In ENEMY OF GOD, Cornwell brings a dark and gritty element to Arthurian legend that may startle readers unfamiliar with his penchant for historical accuracy and period detail. But to longtime fans, it's only what's expected from the British writer who's successfully taken on the Napoleonic Wars, the American Revolution, the Civil War, and contemporary thrillers.  

Be prepared --- this is not your parents' Camelot.

With ENEMY OF GOD --- the second novel in the Warlord trilogy that began with THE WINTER KING --- Cornwell continues to immerse us in the sight, smell, and texture of the Dark Ages. Merging both Celtic myth and burgeoning Christianity, Cornwell captures the essence of Arthurian legend while putting his original spin on the much-beloved lore.  

Derfel, the name of his narrator, is one Cornwell came across in some of the earliest versions of the legend. He was reputed to be one of Arthur's soldiers who later became a monk. With that small bit of information, Cornwell has crafted one of his most interesting characters --- a complex and honorable man caught up in, but not blinded by, Arthur's charisma. Derfel, once hostile to Christianity, is now a monk under the supervision of one of Arthur's former enemies, Bishop Sansum. Avoiding the Bishop's certain wrath by pretending to write a religious text, Derfel, at the urging of Queen Igraine, sets out to write the true story of Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, Galahad, Nimue, Morgan, Mordred, and Merlin.

And it is an unsettling truth. Arthur, once heralded as the scourge of the Saxons, is now struggling to consolidate a divided Britain. Pledged to hold the kingdom together until Mordred comes of age, Arthur is a natural but unwilling warlord. Excelling at war, he wants nothing more than peace. At times naive, Arthur also has a merciless streak. His decisions often place him at odds with Christians, earning him the moniker "Enemy of God." Cornwell's vision of Camelot is wracked with conflict and political expediency --- not ripe with brotherhood and chivalry.

Derfel's paints a Guinevere both ambitious and intelligent, witty but cold, and a Lancelot who is more duplicitious coward than unswerving hero. Merlin is old, cranky, and couldn't care less about what happens to Arthur --- he only wants to collect the Thirteen Treasures of Britain and drive Christianity from the land of the Druids. Nimue, Derfel's childhood friend, is half mad. Morgan has turned from the ancient religion to the new, thus aligning herself against Merlin and Arthur. Only Galahad and Mordred's characters are similar to other versions of the legend: Galahad is loyal, good, and true, while Mordred is a snivelling child-tyrant. But Cornwell manages to endow all the characters with a fullness that makes even the unsympathetic ones interesting.  

Derfel's simplicity is precisely what makes this story so compelling. He brings to the legend a freshness of perspective that heightens our enjoyment, even though we know that tragedy will still ensue. Derfel's bluntness offends the queen for whom he writes --- she wants the romance and glory that bards have perpetuated for so long while Derfel wants to write the naked truth. When Igraine insists that he write about the Round Table because "Everyone knows that it was a serious thing. An important thing!," Derfel tells her "It was a cracked stone table that by the day's end was cracked even more and smeared with vomit. They all got very drunk." But she sighs and says, "I expect you've just forgotten the truth."

If you are expecting just another love triangle sprinkled with some of Merlin's magic, you may be disappointed by ENEMY OF GOD. But if you revel in excellent writing, strong characterization, vivid imagination, and most of all, the possibility that Arthur COULD have existed and wonder what his era would really have been like, then this is the tale for you.  

No punches are pulled in Cornwell's vision of an age that just may have been home to the greatest warrior in Britain's history. The battles are fierce, the times violent, the enemies vile, and the people brutally superstitious. Like real life everywhere, love elevates, lust destroys, and loyalty only occasionally wins out over betrayal. There are blinding moments of lightness and hope, but it's still just a stone table smeared with the vomit of these most human of literature's heroes and anti-heroes.  

And what a glorious sight it is.

   --- Reviewed by BookpgXena

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