The Wicked Day by Mary Stewart

The Wicked Day by Mary Stewart

The Wicked Day , Mary Stewart 's concluding volume of the four-book series called the Arthurian Saga proved to be another fantastic display of mastery in Middle Ages inspired literature . Stewart 's primary modification the original Arthurian legends is making Mordred originally Arthur 's twice-removed cousin , into Arthur 's bastard son to his half-sister Morgause . Although I initially did not like this alteration , this book proved to be an enchanting version of the original legend of King Arthur and his knights after all

What I liked

about it most is its non-typical approach to the characters . In the original legends which I 've also read , the dialogue used was not very exciting , and the emotional impact of events that unfolded was not so intense . Stewart 's take on Arthur is a lot more mature , making her book stand heads and shoulders above the bland mass of other fairy tales whether in book or screen which is based on the story . She presents Arthur , Mordred , Morguese and the rest as three-dimensional characters in a realistic world . Arthur himself was not shown as a faultless leader , neither was Morguese shown as evil incarnate as she usually was in the original where she also wasn 't portrayed to have had an affair with Arthur . Morguese in Stewart 's book was shown more like a victim of circumstance , and even Mordred was humanized in Stewart 's tale , a man without lack of conscience who must battle his own demons and settle his grievances against a father who abandoned him

I think these elements make the entire saga and its inevitable ending portrayed in this installment as a lot more morally gray , it makes it hard for me to judge whether a particular character is good or bad and I ended up not doing so at all . Truly a treat for Arthur lovers everywhere , the magic in her book is subtle yet captivating

Source

Stewart , Mary (1983 . The Wicked Day . Ballantine Books...