Lancelot Du Lethe

Arthurian Triptych #2

by J. Robert King

The story of Lancelot is one of striving for perfection in the company of men only to fall short due to the sins of the flesh...but in Lancelot Du Lethe the most famous of the Knights of the Round Table is only partially of the mortal realm. He and Guinevere share a mystical bond of which Arthur can not be a part for they are both of the bloodline of the fey, and are immortally destined to be betrothed. This ensuing war of loyalties and love threatens not just the uneasy peace of the mortal realm, but of the entire netherworld of the multi-pantheons of gods as well.

Drawing from Joseph Campbell, and from sources both historical and literary, this is a new take on the story of Camelot's most famous knight as told as only the author of Mad Merlin can.

Genres: Fantasy, Arthurian, Fiction, Historical Fiction

464 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Lindsey Sablowski · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book I absolutely adored. I have read many stories about Lancelot and the knights of the Round Table. Many of us probably know what the original story goes as. Though in the original legend, Lancelot is the knight who betrays King Arthur and is ultimately the reason for the ending of Camelot, I believe this novel showed another side.
The story is told from Lancelot's eyes; it starts at the very beginning when Lancelot is born. We become so involved in his dreams to be a knight --to be something more than another man living in Avalon--that we nearly forget he is the man we have always hated in other stories. Lancelot is brought to life in Lancelot du Lethe. Romance, magic, mystery... All of the elements are there. This isn't one of those books that ruins the original story we've come to know and love. This book gives us hope, gives us new feelings for Lancelot, and allows us to wonder.

Maybe Lancelot wasn't the man we thought we knew... Read this book; you'd be surprised.
I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoys the stories of Camelot and to all who enjoy a good fantasy book. This is a must read!

[Linda Malcor · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am extremely glad I have a Ph.D. in Folklore and Mythology or I would not have been able to follow a third of this book. In addition to the British fairy folk, it tosses around names from other cultures (particularly German) as if everyone has a world-class dictionary at hand.

In all fairness I did read this second book in the series without reading the first one (which I think is called Mad Merlin). The way it scrambles different traditions, though, is more annoying than enlightening. The internal setting is not at one with itself, let us say.

Characters are well drawn after you get about a third of the way into it. That's about the same time it becomes engaging. The narratorial voice is enchanting, which is well-suited to the story. I'm still looking for the humor that other reviewers laud. Perhaps I'm simply the world's best straight man.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

While looking at new books by authors I've read I had to mark this old read as worth remembering. A new take on an old story. Arthurian rewrites are a favorite of mine and I've read some very good new takes, this being one of them.

[Marybeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’ve always been drawn to the Arthurian/Camelot legend and “Lancelot Du Lethe” is a splendidly-done composite of numerous interpretations. It’s told in modern English; no “forsooths” or “gadzooks” here. This is the second in a series of three related novels.

[Christie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was really hoping this book would do something new with the story of Lancelot. I stopped reading when I realized that no new ground at all was going to be broken. This is a competent but thoroughly uninspired retelling that makes one yearn for T.H. White.

[Kansu]

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[Jaimie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another one of my long-time agopurchases re-read for potential weeding, but this time around it’s going to be kept! This retelling of the Arthur-Guinevere-Lancelot story won’t dethrone Rosalind Miles’ version as my favourite, but I really enjoyed King’s supernatural explanation of events. Instead of Guinevere and Lancelot being cast as simply people who cheated on their respective husband and sovereign, King explains their attraction to each other through the lens of the Fey. He imagines that they were both faerie-offspring of the royal houses who were betrothed to each other at birth before becoming changelings in the mortal realm and taking their places as the Power of the Land and the heir to Benwick’s crown. Guinevere has often been seen as more than a mortal woman - a priestess of the old faith most often, but she is also often given supernatural powers that are tied to Avalon and Goddess worship more than a simple priestess deserves - so King’s reading of her is actually quite close to tradition, but his interpretation of Lancelot being a faerie changeling gives credence to the youth’s training on Avalon (hence Lancelot du Lac, of the Lake) after the death of his parents. Why else would the denizens of Avalon give aid to a mortal child, even if he is a royal orphan? This also raises his status, and therefore his complicity, in the betrayal against Arthur to be equal to Guinevere’s own, which with King’s stipulation that Guinevere’s marriage to Arthur is chaste makes their standing much more equal than other author’s interpretations. I’ll have to go back and read King’s other Arthurian novels now, since apparently I missed them!

[Nikki Chi · Rating 1 out of 5]

A facepalm take on the Arthur mythos that removes ALL the interesting character dynamics. Guinevere is the perfect lady in white, her marriage with Arthur is symbolic and chaste, she and Lancelot are destined to be together, etc.

Extremely disappointing, and one would be better off with Nancy McKenzie (for the romance) or Bradley (for the magic).

[car(l) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Re-read this book recently, and it was my absolute favorite thing in high school, but now...not so much. Still a lovely story, a different twist than the usual Arthur/Gwen/Lancelot story, but it all just feels...rushed. As though it were a summary written about an entire series of books.

[Catty · Rating 1 out of 5]

This is not in the category of "goodreads", but "badreads". I stopped at page 150 and cannot bring myself to read any further. The writing style is bad, the very interesting story is told in the worst way possible.

What a waste of time!

[Athena Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

still enjoying this approach to the whole Arthurian legend that draws all the tales/fantasies together ... enjoyable -- heading for the third title now