Narrating in her native Midlands accent, self-proclaimed queer-cripple author Nicola Griffith, diagnosed with MS in 1993, tosses a welcome new character into the uber male world of Arthurian legend. Peretur—an intelligent, strong, and strong-willed young woman—leaves her snug home in the woods, disguises herself as a man, steals a spear, and sets off to join the Knights of the Round Table. As she bests even the best knights, such as Sir Kay and the Red Knight, in single combat, Peretur discovers that she is a girl who prefers girls and falls in with a powerful sorceress. With its rich, poetic prose, Griffith’s story entwines nicely with the stories of Thomas Malory, T.H. White, and Mary Stewart. B.P. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

12/13/2021

This fresh, emotionally immediate queer spin on the Medieval tale of Percival and the Holy Grail reaffirms Griffith (So Lucky) as a consummate storyteller. Peretur, raised in a cave by her mother, grows up desperate to see the outside world. As her strength and magical ability grow, so too does her ambition, and she soon makes her way to the court of King Artos disguised as a young man. There, in classic Arthurian style, Peretur faces a battery of tests and challenges—embarking on quests, stealing the hearts of maidens, and butting heads with various members of the court. Before long, her untrained magic makes her a target, and she must return home to face her greatest challenge yet. Steeped in period texture that brings remote history fully into the present, and lushly illustrated by Rovina Cai (The Seventh Raven), this tale of destiny, belonging, and home is a genuine pleasure. With a gender-swapped protagonist and purposeful representation of people of color and people with disabilities, this is an ideal pick for fans of retold legends, as well as those looking for diverse fantasy. Agent: Stephanie Cabot, Susanna Lea Assoc. (Apr.)

"[A] queer Arthurian masterpiece for the modern era."
—Los Angeles Times

"A pleasure to follow [and] a lovely flexing of Griffith’s strengths in short form."
—The New York Times

"Spear is a fantastic excuse to dig into Arthurian legend, and it stands on its own as an enthralling read—an instant classic, born of classics."
—Chicago Review of Books

"Griffith delivers on an impossible challenge: taking the all to familiar Arthurian saga and makes it fresh again, with a captivating hero and expert myth-making. Beautifully written and constructed."
—Historical Writers' Association

"[A] beautiful, atmospheric novella, a queer retelling of an age-old myth that is a wonder to behold."
—Kerry McHugh, Shelf Awareness (starred review)

"Readers will appreciate this sparkling interpretation of Arthurian legend, which combines interesting historical detail with appealing, inclusive characters in a genuinely delightful way."
—Anna Mickelsen, Booklist

"Written in a lovely lyrical style . . . Spear is a wonderful story to behold."
—Manhattan Book Review

"Spear proves clever, surprising, and even strikingly original, a descriptor I wouldn’t use lightly of Arthurian literature."
—T.S. Miller, Strange Horizons

"Mesmerizing . . . A lyrical bildungsroman drenched in the natural world [turns into] a fast-moving, violent suspense tale with stakes that are at once epic and personal . . . A marvelously concise epic that is entirely Griffith's own."
—Gary Wolfe, Locus

"Spear is more than adventure and romance; it’s also a rumination on what it means to ‘belong’ to someone else. How much of who we are is where (and whom) we came from? And how much is who we’re desperate to become? What if our destiny calls us away from a person who feels like we’re their destiny? What do we owe to those who love us? And what do we owe to ourselves? Griffith examines these — very queer — questions with both deftness and gravitas."
—Heather Hogan, Autostraddle

“There is magic in Nicola Griffith's words. Prepare to be enchanted.”
—John Scalzi, author of The Kaiju Preservation Society

"If Le Guin wrote a Camelot story, I imagine it would feel like Spear: humane, intelligent, and deeply beautiful. It's a new story with very old bones, a strange place that feels like home. It's exactly what I needed."
—Alix E. Harrow, author of A Spindle Splintered

“Nicola Griffith braids the Percival tales to her own ferocious imagination, and the results are spellbinding. Her novel is a reclamation of the touchstones of Arthurian myth—skewering received notions with the sharp point of her pen. If that sounds too theoretical, let me also say that it's a screamingly hot canon-queering epic filled with bloody battles, and world-shaking magic. Spear is an unprecedented and spectacular investigation of the Matter of Britain. I've been waiting years for this book about the once and future everyone else to exist.”
—Maria Dahvana Headley, author of The Mere Wife and Beowulf: A New Translation

"This fresh, emotionally immediate queer spin on the medieval tale of Percival and the Holy Grail reaffirms Griffith as a consummate storyteller . . . Steeped in period texture that brings remote history fully into the present, and lushly illustrated by Rovina Cai (The Seventh Raven), this tale of destiny, belonging, and home is a genuine pleasure."
—Publishers Weekly

“Breathtaking. Nicola Griffith knows what she’s doing.”
—Jo Walton, author of Or What You Will

“Gorgeous . . . This slim volume manages to capture its reader and tell a complete story in just under two hundred pages, something which many longer books don’t achieve . . . I spent most of 2020 reading every Arthurian retelling I could get my hands on, and believe me when I say that Spear is truly one of the best.”
—Fabienne Schwizer, Grimdark Magazine

“Set against the backdrop of King Arthur’s court, Nicola Griffith’s Spear is at once intoxicating, brutal, and entirely compelling. Readers will want to race through the novella to uncover the main character’s destiny as she fights to understand her place in the world, but they will linger over every word of Griffith’s lush prose. Fans of Camelot won’t want to miss this gorgeous take on the Percival legend.”
—Swapna Krishna, co-editor of Sword Stone Table

“Just dazzling!”
—Bruce Holsinger, author of The Gifted School

“A mesmerizing tale that manages to be both epic and immersive in a short, intimate span, Spear gives us a vivid hero, a daring quest, and a clear-eyed reimaging of Arthurian legend.”
—Malka Older, author of State Tectonics

11/01/2021

In Flint and Mirror, with the Irish battling English encroachment, Hugh O'Neil, Lord of the North, is torn between England's Elizabeth the Great, who signals her devotion to him with an obsidian mirror, and the flint-bearing ancient Irish arising from the underworld to make him the country's savior; from Crowley, winner of the World Fantasy Award for Lifetime Achievement (75,000-copy first printing). In Davenport's debut, a young Black woman faces both racism and misogyny when she commits herself to the Praetorian Trials—better called The Blood Trials, as only a quarter of the participants survive—to find out who assassinated her grandfather and seek revenge (75,000-copy first printing). Award-winning author Ford was working on Aspects at his untimely death in 2006, and the novel—set in an alternate 18th century and blending swords and machine guns, magic fantasy and politics—has finally achieved publication (60,000-copy first printing). With Spear, Nebula and Lambda award-winning Griffith offers a queer retelling of the Arthurian legend, with a girl raised in a cave following her destiny to the court of King Artos of Caer Leon (100,000-copy first printing). In Kenyon's Shadow Fallen, set during the Norman Conquest, an invading knight—actually son of one of the universe's more deadly powers—realizes that a noblewoman he encounters is an immortal transformed by sorcery into a flesh-and-blood human, and he must restore her to her rightful place or tragedy awaits (250,000-copy first printing). In the Hugo and Nebula award-winning Kingfisher's Nettle and Bone, reticent Marra is fed up with the way her kingdom's prince mistreats her sisters and seeks the help of a gravewitch so that she can get rid of him for good. Reimagining J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan, Martinez's God of Neverland features the adult Michael Darling on a rescue mission to his erstwhile home, where magic is threatened and Peter Pan (whose real name is Maponos) has gone missing (75,000-copy first printing). Star-dusted singer, songwriter, and actor, Monáe puts to page the Afrofuturistic world evident in her celebrated album Dirty Computer in The Memory Librarian, exploring how race, gender identity, and love fare in a totalitarian environment as Jane 57821 decides that she does not want to lead the life intended for her (200,000-copy first printing). From Power, the New York Times best-selling author of Wilder Girls, In a Garden of Burning Gold features twins Rhea and Lexos, who must contend with activists challenging their irascible father's governance of their small, ever-teetering country. Having won Hugo, Nebula, and Locus awards, Roanhorse follows up her award-finalist epic Black Sun with the sequel Fevered Star, set in the Meridien, where magic is controlled, the gods smashed down, and sea captain Xiala caught up in the ensuing chaos (75,000-copy first printing). Ward returns with Love Arisen, next in the "Black Dagger Brotherhood" series, stark, shadowy, and erotic but no details yet (125,000-copy first printing).

Narrating in her native Midlands accent, self-proclaimed queer-cripple author Nicola Griffith, diagnosed with MS in 1993, tosses a welcome new character into the uber male world of Arthurian legend. Peretur—an intelligent, strong, and strong-willed young woman—leaves her snug home in the woods, disguises herself as a man, steals a spear, and sets off to join the Knights of the Round Table. As she bests even the best knights, such as Sir Kay and the Red Knight, in single combat, Peretur discovers that she is a girl who prefers girls and falls in with a powerful sorceress. With its rich, poetic prose, Griffith’s story entwines nicely with the stories of Thomas Malory, T.H. White, and Mary Stewart. B.P. © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine

2022-01-26
What if Percival, one of the Knights of the Round Table, was queer?

As a young girl, the heroine of this novella lives alone with her mother, isolated from people but familiar with every plant and beast in the valley that is her home. Sometimes her mother calls her a gift. Other days, her mother says her daughter is payment for the abuse she endured. After a chance encounter gives her a taste of battle and a glimpse of the outside world, the girl decides to make her way to the court of Arturus. Before she sets out, she asks her mother for a true name, and her mother calls her Bêr-hyddur, “spear enduring”—Peretur. Disguised as a young man, Peretur protects villages from bandits, defeats rebel knights, seduces a barmaid, and brings the Grail to her king. Griffith mines the matter of Britain and Celtic mythology while, at the same time, turning tropes upside down and subverting expectations. Arturus, for example, is a principled ruler but also a man in thrall to his otherworldly sword. Nimuë—who becomes Peretur’s lover and ally—imprisons Myrddyn (elsewhere known as Merlin), not to steal his magic but to stop him from controlling hers. Turning the knight who finds the Grail into a young woman is obviously an innovation, but Griffith also transforms the very nature of the Grail quest. Peretur knows exactly where the Grail is as soon as she understands what the Grail is. And Griffith is participating in a trend toward rediscovering diversity in the pre-modern world in a way that feels entirely organic. Peretur’s journey to prove herself worthy of joining Arturus’ companions moves along briskly without feeling rushed. Her Grail quest is her final test, but it feels like the beginning of a new narrative that ends before it begins. Readers interested in the fate of Arturus’ kingdom will be wholly disappointed. Readers invested in Peretur and Nimuë will get the equivalent of a happily-ever-after that feels more like an abrupt dismissal than a satisfying ending.

A fresh, often lovely, not entirely gratifying take on Arthurian legend.