trilogy (possibly many times) in the future.

Cornwell proves he is a formidable storyteller and writer in Excalibur. The story in this book bursts with complexity, yet Cornwell told his tale in a way that can be tracked easily while the story unfolded at a good pace. An atmosphere of suspense clouded over the book, readers will surely be surprised by the plot's endless twists and turns. The story grew progressively darker in its telling, but it was never void of some hint of hope like sunshine waiting to penetrate the brooding thunderstorm. The ending of the book, I will not spoil here, but I will describe it as bitter sweet, touched by a hopeful ambiguity. An ambiguity that could explain the legendary story about the return of The Once and Future King.

Like the two books that preceded it, Cornwell wrote Excalibur using 1^st person narratives. Derfel once again narrates the story and acting as the POV character in this book. In Excalibur, Derfel has grown into a very interesting character with admirable qualities, and readers will surely like Derfel and his families. Meanwhile, the story focuses on Arthur and the last chapter of his life. In this book, an aging Arthur has passed his prime but his character has also grown wiser. Arthur became a more cautious man than his earlier years, but he never became a cynical man despite having faced a life time of treacheries from those who his trusted in the past. I admire Arthur's unwavering belief that mankind has an innate goodness, and I was really moved by how Arthur's belief spurred his warriors on, and together they continued fighting for the dream of a united, peaceful Britain even when the darkest hour descended upon them.

After a satisfying sigh, I turned over the last page of Excalibur. I closed the book and returned it to my bookshelf. I became lost in thoughts as I recalled, how The Warlord Chronicles trilogy swept me into its world with a grand tale about Arthur, who is one of the most famous character in our culture. There are many retelling of Arthur's story, and I think Bernard Cornwell's version is among the finest of Arthur's stories. This trilogy marked itself as historical fictions, it strips away the supernatural elements from the traditional Arthurian legend. Yet, this tale does not lackluster for the absence of fantastic elements. Instead, it shines brilliantly with a majestic story about loyalty, love, both new and recovered, conflicts, and betrayals, the things that we are familiar with, and this is when Arthur's story sent echoes down the river of history to meet us. I highly recommend The Warlord Chronicles trilogy to lovers of historical fictions, fantasy fictions, or enthusiasts of Arthurian romances. Furthermore, I would also recommend this trilogy to fans of movies such as Braveheart or Spartacus.

P.S. Carl Orff's rendition for O Fortuna was playing in the back of my head as I read the last 10 pages of this book. I thought the song captured the mood and the essence of this book beautifully.