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As a child, I adored T.H. White’s collection of novels about King Arthur � ‘The Once and Future King,� I have to confess, that though I’ve read plenty of non-fiction about Arthur since, I’ve rather avoided reading any novels about Arthur and the knights, afraid to destroy the memories of the childhood pleasure I got from White’s books. But Giles Kristian’s ‘Arthur� is brilliant and couldn’t be more different from White’s take on Arthur.

White wrote about the magical, fantasy Arthur, but Kristian’s character’s are solid, real and human. They bleed, sweat, need to pee and feel aches and pains, thirst and hunger, as I did with them. It is rare gift to be able to transport readers into such an ancient and alien time and make them smell, see, hear and experience every battle, each sword thrust or step of a journey as if they were physically there. But Kristian has that gift in spades.

I loved the subtle interweaving and balance between the two timelines of the young Arthur and Arthur as an old man, which culminated in what felt to me to be an exquisitely poignant and perfect ending. This is definitely on my shelf of books I will read again. But in the meantime, I’m off to read the first books in Kristian series now � ‘Lancelot� and ‘Camelot.� Can’t wait.