'Safe'
There's more to life than watching Buffy the Vampire Slayer! No. Really, there is! Honestly! Here's a place for Buffistas to come and discuss what it is they're reading, their favorite authors and poets. "Geez. Crack a book sometime."
Any recommendations for spinning of the Arthurian legends?
Ginger got in first. Rosemary Sutcliff has a series of novels set in Roman Britain, starting with Eagle of the Ninth (yes, that one). The Lantern Bearers is very good, and leads right into Sword at Sunset, which is gorgeously-written, well-researched (for the time, anyway), and totally heartbreaking. It's my ur-text for Arthur, and one of the reasons why most adaptations (written or filmed) don't do it for me.
Oh! That said, Gillian Bradshaw's Arthur sequence, starting with Hawk of May, is really good. And I hear great things about Elizabeth Wein, although I haven't gotten around to her yet.
Has anyone here read Code Name: Verity yet? It's getting a lot of attention on my LJ flist.
My YA book club is reading it this month, Consuela. I've heard it's fantastic.
I loved the Bradshaw trilogy.
Of course, the oldie is Mary Stewart's Merlin books. (Which I haven't read in ages and don't know how they stand up.)
starting with Eagle of the Ninth (yes, that one).
Did you see the movie, Consuela? From what I saw about it, I thought it was better to pretend it didn't exist.
I'm trying to reread all the dolphin ring Sutcliffs, and I'm up to Sword at Sunset now. The Lantern Bearers is pretty heartbreaking too. Many of her books I would not tagged as Young Adult, although heart breaking is more the norm these days.
Are the Roman Britain books part of the Dolphin Ring books?
Are the Roman Britain books part of the Dolphin Ring books?
Yup. I think all the Roman Britain books are part of the Dolphin Ring sequence. What I hadn't realized was how late the Dolphin Ring ran--she even included The Shield Ring, which is set post-Hastings.
On reason I started the re-read is that I came across a list a kind soul had put on the web:
The Eagle of the Ninth (1954) - 129 AD
The Silver Branch (1957) - 284 AD
Frontier Wolf (1980) - 343 AD
The Lantern Bearers (1959) - 410+ AD
Sword At Sunset (1963) - 5th century
Dawn Wind (1961) - mid-late 6th century
The Shield Ring (1956) - 11th century
I'll check out Sutcliff. Again let me rec Firelord by Parke Godwin. Not only does it have a fascinating take on Farie, it has an amazing take on Merlin. It is well written, but it is also the quirkiest take on Arthur I've encountered - maybe quirkier than T.H. White. (Though, unlike White, not humor. )