Wonderly Wroth is the fifth book in Scott Telek’s The Swithen series. The series retells the Arthurian legend from the birth of Merlin to the fall of Camelot. Telek plans twenty-five books total, and this newest addition ensures readers will be staying interested in the series for a long time to come.
Telek is not rushing the storyline in this series. The fourth book, The Flower of Chivalry, ended with the boy Arthur pulling the sword from the stone. Wonderly Wroth covers the roughly six months after that event, a time usually only brushed over in the chronicles and other Arthurian fiction. First, we have Arthur showing his father Sir Ector and brother Kay that he is able to pull the sword from the stone. Then the family tries to come to terms with what that will mean for all of them. Once Ector accepts that Arthur can pull the sword, the trio go to Archbishop Dubricius to convince him, and so a chain of events is set in motion in which Arthur again and again must prove himself the rightful king by drawing forth the late King Uther’s sword. Of course, the other kings of Britain are not happy. Arthur not only has to contend with King Lot’s displeasure, but he also has to face assassination attempts and a kidnapping. Most importantly, he must win over the common people to his cause.
The matter would all be easier if Arthur were himself convinced he was the rightful king. Here is where Telek really shines in developing his characters. Arthur is filled with self-questioning. He does not even know who his parents are, and no one seems quite able to tell him since no one really knows who he is or why he has been chosen to pull the sword when full grown men and nobles and knights are unable to do so. In time, Arthur comes under the protection of Sir Ulfius and Sir Bretel, who had once served High King Uther and the Lady Igraine, and after many conversations, they and Arthur come to realize Arthur is the child of Igraine and Uther—but even that discovery only leads to more problems. An issue from the past concerning Arthur’s parents and the two knights becomes the main storyline, and an opportunity to delve into the tension between two primary virtues of good knights: loyalty and honor.
None of what I’ve shared about the story here really gives away anything since almost everyone will know the Arthurian legend who reads the novel. Part of the magic of its retellings is we all know what will happen, but we enjoy how each author individually and creatively gets us to the key events. Telek likes to dwell in all these lost moments of uncertainty in the storyline and share how the characters come to cope with the situations that will shape them.
I won’t go into full detail about how Arthur eventually becomes king, but I will say that I loved when King Lot’s resistance led to him getting a moldy loaf of bread thrown at his head.
But there is much more happening in this novel than just Arthur’s immediate story. One of my favorite characters, although he is only briefly in the novel as a setup for future books, is Pellinore. Pellinore is a terrible womanizer in most versions of the legend and he lives up to that here, but he is also incredibly naïve about why women don’t like him. One of the funniest moments in the book is after he has forced a woman to his will, he professes his love for her and asks her to accompany him. When she refuses, he steals her dog as a souvenir of her, which only makes her more enraged. Then once he has parted with her, he realizes he doesn’t really want the dog and hopes it will just wander off and leave him alone.
Perhaps the strongest and most interesting aspect of the entire novel, however, is Telek’s depiction of the conflict between Christianity and the Pagan or fairy ways. Merlin and Viviane are the key characters who represent these different belief systems. Such conflict has been a staple of Arthurian legend, especially since Marion Zimmer Bradley’s monumental The Mists of Avalon. Numerous authors have treated the issue in a similar vein to her, and Telek joins this trend that usually ends with the Pagans looking better than the Christians, but he also puts some very original ideas into Viviane’s mouth as she argues her points. One of the most shocking things Viviane claims is that in two thousand years, humans will cease to exist and her kind will have the power again. Since the novel is set in the fifth century, that means we humans only have about 400 years left. Viviane’s discussions with Merlin make him question some of what he believes about how God has called him to manipulate events to bring Arthur to the throne and ensure the land is Christian. At the same time, Merlin seems determined to do what he believes is right, even when he’s not sure if his beliefs are right. Viviane, rather than getting angry with Merlin for such stubbornness, tells him to come to the lake when he will need her help—doubtless reflecting when she will give Arthur the sword in a future book.
Arthur also questions the status quo and others ideas of right and wrong. He is being taught that as king he must drive the Saxons from Britain, yet when he is told the story of Brutus, the founder of Britain, who invaded the island and killed the giants, he asks how Brutus taking Britain from the giants is any better than the Saxons taking it from the Britons. Such astute remarks make me suspect Merlin will not have an easy time getting Arthur to toe the line. Usually, Merlin is a mentor figure to Arthur, but Wonderly Wroth left me wondering whether Arthur might not prove to be the smarter of the two. Telek’s Arthur is definitely shaping up to be one of the more memorable depictions of the boy king in modern fiction.
The novel closes with a hint of things to come in Book 6 of the Swithen series. Of course, King Lot isn’t going to settle for moldy bread being thrown at his head, so stay tuned for Arthur to face his first battle as king. I’m eager to discover how Arthur will prevail.
For more information about Wonderly Wroth, the Swithen series, and future book releases, visit https://theswithen.wordpress.com/.
____________________________________________________
Tyler Tichelaar, PhD, is the author of The Children of Arthur series, which includes the novels Arthur’s Legacy, Melusine’s Gift, Ogier’s Prayer, Lilith’s Love, and Arthur’s Bosom. He has also written the nonfiction scholarly works King Arthur’s Children: A Study in Fiction and Tradition and The Gothic Wanderer: From Transgression to Redemption, plus numerous other novels and nonfiction works. You can learn more about Tyler at www.ChildrenofArthur.com, www.GothicWanderer.com, and www.MarquetteFiction.com.