
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, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, VANITY FAIR, TIME, OPRAH DAILY, TOWN & COUNTRY, ELLE, VOX, PASTE, LIT HUB, POLYGON, KIRKUS REVIEWS
“Lev Grossman’s The Bright Sword stands out as the best fantasy of the year.”—The Wall Street Journal
“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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Interview: "The Bright Sword" reimagines the legend of King Arthur for today’s age
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- By Tristan M. on 12-21-24
By: Eric Buchman, and others
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George Orwell’s 1984
- An Audible Original adaptation
- By: George Orwell, Joe White - adaptation
- Narrated by: Andrew Garfield, Cynthia Erivo, Andrew Scott, and others
- Length: 3 hrs and 27 mins
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It’s 1984, and life has changed beyond recognition. Airstrip One, formerly known as Great Britain, is a place where Big Brother is always watching, and nobody can hide. Except, perhaps, for Winston Smith. Whilst working at the Ministry of Truth, rewriting history, he secretly dreams of freedom. And in a world where love and sex are forbidden, where it’s hard to distinguish between friend and foe, he meets Julia and O’Brien and vows to rebel.
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A Revelation!
- By wotsallthisthen on 04-07-24
By: George Orwell, and others
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Characters who draw you in to the time and issues
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Cyrus Shams is a young man grappling with an inheritance of violence and loss: his mother’s plane was shot down over the skies of the Persian Gulf in a senseless accident; and his father’s life in America was circumscribed by his work killing chickens at a factory farm in the Midwest.
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One of the best novels I have ever read/heard.
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What listeners say about The Bright Sword
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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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5 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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4 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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2 people 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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- Samuel Montgomery-Blinn
- 07-16-24
Outstanding retelling and addition to Arthuriana
We get not only a fantastic addition to the legend of King Arthur and his Knights -- that of Callum, arriving weeks after Arthur has fallen and Camelot hosts only a handful of remaining heroes, and the adventure that befalls them -- but also fantastic retellings and renderings of Arthur, Bedivere, and more. We see through Bedivere's devoted eyes the young boy Arthur pulling the sword from the stone, growing into his kingship. And many other glimpses besides which I dare not begin to spoil the delight of here. Wonderful narration from Nicholas Guy Smith, and just a hint of modern snark from Grossman atop Abercrombian duels and battles and realism.
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3 people found this helpful
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- John F. Kaess
- 08-04-24
Not really a story
It seems like a book if short stories stitched. Together with random jumps in time and place. Very disappointing.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Kathleen
- 08-07-24
Interesting perspective
I really enjoyed this version of the King Arthur Story. I was intrigued by the humanization of the Knights of the Roundtable, their faults as well as their talents. Overall, I would recommend it as an enjoyable read.
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- Thistle
- 09-14-24
Gorgeous
I loved the gorgeous blending of historical facts and myths with the high medieval gloss as the author calls it. I'm a serious Arthur nerd so it hit all the best notes for me. if you want a better understanding of how many beautiful, subtle details of all of Arthurian legends are in this book I highly recommend Dorsey Armstrong's Great Courses lecture seri
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- Giveaman Amask
- 08-23-24
Instant Classic
This is a great story with beautiful writing. The narrator is exactly right for the material, and does a great job with it. If you have read Lev Grossman’s other work—and especially if you have watched the TV adaptations—you will not be surprised by brief discussions of gender and sexuality that seem unusual for stories of The Knights of the Round Table. I like it when an author surprises me, so I found this refreshing.
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- Matthew Stovall
- 10-10-24
The characters
I loved the story from start to finish. I couldn’t stop listening. Recommending it to everyone I know.
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