Sword at Sunset [Paperback]

This brilliant reconception of the Arthurian epic cuts through the familiar myths and tells the story of the real King Arthur: Artos the Bear, the mighty warrior-king who saved the last lights of Western civilization when the barbarian darkness descended in the fifth century. Artos here comes alive: bold and forceful in battle, warm and generous in friendship, tough in politics, shrewd in the strategy of war—and tender and tragically tormented in love. Out of the interweaving of ancient legend, fresh research, soaring imagination, and hypnotic narrative skill comes a novel that has richly earned its reputation as a classic.

[Sutcliff] is an effective storyteller and knows how to keep her dialogue terse and believable. . . . There are many fine battles inSword at Sunset, and they are described with majestic eloquence.  —Orville Prescott,The New York Times

The gritty realism and emotional power of Rosemary Sutcliff’s writing placesSword at Sunsetin a place of its own . . . leaves you convinced that if the story of King Arthur is more history than fantasy, this must be the way events really occurred . . . makes other versions of the legend pallid by comparison.  —Green Man Review