Dragon’s Child – The King Arthur’s Trilogy
By M. K. Hume
I fell in love with Arthurian tales when I first read The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. I was a teenager then and the magical spells that poured from the pages enveloped me.
Back in Brazil British history isn’t a big part of the academic curriculum, much less its legends. Surprisingly though the legends reach us more efficiently through historical fiction and fantasy books. The fascination over worthy heroes and their adventures is worldly, and what young reader wouldn’t dream about a time of great fits of strength done by characters of honorable hearts, everything is so grand.
Even though I still enjoy fantasy, I do prefer my heroes with a certain dose of realism, and M. K. Hume offers us an insightful new fictional version of the Arthurian legends inspired by a stone tablet found at Glastonbury monastery within a grave during a period of civil strife in medieval times.
Here lies Arthur, King of the Britons,
And Guinevere, his second wife.
A first wife then, who knew, right? Apart from scholars and historians, of course. All right, let me assume my ignorance on the matter, I didn’t know and thought it was quite intriguing.
Artorex is a foster child raised by a Roman family in their beautiful villa right after the legions have left the isles of the Britons. Treated with contempt as a young lad his attitude is distant and disengaging, but everything changes when three prominent strangers arrive at Villa Poppinidii. The powerful men urge Artorex’s foster parents to make sure he’s trained for battle of arms and wits. So Artorex grows into a wise young man, he becomes the Villa’s steward; falls in love and marries little Galia, the daughter of a Roman trader, the end.
Oh no, Myrddion Merlinus, advisor to Uther Pendragon, High King of the Britons, and two princes cared about and provided for Artorex’s education. We readers know who he is and what awaits him in the future, but M. K. Hume created a myriad of rich characters that helped Artorex become Arthur. There are no magic tricks in Arthur’s journey, only hard work and smart characters, masters of manipulation and politics. She does describe terrible rituals, but only fear and superstition turn them into magic on the course of time. M. K. Hume steers away from fantasy and offers us a believable, and extraordinary story where the maneuvers of a smart group of men help shape the future of a nation.
Dragon’s Son encompasses Arthur’s formative years and his coming into power. It also offers us a group of engaging secondary characters that show us how the powerful and the humble coexisted, and they make us care. Despite the limitations women suffered during the Dark Ages M. K. Hume’s female characters are strong and enrich the story as active coadjutants. And her mastery of history shines on every page adding a realism that grounds the story. I’ll definitely read more from M. K. Hume.