Mordred, Bastard Son

The Chronicles of Mordred #1

by Douglas Clegg

Traitor. Exile. Lover of Men.

“My mother is the Witch-Queen Morgan le Fay and my father, King Arthur. Merlin foretold that if a son like me were born to Arthur, his kingdom would be destroyed. By birthright, I am heir to the throne stolen from my mother…” In this spellbinding novel of dangerous magic and burning desire, Mordred’s first forbidden passion for the greatest knight of his father’s kingdom leads him to break the most sacred law and betray his own people…sending him on a treacherous journey from which few have ever returned.

A twist on the Camelot legends from New York Times bestselling and award-winning author Douglas Clegg, the first in a projected series.

Genres: Fantasy, Arthurian, LGBT, Historical Fiction, Fiction, M M Romance, Queer

260 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2006

Reviews

[Acetylcoa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Are you a Mordred fan? Good. Do you appreciate bastards? Excellent. I recommend you not read this book.

It's well-written, definitely, but story-telling and writing are different. If you're interested in Arthurian legends and intrigued by Mordred, this book will not give you the satisfaction you looked for, no matter how long you scour the pages, how deeply you read, how much you hope that Mordred will be at Camelot by the middle of the book. You see, the whole conflict of this novel focused on Mordred's internal conflicts, and at times, it dragged. In my head, I argued, "Patience, patience, this will soon unwrap into a neat little story, and they will all go to Camelot in the end because it's necessary." However, the other voice said, "Oh crud, this deep into the story and he's still whining about wanting to satisfy his animal desires...please, Mordred, go to Camelot." But I knew it was a trilogy, and so the first won out.

One thing about writing based on Arthurian legends: the characters are reused over and over again. They can be changed, relations can be altered, but there still has to be a trademark to identify who they are--not their names. The problem with this story is it focuses too much on Mordred's inner conflict that he loses his identity. Except for little parts where he mentions his father, Mordred seems to have no relation to the Arthurian legends at all. Same with the rest of the characters. You could change all of their names and you'd see no hint of Arthur in there at all. That is the most disappointing factor for fans of the legend. I saw "Mordred" printed on the pages, but I couldn't relate him to Arthur's true bastard son.

Ah, then there's this problem with the portrayals of Merlin and the Lady of the Lake. They are very adept at swearing--very funny. But none of their derogatory spewing is in a literary sense at all. It's purely for sick humor, something to entertain the masses. But though the majority of his audience may crack their heads open laughing at the insults, the cursing only detracts from the experience. It doesn't suit the setting in any way, and at best, it makes the work into something found off a fiction archive on the internet. Merlin and Vivian's characters are also defiled. Oh, Clegg can say they're wise and spiritual, but their presentation says otherwise.

So I like the guts of this book; gayness isn't an easy topic to support so openly, though I admit, explicit scenes overpower my interest in reading. Enjoyable? Meh. Interesting? Meh. Originality? 2/5 at best, for some minor details.

The monk probably rated this higher.

[Bill · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read much of the modern Arthurian fiction as well as much of the early sources and thoroughly enjoyed this take on Mordred. I only wish Clegg had finished (will finish) the trilogy. I'd like to know where he's taking us.

The action of this 1st book takes place in the Amorican peninsula, specifically in the great and mysterious Forest of Brocéliande. In Clegg's world this ancient, mythic forest separates those practicing the Old religions from the surrounding Romano-Christian interlopers. It's hard to place the time of the action as we have pre-Roman Celts mixed with Druid remnants and Roman and Christian culture as well as neo-Pagan spiritual ideas. Still I have a feeling of 5th to 6th century life.

But this doesn't really matter. The story is interesting the characters engaging and the prose professional with numerous ideas and conflicts encountered. And, Mordred is gray and complex enough for us not to know how he will turn out in relation to the Arthurian mythos.

I really hope the author is not too removed from this work to continue the Mordred Trilogy.

[Thérèse · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm wavering between 1.5 and 2 stars.

For context, I am a firm believer that Mordred is gay. I don't know why, but he's gay to me and that's that. Despite my apprehension surrounding a Mordred/Lancelot romance (as far as gay Arthuriana goes, I'm much more of a Mordred/Galahad and Lancelot/Gawain person), I was excited to give this a shot. Finally, someone who sees my vision! Douglas Clegg held all of my hopes in the palm of his hand, and then proceed to quash them. Sort of.

I'll start this review off by stating what is obvious if you've read even a few pages of this novel-- Clegg needs an editor. Or, if he has one, he needs someone new. The prose is so purple it's painful. You can skip entire paragraphs of this book and not miss a thing, which is crazy, because this book isn't very long. Not only that, but there are grammar mistakes. And spelling mistakes. And... well, just a lot of mistakes. I honestly lost count of them by the time I finished reading, there were that many.

As for the actual meat of the story, there really wasn't any. I understand that this is meant to be a trilogy (despite book #2 never having seen the light of day), but Mordred, Bastard Son moves way too slowly, even for a first book. I will say that it picked up later, but it was only during the last 60 pages where I was truly engrossed. Despite the typos, I did enjoy reading the novel's final arc. Clegg is a horror writer and it shows; some cool things were set up, and it is disappointing that we may never see them play out.

Now, admittedly, I'm a bit of an easy sell. I can absolutely detest the idea of a couple and then be completely sold on it later if you write them well enough. So while I don't like the idea of Mordred/Lancelot, I held out hope that Clegg would change my view on it.

Unfortunately, this did not happen.

Mordred looks at Lancelot once and decides he wants to have sex with him. Fair enough- it's Lancelot. However, they sleep together once and then suddenly they're in love? It was insta-lovey and really did come out of nowhere. I was hoping for a hate-to-reluctant-love dynamic, or at least some build up. Instead, I got lust and love that is said and not shown. I will admit that there was one interaction between them that I loved, but it lasted for literally two sentences and then stopped. So that sucked.

Also, speaking of sex, what is this book's weird obsession with virginity? I'm not a huuuuge fan of magic in Arthurian tales to begin with, but making a lot of the magic (spelled 'magick' which, ew) centered around virginity is so strange and unnecessary. Ick.

When it comes to characterization, I find that it gets a bit tricky to judge based on legend. Neither Mordred or Lancelot were exactly how I'd have written them, but they weren't woefully mischaracterized, perse. That isn't the case with any of the females, though.

It must be said: Douglas Clegg cannot (or could not, as this book came out in 2006) write women. They all acted incredibly similar, save for Morgan and Morgause, who just acted.. wrong. I'm sorry, but I do not accept a universe in which Morgause dislikes her children. And why do we keep making Mordred Morgan's son?? It's strange and I don't like it.

Oh, I also didn't like Merlin's characterization. But then again, I don't like Merlin, so. Maybe Clegg did a decent job there.

What I did like was the relationship between Morgan and Morgause. It is twisted and wrong, as it should be. This was one of the only things, if not the only thing, that Clegg did right in my opinion. I'm not the biggest fan of where Morgan's character arc goes near the end of the book, but I do admit that it is a cool concept.

So, did I just spend my valuable time writing a review that mostly criticizes this book? Yes. Am I mad that the second book was never released? Also yes. The two can co-exist.

[lorenzodulac · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was basically just along for the ride.
Not what I expected (compliment) but bear in mind I’m generally partial to a Mordred book, like he’s not my favorite Arthurian character but he’s up there.
It’s basically Mordred coming to terms with being the way he is. Him fighting the urge of not breaking his vow of staying chaste, because apparently that’s important. I mean, other things happen, but that’s his internal dilemma.
Anyway, it’s a Mordred book, in what universe is it less than a 4 star? I’m so biased it’s funny. I do believe it’s… sort of worth reading to the average person! I can only fully recommend it to fanatics of the legend and/or Mordred.
Will be picking up book two when and if it comes out.

[Abi Walton · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. Suched mixed reviews on this one, but although slow to pick up I thought this novel was a good re-telling of the Arthurian Legend. Although Typos and Grammar mistakes I think these can be taken lightly as they dont distract from a tale that is unique and explores the Celtic heritage of a Legend that is so embedded in our culture.
I like that Clegg has made Mordred a character I like and want to root for and also the lover of Lancelot Hell Yea!! This was a brilliant aspect of this novel and the part that makes this book so unique for me.
Overall I am excited for Dragon Prince that is said to be released this year, and I hope this is the start to what could be an amazing series.

[Gerry Burnie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gerry B's Book Reviews - http://www.gerrycan.wordpress.com

Like millions of others around the world, I have always been—well, for seventy-five years, anyway—a fan of the Arthurian legend and the outrageously fictional Camelot. Moreover, I suppose I could say that during that time I have been brainwashed into believing that the ‘bastard son,’ Mordred, was the worm in the apple. Imagine the audacity of Douglas Clegg, therefore, to challenge that idea with his revisionist novel Mordred, Bastard Son [Aylson Books, 2007].

However, that’s the fun of writing a story about a story; there’s always the other side, and after 600 years I suppose Mordred was due for some favourable press.

Judging from the reviews, it seems that a lot of other people had the same difficulty adjusting to this radical idea as well. It is a story that you either like or not, but having said that: I liked it. In my opinion it is a tour-de-force of fantasy, and although I had difficulty grasping the story at first, once I got into it I was hooked.

The difficulty, I think, is with the myriad of gods and goddesses, plus Celtic festivals, i.e. Beltane and Samhain (pronounced “sah-vwin,” by the way) that must be introduced in the first chapter, and this is quite a mouthful to digest all at once. Also the transition between the third-person opening, and the first person flashback was a bit awkward. However, as I have already said, once I got passed this the rest of the story ultimately made up for it.

There are some quite interesting innovations, too. For example, the idea that Arthur raped his half sister, Morgan-of-the-Fay, runs amok with the Arthurian legend built upon his infallible character. Likewise, the idea that Arthur ‘stole’ the sword Excalibur from the Lady of the Lake doesn’t exactly show his good side. Nevertheless, Mordred is divided in his feelings (at least in this first book of the series) toward his father—hate, on one hand, and an odd sort of affinity on the other.

Morgan le Fay remains Morgana, darkly beautiful with sinister edges, although she is unusually cast as a victim in this story. The ‘heavy’ on the distaff side is her sister Morgause, who turns into something of a ‘Malificent’ [Walt Disney’s “Sleeping Beauty”] in the latter part of the story. In fact these two, plus Viviane (the “crone”) makes the society within which Mordred is raised a sort of matriarchracy.

On the other hand there is Merlin who, as in all of his other reincarnations, is timeless. He is also omniscient, and having apparently given up on Arthur, has taken Mordred under his wing as a student of the “magick.” This sort of thing opens the doors wide to a flight of fancy, and Clegg takes full advantage of it; a real virtuoso rendering of imagination if ever there was one. Principally however, Merlin teaches Mordred the art of “ravelling” and “unravelling” (the mentally sharing of memories, feelings, etc., with another, and, of course, retrieving memories in the same manner). Also, “vesseling,” i.e. mental telepathy–sort of the cell phone of Arthurian times.

Another departure from traditional Arthurian legend is found in Clegg’s depiction of Lancelot as a hermit, and also gay—or at least bisexual. In one version of Arthur, however, Lancelot is deceived by the Fisher King’s daughter into thinking that she is Guinevere, and the resulting liaison results in another bastard, i.e. Galahad. Hearing of this, Guinevere banishes Lancelot, and he is said to have lost his wits and wandered in the wilderness. So, perhaps the hermit characterization is not so removed from the original.

Apart from these innovations, one of the most refreshing departures from the usual GLBT story for me is that, while it is a sexy enough, there is not one really explicit sex scene throughout. It is therefore a love story between men that relies on sentiment and plot to make it happen. Bravo! Five stars.

[Pamela · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Mordred retellings, and this one is interesting enough that I'd continue reading if the series ever moves forward. Mordred's queerness, one of its major selling points to me, was built slowly and felt psychologically realistic. His attraction to other men, including a key Arthurian knight, occupies much of the story, and I'm curious to see how it will affect the later romance elements. The two aspects I enjoyed most were the magic - raveling and vesseling were fascinatingly tied to memory - and the horror elements. Horror versions of Arthurian stories are new to me, but I like Clegg's darker aesthetic and it makes sense for this antihero retelling. Clegg intertwines his horror elements with Celtic mythology to create some wonderfully creepy scenes late in the novel. The Celtic aspects were hit and miss for me: the mystical setting is lyrically described, but the proto-feminist spiritual aspects felt very New Age-y. (The book seems deeply indebted to the Mists of Avalon, though weirdly Clegg doesn't list it as one of his inspirations.) I didn't like how deeply Clegg leaned into these Celtic stereotypes: there was endless nature worship, cryptic sex rites, weird connections between virginity and magic, and so many beautiful but witchy women. Mordred grows up surrounded by "strong" women, but I found them needlessly mysterious: there are a few major turning points initiated by women, but I didn't understand their motivations - and I couldn't tell if that was because of poor characterization or deliberate withholding of information.

A lot of reviews accuse the novel of having nothing to do with the Arthurian legends. But that's because the book deals only with the beginnings and shifts focus away from more familiar characters. Making Mordred your main character and having his childhood coincide with the beginning of Arthur's reign will inevitably mess up the traditional timeline. Clegg's story focuses on Mordred's coming-of-age, which delays the more familiar stories at the court of the Camelot. He situates Mordred among the magical figures of legend, so we spend most of our time with Morgan, Morgause, Merlin, the Lady of the Lake, and very little with those at Camelot - Arthur, Guinevere, or the knights of the Round Table. But readers familiar with Arthurian traditions, especially Welsh and Irish sources, will find a lot of nods to the medieval tales and interesting twists on them (Lancelot, the Grail). Clegg has a decent grasp of his source material, enough so that I had fun spotting all the references.

We do get a few glimpses into the future timeline thanks to the frame story, which takes place after the battle of Camlann when a wounded Mordred is on the run from Arthur's remaining knights. There, Arthur and his allies seem quite cruel and vindictive, so we may be gearing up for a less idyllic portrait of Camelot. In his flight, Mordred finds refuge with an unnamed monk, who is unusually curious about Mordred. So our hero promises to recount his life story to the monk over the course of three nights, in exchange for his safety. This device sets up all sorts of questions about Mordred's reliability as a narrator and the motivations of his listener (I have a theory about the monk's identity.) This novel is the first night's tale. I hope it continues.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

Douglas Clegg, horror and fantasy writer is the author of this. He does a great job telling the story of Mordred. Yep, THE Mordred we all know and love from Arthurian legends.

In this book, he is a Druid priest and a homosexual, telling his story to a young Christian acolyte as he lies wounded and being hunted down. It's a powerful take on Mordred which I enjoyed.

It's gritty at times, loving in others. If you're homophobic, don't bother but I recommend it to anyone else.

[keri. · Rating 3 out of 5]

i enjoyed this book, and i look forward to the next two books in this series, but i cannot lie: this book read a little like slash fanfiction. that's not a bad thing -- allah knows i would read fifty retellings of arthurian legend from the point of view of a strong, smart homosexual protagonist; the fact mordred was gay lends an interesting angle to a story i've loved for a very long time. but hot damn, the prose was a little purple, and by 'a little' i mean 'a lot'.

[Leia · Rating 1 out of 5]

Do you want an Arthurian legend? Look elsewhere. This is not a story of Mordred, merely a story set in the "times" of Arthur and stealing character names to force into tortured plots that in no way fit into widely accepted Arthurian legends. The story tries so hard to impart great wisdom through mystery that it merely comes off as pretension.

In addition, the author proves time and again that he is incapable of constructing grammatically sound complex sentences.

[LD Durham · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed the new look at the main characters of this great legend. Well thought out and, told in first-person, very engaging. Had a bit more typos than I had expected, so that was a bit of a distraction, but otherwise, I'm looking forward to reading the next book.

[Philip Pirrip · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Mordred, Bastard Son' - are there any words mighty enough to describe how relevant that book is? It deals with the last breaths of paganism, love in the bud and the consequences of one's actions.

The dillemas Mordred faces in his youth are very insightful and anchored in reality. Life is not black and white, for it is ruled by subtle forces. There is a fine boundary between selflessness and selfishness; Mordred's constantly dancing in between, always doubting where to set his foot. Is it right to save someone who doesn't want to be saved? Does one have to follow their instincts and feelings instead of following the common beliefs and prejudice ruled by fear? Deontology vs. consequentialism? Sometimes questions have more value than answers, for they are answers by themselves.

This masterpiece is Douglas Clegg's achievement of a lifetime, worthy of admiration and respect (and its sequel, 'Mordred, Dragon Prince', will eventually see the light of day:). I can feel the author's heart and soul in every syllable.

Mordred may be a flawed man, like the rest of us, but he is true - unlike most of us. Thank you Mr. Clegg!

[Stephen Poltz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a twist on the story of Mordred from the Arthurian legend. The author tells you right at the beginning that he plays loose and fast with the legend and does it very well. In this telling, Mordred is gay, and the story takes you from his childhood to early adulthood. I really enjoyed this well-written story, with beautiful prose and great characterization. I was sucked into the story quickly and disheartened to find that the author never wrote the rest of his planned series. The book is a quick read, and I would have bought the other books. Normally, Clegg writes horror and suspense, having won several awards in that genre. This was his first venture into pure fantasy and it got him a nomination for the Lambda Literary Award for SF/Fantasy/Horror in 2007.

Come visit my blog for the full review…
https://itstartedwiththehugos.blogspo...

[William Hillson · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I picked the book up, I really had no idea what it would be about. I've never read Douglass Clegg but I figured I would give it a try because I love Arthur and Knights soooo, why not?
Firstly, I would like to say that the story didn't pull me in to endless page turning like other books. I could read leisurely and still feel like walking away would be just fine. That isn't to say it wasn't good; I love the book and will be reading the rest of the trilogy as it comes out. It's definitely a unique turn for the legend. There are adult themes but they are not overwhelming nor explicit. For those looking for a gentle read, I recommend this book.

[Eyan · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's not that there was anything glaringly wrong, and if I was still just a casual Arthur fan instaed of a scholar I'd probably like it a lot more but I'm not sure what to feel here. In the middle ages Mordred wasn't a bad guy, he was performing the role he was supposed to play. The like anti hero approach here was interesting, and I love the queer inclusion but I don't buy the Celtic influences. Feels too much like Clegg was a huge Bradley fan growing up and tried to emulate the feel of the Mists of Avaolon.

[Jennica Dotson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Incredibly immersive Arthurian retelling centered around Mordred, the bastard son of Morgan le Fay and Arthur pen-Dragon. I felt like I was living in this magical land with Mordred, sucked in by lush prose and deep worldbuilding.

Alas, I wish the trilogy had been completed, as I am eager to read more. My only issue with this book, keeping it at a 4-star rather than 5-star rating, was that it could have used a more thorough copy edit and proofread. There were enough small errors to distract me at times.

Still, I would have loved reading further into Mordred's tale.

[Daniella Featherstone · Rating 1 out of 5]

You know when you just know from very early on that a book was going to be brilliant. I felt like that about this one, only instead of being brilliant, it was the opposite. So it's a DNF. I knew only a few pages in it was definitely not going to be what I expected and I got the feeling it would drag if I read much more. Not to mention that my TBR pile is daunting enough as it is, so I thought I'd work through it, including this one.

[Edi · Rating 1 out of 5]

nah!
The writing is pretty junior. High level description of England in the Middle Ages. The few first chapters I read failed to describe those times.

It reminded me of the Divine Comedy (by Dante Alighieri). The idea was already explored by so many authors in a more descriptive way.

Sorry. The book did not do for me. DNF

next!

[Ken Cook · Rating 5 out of 5]

Arthurian variation

This foray into a variation of the myths of Camelot is clever and intriguing. A well-woven tale, it kept my interest as Mordred revealed the early stories of his life.

[Peggye O'Neil · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first book I have read that covered Mordred's life. Usually he shows up at the end of an Authurian saga in time to kill Authur. Covers his training by Merlin in the Art and his life on the Isle of Glass.

[Anna · Rating 2 out of 5]

The atmosphere is fantastic, but the author is way too obsessed with virginity and, and I never thought I would ever say this, his male main character being into men.
Also everyone changes their mind super fast multiple times.

[Niche]

Beautifully written with a great beginning, sadly nothing much happens after that. It felt like a completely different story with the same old Celtic tropes, not an Arthurian one.
DNF as in skim-read after 50%.

[Shane Anderson]

Really struggled, the prose was all over the shop and very very purple. The final battle just gives up and is like "I shan't recount the rest for it was a long and hard battle" which felt like aassive cop out.

[Lavenia Otts · Rating 5 out of 5]

A great tale

A great retelling of an old story but from a different perspective. The characters are all full and rich. Read this book.

[Ella · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was absolutely ridiculous. There’s no other way to describe it.

[Julia Mills · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a world building book. It does move a little slowly but it is laying very deep roots. I have no doubt it will pay off in the next book.... Which I hope to read whenever it comes out.

[AJ · Rating 2 out of 5]

Alright-- frustratingly wordy.

[Cordell Pettaway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great read

Great on a new twist. Hope the author continues. I love the take on Celtic religion. Love it all. He needs part two out.

[Sophia Munnik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slow start but fantastic book, only sad there hasn't been a second book in the series.

[Dijial · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author is really excellent.