Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian
Everyone knows the legend. Of Arthur, destined to be a king. Of the beautiful Guinevere, who will betray him with his most loyal knight, Lancelot. Of the bitter sorceress, Morgana, who will turn against them all. But Elaine alone carries the burden of knowing what is to come–for Elaine of Shalott is cursed to see the future.
On the mystical isle of Avalon, Elaine runs free and learns of the ancient prophecies surrounding her and her friends–countless possibilities, almost all of them tragic.
When their future comes to claim them, Elaine, Guinevere, Lancelot, and Morgana accompany Arthur to take his throne in stifling Camelot, where magic is outlawed, the rules of society chain them, and enemies are everywhere. Yet the most dangerous threats may come from within their own circle.
As visions are fulfilled and an inevitable fate closes in, Elaine must decide how far she will go to change fate–and what she is willing to sacrifice along the way.
The Lady of Shalott reclaims her story in this bold feminist reimagining of the Arthurian myth from the New York Times bestselling author of Ash Princess.
I finally picked this one up and loved it.
This is a King Arthur telling, but it’s told by Elaine, the oracle. Arthur, Gwen, Elaine, Morgana, and Lancelot have all been living in a fay land full of magic. Arthur gets word that his father died. Everyone else has been preparing to protect Arthur and get him on the throne. They go to Camelot where a step brother is getting ready to be crowned. Arthur has been gone since he was a toddler so he needs to show proof of who he is. Merlin gives him multiple quests that he needs to complete. Elaine sees multiple futures and they’re not good. She also sees herself drowning often. While the group all love each other, they also fight a lot. The group all has different ideas on how magic should be used and how things work. Avalon was such a free place and it’s difficult for most of them to go to a place that doesn’t allow magic and where woman need to be well behaved and mostly in the background. They face a lot of issues on the way.
The book goes back in time often with Elaine remembering something from the past. She also talks about her visions and what they might mean. I enjoyed seeing things from Elaine’s point of view.
This was a great retelling and I’m so happy that it made women stronger and independent. I gave this book 5 stars.
Have you read this? Is it on your TBR?
