Plot Synopsis

Being reborn as an immortal defender of the realm gets awfully tiring over the years—or at least that’s what Sir Kay’s thinking as he claws his way up from beneath the earth yet again.

Kay once rode alongside his brother, King Arthur, as a Knight of the Round Table. Since then, he has fought at Hastings and at Waterloo and in both World Wars. But now he finds himself in a strange new world where oceans have risen, the army’s been privatized, and half of Britain’s been sold to foreign powers. The dragon that’s running amok—that he can handle. The rest? He’s not so sure.

Mariam’s spent her life fighting what’s wrong with her country. But she’s just one ordinary person, up against a hopelessly broken system. So when she meets Kay, she dares to hope that the world has finally found the savior it needs.

Yet as the two travel through this bizarre and dangerous land, they discover that a magical plot of apocalyptic proportions is underway. And Kay’s too busy hunting dragons—and exchanging blows with his old enemy Lancelot—to figure out what to do about it. 

In perilous times like these, the realm doesn’t just need a knight. It needs a true leader. 

Luckily, Excalibur lies within reach. 

But who will be fit to wield it? 

Spoiler Free Review

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for this E-ARC. I’d give this 3.5 out of 5 stars.

Let me just say I love Arthurian legends, ever since I was a kid I have eaten up stories about Avalon, The Knights of the Round Table, Merlin, etc. So when I got my hands on a queer modern take on Arthur and his knights, I was already jumping in.

This story is a split narrative tale with our main narrator being Kay or Kay the Cupbearer, Arthur’s adoptive brother. Kay is resurrected from under his ancient oak because Britain is in peril. This is far from the first time he has risen from his oaky grave, but this time the world is even more different. The air is thick and it’s hotter than it’s ever been. It’s at this point Kay finds his way to our other main protagonist, Miriam who is in the midst of blowing up an oil rig. Miriam is part of FETA, a feminist eco-terrorist group working to help stop climate change.

Honestly, from here the story is a wild ride introducing familiar faces like Christopher Marlowe and of course Merlin. The real premise of the story is that anyone can be a hero. While there are plenty of what I would consider cheesy moral of the story parts, I did really enjoy this book, because fuck the patriarchy and down with crusty white men who rule the world. I also liked that this takes a very head on approach to Arthurian legend because honestly it’s daft to think that all people in the middle ages are white and straight. I would definitely recommend this book and I can’t wait to see what this author does next.