A fantastic sequel to [book: The King's Peace]. In my eyes, these two books are the first to rehabilitate King Arthur and his knights. The Victorians (I spit on their graves) twisted Arthurian myth into a high-strung, overwrought, completely-disconnnected-from-reality farce. Walton brings the myth back to earth. The first book follows Sulien as she fights along side the High King Urdo. Years of battles, strategic marriages, and negotiation later, the island is united under his rule and his Peace. The disconnected tribes, villages and kingdoms of Tir Tinagri are finally recovering from the years of barbarism and regaining civilization--but as peace spreads, so too does discontent and distrust. Sulien and her allies must once more ride into battle to protect the Peace.

I had trouble keeping all the characters straight (they generally appear once or twice and then, a hundred pages later, I have to remember who they are once more), but the battles are well written, the characters finely wrought, and the overarching plot enthralling. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is interested in medieval Europe or Arthurian tales. ( )

I am a sucker for all things Arthurian, and this is a relatively distant relative to such things; dealing as it does with a High King seeking national unity and peace. It has a few firm clues as to the link, a Mordred like character (not related to Urdo, the king); throwing his sword into the lake after his death; the mobile cavalry based army; but the story is different. This is book two of Jo Walton's debut work and my only real criticism is that I think she tries to hard to show us how she can populate a novel with lots of different characters, different races and different lands within a coherent fantasy framework. You may find you need a checklist of characters to keep track of everything that is happening. This is a clear sign of Walton's early talent and whilst good , there is better to come. ( )

The second volume in a fantasy trilogy by the incomparable Jo Walton.

http://www.lonelymountain.net/books/oct03.html#waltontkp ( )