King Judy
David Clow
This is a novel that is surprisingly short but feels incredibly long. It’s a 21st century Arthurian story that provides all the thrills and old-fashioned feel of an ancient medieval tale. The style of writing is strong and perfect for the piece. The language used is incredibly deliberate and so perfectly fits the genre and the story itself. It kind of feels like reading Macbeth in its original Shakespearean tongue or the King James Version of the Holy Bible. If you don’t have any appreciation for all forms of the English language, then you may not get the full enjoyment of this book.
While it did take a little while for the story to get started, the action and the drama was there with plenty of shock, revelations, and even loss. What I liked most was the style of the writing—though it also happens to be a slight complaint at the same time. The writing was beautiful and flowed almost poetically. I was so impressed with Clow’s in-depth knowledge of English history combined with the legends of Arthur. But the fanciful writing served as a double-edged sword.
For the Arthurian era, the language fit very well. But for a 21st century story with an Arthurian twist, the writing was a bit confusing. It was fun to read but it truly felt out of place when I reached any dialogue. The characters themselves were not from the Medieval era so their tone of voice was awkward and seemed forced on them. College students spoke on the same level as their expert professors and that should be a good thing! But it didn’t feel normal and it didn’t fit their personalities—it only fit the story due to the fact that its presented as an Arthurian tale.
Other than the complaint about the language, I did enjoy the story. I mentioned before that it felt like it was a long read and that’s somewhat because everything was meticulously detailed, but the book was surprisingly short as Clow did a great job at getting right down to business in the very beginning.
If you like good old-fashioned dragons and knights, then I would recommend this book to you. Anyone who likes urban fantasy will appreciate this read and I’d encourage fans of historic fiction to take a look at this book too.