The Bright Sword
A Novel of King Arthur
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Narrated by:
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Nicholas Guy Smith
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Lev Grossman
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By:
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Lev Grossman
About this listen
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A New York Times Editors’ Choice • The #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Magicians Trilogy returns with a triumphant reimagining of the King Arthur legend for the new millennium
NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY THE NEW YORK TIMES, NPR, Vanity Fair, TIME, OPRAH DAILY, KIRKUS REVIEWS
“Grossman, who is best known for his The Magicians series, is at the top of his game with The Bright Sword.”—The New York Times Book Review
“A thrilling new take on Arthurian legend. . . . Marvelous.”—The Washington Post
“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 gifted young knight named Collum arrives at Camelot to compete for a place at the Round Table, only to find that he’s too late. King Arthur died two weeks ago at the Battle of Camlann, and only a handful of the knights of the Round Table are left.
The survivors aren’t the heroes of legend like Lancelot or Gawain. They’re the oddballs of the Round Table, like Sir Palomides, the Saracen Knight, and Sir Dagonet, Arthur’s fool, who was knighted as a joke. They’re joined by Nimue, who was Merlin’s apprentice until she turned on him and buried him under a hill.
But it's up to them to rebuild Camelot in a world that has lost its balance, even as God abandons Britain and the fairies and old gods return, led by Morgan le Fay. They must reclaim Excalibur and make this ruined world whole again—but first they'll have to solve the mystery of why the lonely, brilliant King Arthur fell.
The first major Arthurian epic of the new millennium, The Bright Sword is steeped in tradition, complete with duels and quests, battles and tournaments, magic swords and Fisher Kings. It's also a story about imperfect men and women, full of strength and pain, trying to reforge a broken land in spite of being broken themselves.
©2024 Lev Grossman (P)2024 Penguin AudioListeners also enjoyed...
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Constituent Service
- A Third District Story
- By: John Scalzi
- Narrated by: Amber Benson
- Length: 2 hrs and 30 mins
- Original Recording
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Ashley Perrin is fresh out of college and starting a job as a community liaison for the Third District–the city’s only sector with more alien residents than humans. Ashley’s barely found where the paper clips are kept when she’s beset with constituent complaints–from too much noise at the Annual Lupidian Celebration Parade to a trip-and-fall chicken to a very particular type of alien hornet that threatens the very city itself. And if that’s not terrifying enough, Ashley is next up at the office karaoke night.
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Short and fun!
- By Andrew on 10-04-24
By: John Scalzi
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What listeners say about The Bright Sword
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Simon Bailey
- 08-24-24
High hope but disappointed
I normally enjoy this author but found this story long winded and somewhat boring. Too bad
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1 person found this helpful
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- Chance R. Mullins
- 09-19-24
Fun take on Authorian Legend
Creative storytelling with a clear performance. Fun take on the knights and happenings of Camelot.
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- Amazon Customer
- 11-03-24
A Bright Story
Lev Grossman displays his writing prowess yet again with The Bright Sword. He gets a lot done in a single book, and has left me feeling hopeful and melancholic both. The narrator is also fantastic, one of the best I’ve heard.
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- Anonymous User
- 08-28-24
A new twist on King Arthur
I have read & listened to many many books on King Arthur. This by far was the most entertaining and the most original King Arthur story I've encountered! It has elements of some really old and accurate information that pertains to his story, plus loads of fun bits & bobs that will make you laugh out loud! Don't hesitate on this one, it's a gem!
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4 people found this helpful
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- angela
- 08-13-24
Absolutely PERFECT!
I’m sure I would have enjoyed the hard copy just as much, but the narration is fabulous. A real treat!
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3 people found this helpful
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- Matt Feeley
- 08-27-24
Wonderful
A rollicking adventure that I could not stop listening to. The author does a wonderful job breaking the main narrative up with chapters reveling important facts about each character.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Amazon Customer
- 10-15-24
Meh
Lots of good things but I struggled to care or stay awake. I loved the magicians but the large ensemble of characters in this one and a rather oafish main character who didn’t really transform in a meaningful way except he got good at fighting.
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- Anonymous User
- 07-19-24
Great for Newcomers into Arthurian legends
as someone that only has knowledge of Arthurian legends from various media from the last decade and a half this was a great read
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2 people found this helpful
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- Sara
- 08-05-24
An old favorite in a new shiny coat
I enjoyed the retelling of the ancient tales with carefully chosen modern themes and word choices. Mr Grossman takes the ideas of self worth, chosen identity and spiritual and religious complexities, personal quests and ego struggles into “Great Arthur’s” milieu with wit and dexterity. Thank you for an enjoyable and more current version of these tales!
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1 person found this helpful
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- Dustin C. Holden
- 08-22-24
Brilliant continuation
I’m not a big fantasy person. I also never cared much for medieval tales. However I grew up with the Disneyfied versions of King Arthur and Robin Hood - so my familiarity with both helps to make them the exception. This being my first book of King Arthur I’ve experienced, I was pleasantly surprised. I’ve like Grossman’s Magicians trilogy and this flows much like those books do, albeit with a more likable protagonist in Collum. I cannot wait to see what Lionsgate does with the television rights.
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1 person found this helpful