Recent Reads: Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian

Half Sick of Shadows by Laura Sebastian 
Publisher: Ace
Publication Date:  July 6, 2021

 

Format: Hardback
Source: BOTM Pick - July 2021

Rating:


Goodreads Synopsis: 

Everyone knows the legend. Of Arthur, destined to be a king. Of the beautiful Guinevere, who will betray him with his most loyal knight, Lancelot. Of the bitter sorceress, Morgana, who will turn against them all. But Elaine alone carries the burden of knowing what is to come--for Elaine of Shalott is cursed to see the future. 

On the mystical isle of Avalon, Elaine runs free and learns of the ancient prophecies surrounding her and her friends--countless possibilities, almost all of them tragic.

When their future comes to claim them, Elaine, Guinevere, Lancelot, and Morgana accompany Arthur to take his throne in stifling Camelot, where magic is outlawed, the rules of society chain them, and enemies are everywhere. Yet the most dangerous threats may come from within their own circle.

As visions are fulfilled and an inevitable fate closes in, Elaine must decide how far she will go to change fate--and what she is willing to sacrifice along the way.

The Lady of Shalott reclaims her story in this bold feminist reimagining of the Arthurian myth from the New York Times bestselling author of Ash Princess.

Review: 

I was super excited when I came across this book as a BOTM pick a few months ago. I have never read anything about Arthur, Camelot, or the Lady of Shalott and I really enjoyed this adaptation. 

The story follows Elaine, an Oracle, bound to see all the possible futures of those around her as well as her own fates. The story is told in a sequence of past, present, and possible futures, which can be a bit confusing at first but as the story progresses it becomes more manageable. 

I really enjoyed the story telling in this book. As the synopsis notes, we all kind of have an idea about the story of Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and Morgana, but I didn't realize there was a Lady of Shalott story. I love how the author wove her tale into a friendship with these iconic characters and retold the tale in several ways with possible visions of the future. I found that Elaine's character was a force. She grew exponentially throughout the book as she had to deal with more grief and demand in her environment. 

I found the politics of the world to be an interesting spin and made for a good part of the conflict, however the main conflict was the internal struggle that Elaine was having to deal with. Because of that internal conflict, this story was a slow build. It took a while to really get into it and feel out the characters and the influence they would have on the story and that coupled with the varying timelines might be a deterrent to some.

Overall, this was a beautiful fantasy world and I really enjoyed Elaine as the focus of this story, while not the normal Arthurian tale, she was real in many ways, broken at times, and showed a lot of love for her friends.