Queen of None

September 28, 2020
Starting with a clever explanation as to why King Arthur’s sister has been forgotten by history, Barron (Time & Temper) spins an entertaining new version of the Arthurian legend. Anna Pendragon was married off to the brutal King Lot when she was 12. Returning to Camelot as a widow 20 years later to bring Lot’s crown as a gift to Arthur, she hopes to rekindle her old love with Sir Bedevere and reconnect with her son, Sir Gawain. Instead, she discovers she is still a pawn of Arthur and the fearsome Merlin, who swiftly marry her off again in an effort to control both her and her new husband, Lancelot. With help from the women on the Avalon side of her family, Anna sets in motion a plan to seize her freedom—but the dark power required may destroy her. Anna, who loves and reviles Camelot in equal measure, offers a sympathetic new perspective on the familiar story. Though she only desires a life of love and peace, she’s forced to contend with her brother’s machinations and fight for her own autonomy. The result is a layered, engaging retelling sure to please fans of the Arthurian tales.

November 1, 2020
Barron delves into Arthurian legend from the perspective of Anna Pendragon, King Arthur's younger sister. Prophesied by Merlin to be forgotten, Anna was still practically a girl when she was married off to an older man to forge an alliance for her brother. Years later, she returns to Arthur's court as a widow, where her eldest son, Gawain, is already training as a knight. She finds herself a pawn once again, caught between the plans of her brother, her half-sisters, and Merlin while searching for her own happiness. Her lingering affection for Bedevere, illicit father to her twin boys, may be ignored again in favor of another alliance that will further her brother's needs. Surprises come from within as well, as Anna discovers that she has magical abilities, inherited from her mother's side of the family, shared to some extent with her half-sisters Morgen, Morgase, and Elaine. Barron's take on Arthurian legend gets readers exactly where they expect to be in the end, yet will leave them with entirely new insight on how they reached that point.

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December 1, 2020

At just 13, Anna, the sister of King Arthur, was given in marriage to a man three times her age, Lot, the King of Orkney. By the time she was 15 she had gifted him with her first child. Deeply unhappy in her marriage, Anna is greatly relieved when her husbanddies. She is recalled to Arthur's court only to find that she is expected to be grateful for the meager scraps of courtesy offered her and thankful for the chance to marry another man she barely knows, the much younger (and celibate) knight, Lanceloch. During this time of great upheaval and war, the realm also deals with a new religion bent on destroying the much older Druid beliefs--Christianity. VERDICT Barron's (These Marvelous Beasts) novel blends human earthiness with the mystical elements we have come to expect from Arthurian legends, allowing readers to feel as though they could slip from the mundane to the fantastical at any moment. While a bit disjointed at times, this work ably captures the essence of King Arthur's court and those who inhabited it.--Jane Henriksen Baird, formerly at Anchorage P.L., AK

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