With the third novel in my Dragon-Myth Cycle trilogy nearly complete, I’ll soon be turning toward finishing the prequel series that began with The Fae Dealings. The two upcoming novellas may be the closest I come to writing in the realm of Arthurian fiction, so I’ve been reading different takes on the legendary characters who live in that subgenre. One of those takes is Cursed by Thomas Wheeler. Suffice it to say, it was a wild reimagining of the Arthurian tale, more so than I ever could have expected.
In Cursed, Wheeler takes the familiar tapestry of Arthurian mythology and reconstructs it so completely that many of its major characters become almost unrecognizable. The same is true of the setting. The book disregards historical accuracy entirely, planting its narrative after the era of Charlemagne, roughly three centuries after the purported existence of the historical King Arthur. The story’s geography is also ambiguous, seemingly more French than British, with fictional, fantasy-named towns and landscapes. It’s also the only version of the Arthurian legend I’ve read that involved Vikings. Who knows why this was done, but it makes for a retelling of the Arthurian legend like no other.
Instead of telling a story about a king destined to save the land, Cursed only hints at the rise of such a monarch. And while Arthur – who has no noble pedigree – is a supporting character, his actions hardly drive the plot. Rather, Cursed is a story about a people oppressed. The Fey, mystical beings that come in a myriad of shapes and sizes, find themselves persecuted mercilessly by the Red Paladins, a fanatical inquisition operating under the shadow of the Roman Church and a wicked pope. And they are in desperate need of a savior.
That savior comes in the unlikely form of a Fey named Nimue (typically pronounced “Nim-oo-ay”). In many Arthurian tales, she’s the Lady of the Lake (sometimes named Viviane), but here, she’s depicted as a young woman with a strong connection to the “Hidden,” invisible spirits that give the Fey their power. She also possesses the Sword of Power – never called Excalibur but ominously named the Devil’s Tooth. Her ferocity in battling the Red Paladins earns her the formidable title of the Wolf-Blood Witch, and if you take delight in a sword-wielding heroine mercilessly slaying evil clerics and monks, Nimue may be the one for you.
Though Arthur and his sister Morgan play lesser roles in the book, Merlin might be its most interesting character. The Merlin of Cursed has lost his magic and is now a drunken charlatan in the service of a very young Uther Pendragon (who has no relation to Arthur in the story). But that all changes once Merlin learns that the Devil’s Tooth has returned to the world, and he sets out to find it. There is a good deal of mystery about Merlin’s backstory in the book, and it pays off in the end.
Overall, I found Cursed to be a sometimes disorienting yet often exciting tale filled with action and enough mystery to keep it going. I should also mention that the book has illustrations by the famous comic book artist Frank Miller and was made into a series on Netflix. Historical purists may not love this one, but anyone who wants a completely different, wildly imaginative take on the Arthurian legend may find just what they’re looking for.