The Bright Sword

Reviews

Praise for The Bright Sword

A BEST SUMMER READ: The New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Time, Vulture, Esquire, Boston Globe, Elle, Town & Country, Seattle Times, New York Post, Lit Hub, Cosmopolitan, Minneapolis Star Tribune, Paste, BiblioLifestyle, E! Online, AARP, BookBub, BookRiot

“Lev Grossman’s new novel, The Bright Sword, joins 1,400 years of storytelling and resoundingly earns its place among the best of Arthurian tales. . . . Grossman, who is best known for his The Magicians series, is at the top of his game with The Bright Sword, which is full of enviable ideas and execution. Few authors could accomplish what he has, grounding such an ambitious novel in so much tradition and history while still making it accessible and deeply affecting.”
—Kiersten White, The New York Times Book Review

“If T.H. White’s The Once and Future King is the legend of King Arthur for the twentieth century, The Bright Sword is King Arthur for the twenty-first.”
—Oprah Daily

“A thrilling new take on Arthurian legend. . . . Marvelous. . . . As Grossman’s splendid, offbeat quest reaches its conclusion, we see Arthur’s waves of Saxon invaders and their many predecessors refracted in a different light, one that helps illuminate our own tumultuous, battle-torn age in the way that only the best epics can.”
—Elizabeth Hand, The Washington Post

“Just as he did in the Magicians trilogy, Grossman creates a fully absorbing and believable world populated by intriguing spins on well-established fantasy archetypes. The novel feels both classic and contemporary, and progressive in a refreshingly low-key way. A TV adaptation is already in the works; maybe it’ll be the Game of Thrones follow-up we deserve.”
—Vanity Fair

“The Knights of the Round Table are ragtag oddballs in this fresh retelling of the King Arthur tale. With fairies, wizards and Excalibur, it’s part history, part fantasy and all fun.”
—People magazine

“Epic . . . Wonderful . . . An adventure and a picaresque . . . The Bright Sword tells a tale as old as (post-Roman) Britain that continues to delight.”
—The Wall Street Journal

“I was very excited to get my hands on this book — and it did not disappoint. . . . I recommend it whether you are a huge King Arthur head or not.”
—Wailin Wong, NPR’s “Pop Culture Happy Hour”

“Grossman’s lyrical prose has never been better. . . . I devoured this book and then thought it about it for a very long time. . . . One of my very favorite novels of the year.”
—Forbes

“Grossman’s doorstopper absolutely zips by with magic, monsters, swordplay, and a stirringly inclusive reimagining of the Round Table. All the names you’re hoping make an appearance do—but it isn’t fan service. Rather, Grossman is using the joys of these elements to interrogate (as one character ponders) ‘why, when we are made for a bright world, we must live in a dark one.’ At the time of this writing, I confess that this question is more pressing than I would’ve imagined when I read Grossman’s book this spring. If you are pondering it too, perhaps venturing into this epic of knights, monsters, legends, and self-discovery will help keep your candle burning against the dark times to come.”
—Lit Hub’s Best Fantasy of 2024

“In Lev Grossman’s Arthurian novel The Bright Sword, Camelot feels like a match for our own post-Trumpian moment. It’s a Camelot after the death of King Arthur. All the higher powers and supernatural figures who used to take an interest in Camelot’s fate have turned their backs. All the quests are over. The only people left alive are the ones who never quite fit into the stories to begin with, the ones who were too poor or too queer or too feminine or too Black to become legends. How, Grossman’s characters seem to ask, are we supposed to figure out what to do next in this kind of story? The answers, when they come, are radiant, and they feel surprisingly true.”
—Vox

“Gripping and thrilling.”
—Tasha Robinson, Polygon

“A refreshingly diverse cast for an Arthurian saga.”
—Scientific American

“For anyone who’s ever craved a seat at the Round Table. Utterly enchanting.”
—Rebecca Yarros, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Fourth Wing and Iron Flame

“If you love King Arthur as much as I do, you’ll love Lev Grossman’s The Bright Sword, a fresh and engrossing take on the Matter of Britain featuring a colorful cast of Round Table knights who don’t often get as much story time as they deserve. The creator of The Magicians has woven another spell.”
—George R. R. Martin, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Game of Thrones

“A radiant reimagining of Arthurian legend. . . . The Bright Sword made me love fantasy again. . . . A must-read.”
—Emily Price, Paste

“If you’re looking for a humorous yet simultaneously heartfelt, funny story from the world of Camelot, The Bright Sword may be the pick for you.”
—Kendra Winchester, BookRiot

“A novel that is as much about the Matter of Britain as it is our own florid and layered imaginings of it. Breathlessly weaves themes of faith, duty, and selfhood with a classic sword-and-sorcery adventure—this is why we read fantasy.”
—Ava Reid, #1 New York Times bestselling author of A Study in Drowning

“A beautifully written, suitably weird, very human take on King Arthur that feels both modern and ancient. Reminded me of the joy and wonder I felt as a kid reading about King Arthur, when the world was bright, and full of dares...”
—Joe Abercrombie, via X/Twitter

“Here’s the big one, the tentpole, the book I’ve been waiting for nearly a decade: Lev Grossman’s Arthurian epic, clocking in at nearly 700 pages and absolutely worth lugging to the beach/the mountains/the park/wherever else you might be vacationing. I’m happy to report that this book is not only one of the best of the year, but it’s one of the best Arthurian novels ever. Stand it up against The Once and Future King or The Mists of Avalon and I’d be willing to bet that it will come away the victor—it’s that good.”
—Drew Broussard, Lit Hub’s “18 New Novels You Need to Read This Summer”

“[An] epic tale of survivors and magic.”
—The Boston Globe

“Like the best of Grossman’s work, [The Bright Sword] is funny and sweeping . . . the medieval-romance structure allows Bright Sword even more space to capitalize on Grossman’s talent for digression, dawdling, and finding unexpected trapdoors inside stories.”
—Kathryn VanArendonk, Vulture's “22 Books We Can’t Wait to Read this Summer”

“The Magicians author Lev Grossman took on what seemed the impossible: making the Arthurian legend feel fresh. Miraculously, he’s done just that with The Bright Sword, which answers what came after King Arthur’s fall. . . . Fans of classic fantasy and ancient magic will devour this one.”
—Elle’s “Best New Books to Read in Summer 2024”

“A magical, enthralling tale that you won't be able to put down.”
—Town & Country’s “39 Must-Read Books of Summer 2024”

“The fantasy epic of the summer features an unexpectedly brilliant twist on one of the most famous stories of all time. The Bright Sword is a rousing, imaginative continuation of the King Arthur myth. . . . Magic and murder abound in this rollicking adventure, a thrilling addition to Arthurian lore.”
—Minneapolis Star Tribune

“This is storytelling at its purest: glorious, propulsive, and dramatic. Drawing on every aspect of the Arthurian mythos (and more besides), Grossman presents us with fairies, gi­ants, gods, angels, spellcasters, and elemental forces. The magical battles and the sword fights are all imbued with a cinematic quality while still maintaining a sense of the real, of metal parting flesh, of death and bone-crunching violence. . . . In opening the Arthurian legend to other forms of representation, Grossman recasts the narrative as a story about change.”
—Ian Mond, Locus

“Call it the millennial experience transposed onto Camelot; arriving in the big city full of hopes and dreams to find the economy is in freefall, all your heroes are dead or awful, and no one is coming to save you. Even with only one previous trilogy of adult fantasy under his belt, the premise is indelibly Lev Grossman.”
—Joshua Rivera, Polygon

“Once I picked this novel up, I could not stop reading. The Bright Sword is compulsively readable and expertly told. Lev Grossman transports the reader with such assurance and finesse. Just pick it up and lose yourself inside these pages. You won't want to leave until the tale is done.”
—Victor LaValle, national bestselling author of Lone Women

“A rollicking, magical ride through Arthurian legend! Grossman intimately understands the medieval source material and wields it with playful ease. A joyful new addition to the Arthurian canon—a delight.”
—Alice Winn, author of In Memoriam

“A doorstopper of an Arthurian retelling from the author of The Magicians trilogy, The Bright Sword offers a fresh take on the story by considering what comes after King Arthur.”
—Paste

“Satisfyingly epic but also fast-paced, this novel captures everything that’s grand and magnificent about the age of King Arthur while picking at its edges and delving into its darker depths. All fantasy and mythology fans will want to make time for this moving, entertaining epic. . . . This epic fantasy is sure to be a hit.”
—Booklist (STARRED review)

“A breathtaking tale that honors past iterations while producing something entirely unexpected. . . . Grossman does a remarkable job of pulling together these disparate strands while providing enough combat and magic to keep the pages turning. Epic fantasy fans will hang on every word.”
—Publishers Weekly (STARRED review)

“Highly recommended for readers who can’t resist a story featuring brave knights, stalwart queens, and magic.”
—Library Journal (STARRED review)

“The story of King Arthur has been told and substantially altered many times over the centuries, and explored by a multitude of contemporary novelists, but the author of the Magicians trilogy makes room for himself here. . . . Very few writers have explored post-Arthurian Britain or focused quite so much on developing the stories of the minor characters in the saga. . . . A fresh take.”
—Kirkus Reviews (STARRED review)

“Readers willing to savor the book over many nights will find each chapter a neatly arranged, minia­ture adventure of its own. Traditionally minimal side characters in the story of Arthur—like Sir Bedivere, Sir Palomides and even Dagonet the Fool—receive intricate, deep backstories that erase the mythological buildup around each figure, viewing them instead in a far more human and often more modern light. At once full of desperate hope and grievous loss, The Bright Sword is a moody reflection on Arthur’s tale.”
—Ralph Harris, BookPage
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