An Arthurian Road Trip: Gordon O’Sullivan Discusses Giles Kristian’s Latest Book

WRITTEN BY GORDON O’SULLIVAN

Giles Kristian has travelled back to the world of his two excellent novels Lancelot (2019) and Camelot (2021) with his new work Arthur (Bantam, 2024). Completing what is effectively a loose trilogy, the author told the Historical Novels Review in a recent interview that “all three books in my Arthurian retelling deal with a different set of characters, meaning that they are more like companion novels than sequels in the normal sense.” The author adds that “you could read any of the three without having read the other two… it’s a very self-contained story.” Yet, there’s no doubt that if you have read the two previous Arthurian novels, your enjoyment of Kristian’s new tale will most certainly be enriched.

In Arthur, while many years have passed and the cruel Saxons now dominate the land, there is still a yearning for a certain legendary British hero. In his third novel in the series, the writer wanted to “play with the enduring and very romantic part of the legend which says that in our darkest time, when we need him most, shall Arthur come again.” So how did it feel returning to his world? “It was like indulging in a familiar and favourite piece of music. It was comforting to sink back into the rhythms, the ebb and flow, the word-weaving, and the rich description” of that realm.

What drew the writer back to territory that he had already explored? “I gave Arthur a hard time in the previous two books, so I felt that he deserved one last swing of Excalibur, one final charge into glory.” Having told the tales of Lancelot and then Galahad, the author felt that he both “owed it to the reader and to Arthur himself to delve into the life of the man at the centre of it all.” Kristian’s idea was to imagine that “Arthur hadn’t died of his wounds, nor was he healed in Avalon” and to ask “what if Arthur had lived? What kind of man would he have become?” And more importantly for this hero’s journey, “could he be tempted back…to wield Excalibur one final time?” Inspired perhaps by the screenwriting that he’s so busy with at the moment, the author’s road map for his new novel was “the Arthurian fiction equivalent of a road-trip movie.”

Giles Kristian knew that he wanted Arthur to be different in form from the two previous novels in the series so he “decided to split the story into two narrative threads”, a new departure for the author “that in itself excited” him. He created one section set long in the past that would both reveal the “hero’s origin story and his humanity” and “enhance the emotional resonance” of the other narrative set in the present. When writing his dual timeline narrative, he considered it vital to make sure that both stories were “equally compelling. I can honestly say I enjoyed writing both parts equally.”

Readers around the world remain fascinated with the Arthurian legends in all their variety. Why does the author think that the legend endures? “Because it evolves. Each of us who seizes on the Arthurian canon finds something within it that speaks to us.” But that doesn’t mean that the writer has to stick to the established mythology. “I’ve had fun subverting some aspects of the legend, giving subtle nods to characters and episodes in the age-old stories with my own versions and conceivable explanations.” In fact, Kristian found real joy “in the act of taking up the old threads from the myths we all know and spinning them into something new.”

The author’s historical fiction novels all have a strong mystical or religious core to them including the “mystic meddling of Merlin” in Arthur. Kristian admits that he enjoys “dabbling in ideas of things behind the veil.” Why? “I think it’s important to at least try to give an impression of how thin the veil between worlds was to people in the past. The belief in a thing is what gives it power. It can permeate everything, both in the external and the internal worlds, and often influences my characters’ actions.” In his books, superstitions and “beliefs in things beyond that which can be seen are dialled up to eleven.” This focus on spiritual beliefs is not however an end in itself but an important “part of the characterization, the worldbuilding, and the evoking of atmosphere” in his novels.

Sadly for this reader, Arthur appears to be the end of Kristian’s version of the Arthurian legends so where’s he going next on his writing travels? The author is currently hard at work “writing a Viking video game called Norse with developer Arctic Hazard” which will be out next year. While it’s been a relatively draining creative process, it’s also been “fun delving back into the Viking world and creating some new characters whom I hope gamers will come to know and love.” Finding the time to also collaborate with his writing partner, Philip Stevens, on a screenplay adaptation of one of his books while also working on an original screenplay for another project, it’s fair to say that Giles Kristian is busy!

Might he still find time for more historical novels in the future? He doesn’t give too much away. “It’s too early to say it aloud. I like to give an idea a little time to breathe before sharing it with the world. All I can say is that there are plenty of stories still waiting to be told.” However, the author does hint at potential future pleasures for fans of his Arthurian novels, “having now done Arthur, there’s a nagging feeling that Merlin is expecting his turn.” That’s a trip that Kristian’s readers would love to take with him.

About the contributor: Gordon O’Sullivan is a freelance writer and researcher.

Published in Historical Novels Review | Issue 109 (August 2024)