''Firelord'' is a

historical fantasy Historical fantasy is a category of fantasy and genre of historical fiction that incorporates fantastic elements (such as magic) into a more "realistic" narrative. There is much crossover with other subgenres of fantasy; those classed as Arthur ...

novel by

Parke Godwin Parke Godwin (January 28, 1929 – June 19, 2013) was an American writer. He won the World Fantasy Award for Best Novella in 1982 for his story "The Fire When It Comes". He was a native of New York City, where he was born in 1929. He was the g ...

, first published in 1980. The novel is a retelling of the

King Arthur King Arthur ( cy, Brenin Arthur, kw, Arthur Gernow, br, Roue Arzhur) is a legendary king of Britain, and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In the earliest traditions, Arthur appears as a ...

legend.

Firelord sequence

''Beloved Exile'' (1984) is the second book in the ''Firelord'' trilogy. It and ''Firelord'' were later published as one book in Germany (''Feuerkönig''; ''Die Erbin von Camelot'').

Short stories

"Uallannach - Invitation to Camelot" was written by Parke Godwin in 1988. It was later published by Editor Mike Ashley in London (Chronicles of the Round Table).

Synopsis

The novel begins with a mortally wounded Arthur dictating his memoir to a friar at a monastery after the

Battle of Camlann The Battle of Camlann ( cy, Gwaith Camlan or ''Brwydr Camlan'') is the legendary final battle of King Arthur, in which Arthur either died or was fatally wounded while fighting either with or against Mordred, who also perished. The original leg ...

. In flashback the reader is led through his formative years, his first meeting with

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

, his rise to fame in the service of the British High King

Ambrosius Aurelianus Ambrosius Aurelianus ( cy, Emrys Wledig; Anglicised as Ambrose Aurelian and called Aurelius Ambrosius in the ''Historia Regum Britanniae'' and elsewhere) was a war leader of the Romano-British who won an important battle against the Anglo-Sa ...

, his military campaigns against the Saxons, and his eventual downfall. Despite some fantasy elements, Godwin aims to tell the story of King Arthur from a historically accurate perspective, based on his own research, including archeological trips to various parts of England. He returns the Arthurian characters to the time period and place in which they might actually have lived - 5th-century post-Roman

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. He uses historically appropriate Latin and Brythonic names for the characters, such as ''Artos'' and ''Artorius'' for Arthur, ''Gwenhwyfar'' for

Guinevere Guinevere ( ; cy, Gwenhwyfar ; br, Gwenivar, kw, Gwynnever), also often written in Modern English as Guenevere or Guenever, was, according to Arthurian legend, an early-medieval queen of Great Britain and the wife of King Arthur. First ment ...

, and (the conjectural) ''Ancellius'' for

Lancelot Lancelot du Lac (French for Lancelot of the Lake), also written as Launcelot and other variants (such as early German ''Lanzelet'', early French ''Lanselos'', early Welsh ''Lanslod Lak'', Italian ''Lancillotto'', Spanish ''Lanzarote del Lago' ...

. Morgan le Fay, called Morgana, is a sympathetic character in ''Firelord.'' She is presented as a fiery leader of the wild Prydn people who live north of

Hadrian's Wall Hadrian's Wall ( la, Vallum Aelium), also known as the Roman Wall, Picts' Wall, or ''Vallum Hadriani'' in Latin, is a former defensive fortification of the Roman province of Britannia, begun in AD 122 in the reign of the Emperor Hadrian. R ...

. However, Guinevere is the principal female character. At the center of the novel, Godwin's Arthur is torn between his desire for the simple joy of love and family (represented by

Morgana le Fay Morgan le Fay (, meaning 'Morgan the Fairy'), alternatively known as Morgan ''n''a, Morgain ''a/e Morg ''a''ne, Morgant ''e Morge ''i''n, and Morgue ''inamong other names and spellings ( cy, Morgên y Dylwythen Deg, kw, Morgen an Spyrys), is a ...

) and his ambition to fulfill his destiny to become Emperor of Britain (represented by Guinevere).

Awards

The World Fantasy Award nominee Firelord (1980). The novel was later published as a book in Germany (Feuerkönig - Die Camelot-Chronik). The

Balrog Award The Balrog Awards were a set of awards given annually from 1979 to 1985 for the best works and achievements of speculative fiction in the previous year. The awards were named after the balrog, a fictional creature from J. R. R. Tolkien's Middle-ear ...

and Locus Poll Award nominee Firelord as well.

References

Editions

*''Firelord'',

Avon Books Avon Publications is one of the leading publishers of romance fiction. At Avon's initial stages, it was an American paperback book and comic book publisher. The shift in content occurred in the early 1970s with multiple Avon romance titles reach ...

External links

Firelord
1980 fantasy novels Modern Arthurian fiction American fantasy novels American historical novels Novels set in sub-Roman Britain Novels set in the 5th century Works by Parke Godwin Bantam Books books {{1980s-fantasy-novel-stub