Grail Prince
Grail Prince is an Arthurian epic of the first order. This sweeping retelling of the legend of Camelot focuses on Galahad, son of Sir Lancelot and Lady Elaine, to provide a fresh take on a story that still entertains after a thousand years. For aficionados of the genre, the novel provides all the requisite questing, fighting, chivalry, and romance. It is all here: Arthur, the once-and-future king; the illicit love between Lancelot and Guinevere; the Lady of the Lake; and Mordred, the incestuously conceived son who brings about Arthur’s fall. Familiar elements are woven into a satisfying rendition of an age-old tale: the Fisher-King, the Seat Perilous, and Galahad’s quest for the Holy Grail.
Nancy McKenzie handles the material with aplomb, bringing the reader into a remarkably detailed world where witch-sent dreams are as tangible as blood-stained battlefields. Yet her greatest achievement is in bringing legendary characters to life, fully three-dimensional, simultaneously virtuous and flawed. Galahad’s life is the prism through which King Arthur’s world is viewed, but the reader is able to see beyond his biases and watch him grow. There are no true villains in this version, only the passage of time and inexorable working of Fate. It makes the story that much more poignant. With renditions like Grail Prince, the story of Camelot will never grow old.
