Spear

A beautifully-written queer retelling of Percival, of Arthurian myth. The writing has that lofty, old-timey feel in parts, but it never drags. It's a quick read, and Peretur's steadfast sense of right and wrong and of what's good left me feeling recharged.

I've always loved mythology and may have even learnt a bit about Greek and Egyptian myths at some point in my younger days, but Arthurian myths and legends were never even on my radar until very recently and I still don't know much about them. But it's always fun to read some form of retelling of an Arthurian legend which is both gender bent and queer because that's right up my alley. And this was just something.

When I started reading, I struggled a bit with the language because it has that old world, medieval kinda feel but once I got used to it, I saw how beautiful it was. The writing is truly lyrical and free flowing, almost feeling like it's written in verse, and very metaphorical and alluring in a way I can't truly articulate. I also loved how the author retold this story, giving us very different but wonderful versions of Perceval, Lancelot and Nimue, but also some fascinating portrayal of Arthur and Gwen. Peretur is a brilliant character who is bold, brave, extremely skilled in battle, but also retaining a certain sense of innocence. I loved her development from living in the wild to proceeding on her adventure, all the while discovering the path she wants to take. But the best part of the story is the small and big connections she makes, both with people and animals, and how each little interaction shape her into the person she is. These emotional moments were what made this such a lovely book to read.

At the end, I just want to say if you stunning writing, very realistic historical setting, and characters who feel both real and mythical, you should checkout this little novella. And the author's note is unmissable - it shows the extensive painstaking research the author did to keep this story grounded while also ensuring to diversify it to appeal to modern readers. It's a truly remarkable piece of writing and now I wanna checkout the author's backlist but I'm gonna cry because I have too many already on my tbr.

I really liked the way this book was written, very poetic in a way. The art was so beautiful too. The story was fascinating, although it felt like some things were not very well explained.