“You think I’m heartless?” 

“I think you’re a little too accepting of death.”

Quick Pitch:

In a reimagined world where they are giants, Lancelot serves and protects Prince Tungsten. 

On their latest task to pick up Tungsten’s sister to rule, they find her taking her last final breaths. 

Tungsten is determined to take revenge on his sister’s killer. Lancelot is there to support and to kindly remind Tungsten that he’s the king now. 

Too bad he gave his sword to Morgan, the lady of the lake. 

Grief driven vengeance,  unexceptionable leadership promotion and so little clues. 

Overall Thoughts: 

TBH, I can’t tell if this is a retelling or more cherry picking of names and preindustrial life? 

Why are they giants? And the Mandalorian-like talk of armor? Imagining these scenes felt like a carnival fun house of mirrors. Interesting, but didn’t connect with vision behind it. 

Pace was a little jumpy, but if like adventure books, this is definitely taking you on one. 

Excalibur’s King has some charming set pieces that are unusual (in my experience at least) for an Arthurian fantasy, including a tiger as the king (Tungsten)’s trusty mount. Although giants populate Arthurian myth writ large, I’m not sure I’ve run into a depiction of Lancelot himself as a giant, and this added a lot in terms of Miriam Yvette’s ability to play with and revitalize stories that might otherwise feel tired to a fantasy audience.  I was also very much enamoured with the stylized chapter illustrations, which immediately transported me to a medievalesque setting.

Unfortunately, though Yvette’s ingredients are equal parts compelling and creative, at a line level Excalibur’s King is challenging to parse. Much of this is due to issues with vague and mis-attributed pronouns, which often make it difficult to tell which character is doing what to whom. There are also a number of muddied metaphors that don’t quite stand up to scrutiny and which slow down the pace as one stops to think them through. Although there’s therefore a lot to recommend Excalibur’s King at the story and conceptual level, much of the prose feels rough around the edges.

I really appreciated the ideas in this one and would be intrigued to read more if a new version were released. Something about Yvette’s writing is genuinely transportative, evocative of a specific time and place.