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The Winter King
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Plot Summary of The Winter King
"This is an Arthurian legend told from the point of view of one of the soldiers. All the usual cast of characters is involved but personalities differ from other stories. A lot of fighting and big battles, war leaders hurling (really hilarious) insults and druids dancing around cursing each other. This is the first book in a series of four - it is mostly concerned with the trying to keep the saxons out of the country and trying not to kill each other in the process."
Shane Tiernan, Resident Scholar

Review Analysis of The Winter King
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book - very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - King Arthur
Coming of age Yes
Youngster becomes - great warrior
Romance Yes
Political power play Yes
Political plotlets - preventing/managing clash/war between govts/kingdoms
Mental/magical powers focus Yes
War or Invasion Yes
Major kinds of combat: - hand to hand - sword fights
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Human/magical couple? Yes

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Profession/status: - infantry soldier - champion of justice
Age: - 20's-30's
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Very much smarter than other characters
Physique - very athletic

Main Adversary
Identity: - magical being - an entire race
Age: - 20's-30's
Profession/status: - spy
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - Invisibility
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - a moderate amount
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - bulging muscles

Setting
Earth setting: - general past
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - mostly 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - explicit references to deaths - explicit references to torture
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - vague references only - description of breasts
How much dialogue? - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
Most similar books to The Winter King
The Skystone - Camulod Chronicles 1 by Jack Whyte
The Coming of the King by Nikolai Tolstoy
Guardian of the Balance by Irene Radford
The Ill-Made Knight by T.H. White
The Sword and the Circle - Arthurian Trilogy 1 by Rosemary Sutcliff


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Bernard Cornwell Resident Scholar Profiles

TOP SCHOLAR:
  
Shane Tiernan  

SCHOLARS:
Marco Silva  Mike  


Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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