In The King's Name, the rule of law established in The King's Peace is threatened by civil war. The kings of Tir Tanagiri have become comfortable in the peace, and are starting to get cranky about having to report to a High King. Morthu, son of the sorceress Sulien killed in the first book, is whispering in everyone's ear, dredging up resentment towards King Urdo and twisting minds with his own sorcery. Before Sulien knows what's going on, her sister tries to poison her and suddenly no one can be trusted. Most of the book takes place outside Caer Tanaga, King Urdo's home base. It has been taken by the rebels and all peace talks and battles take place outside of it. Sulien finds herself seated across from her old friends, trying to make them see sense while Morthu does everything possible to disrupt the peace process.A lot of the content in these books is about strategy and tactics, which I didn't think I could enjoy. Walton writes about some pretty common fantasy tropes, but her prose is clear as a bell and her characters jump off the page. Sulien's relationship with Urdo is probably my favorite part - although they let people believe, for political reasons, that they slept together, their friendship is entirely platonic. She loves Urdo deeply and there are no romantic subplots to complicate that story. This lack of romance doesn't mean Sulien has no complex relationships - she is just incredibly pragmatic and always returns to the notion that the King's Peace must be upheld. I find it refreshing that an author wrote two books about a woman who has no interest in romance, but remains riveting all the same.
it took me awhile to get into this sequel to "the king's peace," probably because of the inevitability of the ending (as w/all king arthur stories). but by the end i was very moved and found the last battle and aftermath very exciting. in fact, the battle scenes are extremely well done and they could easily have been the parts i skimmed (not being a huge war/battle fan). it is a little hard to keep track of all the characters but in the end, it kind of doesn't matter. the main ones are distinct enough, and the others can be somewhat interchangeable (all those rebel kings). sulien is a wonderful, original character--even among "strong women characters in fantasy." i also really liked the way magic and the gods, including the white god (jesus), was handled. not necessarily an easy read, but if you're a king arthur fan i highly recommend it.
I liked this a lot more than The King's Peace. Since I loved Among Others, Farthing and others in the series, Tooth and Claw, My Real Childrenand What Makes This Book So Great, I was surprised that I didn’t like The King's Peace.Since the earlier book takes place immediately before this one, I knew what I was in for. I like King Arthur retellings, especially when I know what I’m reading. Sulien, the main character here, is a female Lancelot. The queen thinks she is sleeping with the king, when she is asexual. She is the king’s greatest knight, though this book doesn’t use that kind of language. Her son is the king’s heir, which make people think he is the king’s son. I requested this book from Interlibrary loan.
—Julia
The King's Name is a direct sequel to The King's Peace. It follows some forms of the Arthurian legend fairly closely, in terms of Mordred, Arthur and Guinevere, anyway, but of course Sulien is something entirely new. It's still fairly predictable to anyone who knows the Arthurian canon quite well -- in the way that Arthurian stories are: heartbreaking in their inevitability.Everything comes together very well: I believe in the characters' motivations and their ends. I loved the confusion between Darien, Sulien and Urdo, the tangled-up feelings, the platonic love between Sulien and her lord. I made a comparison to Guy Gavriel Kay in my first review. That does stand, but I do have one caveat: I didn't cry at these books. I gasped and yelled that people were idiots and caused my girlfriend to look up in consternation more than once, but I didn't cry.I found The King's Name a faster read than The King's Peace -- yes, it's shorter, but I also read it faster. I think that comes with already knowing the characters and the politics and such.
—Nikki
Like Paula Volsky's books (especially Illusion) this is a fantasy take, in another world, of historical events. Kinda :-)The first book in this trilogy, The King's Peace, had a beautiful Julie Bell cover. This book (there's a kinda-prequel, too) has a cover by Julie Bell, but IMHO it's probably the worst painting of hers I've seen. Jo Walton is the nicest lady, too... I met her at the World Fantasy Convention in Mesa couple years ago and she and I sat down and had a nice long chat. Every once in a while, my habit of picking books just because they have beautiful covers pays out!
—Susan
