THE CRIMSON CHALICE

by Victor Canning ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 25, 1978

Another reworking of the Arthurian legend, but so bereft of Arthurian resonance that it might have worked better as an unvarnished or unvarnished historical novel of the Roman twilight in Britain. As the Saxon pillagers sweep ever farther west, young Baradoc, Roman army veteran and son of a British tribal chief, meets Tia, a Roman girl fleeing the troubles. Their son Arturo, a child hugely endowed with wildness, blarney, and arrogance, grows up to inherit his father's dream of uniting Britain against the Saxons. The story is chiefly concerned with the slow building of his campaign, from his early rebellion against the delaying tactics of the anti-Saxon forces to the great victory of Mount Badon. Like many imaginers of an earlier Britain, Canning is best when describing the wild countryside and the homely skills of its inhabitants. His attempts to graft this material onto the Grail legend are effortful platitudes. Merlin appears and disappears at climactic moments, saying things like ""Only the gods know that."" Speeches are peppered with ritual interjections of ""Aie. . ."" to indicate deep thought. People look at each other and instinctively know something, or undergo some tremendous change ""from that moment"" . . . Canning's Arturo does occasionally come to life during his stormy childhood in the Tribe of the Enduring Crow; once he is grown, one feels that Canning, like Sir Bedivere, has lost sight of the barge.

Pub Date: Aug. 25, 1978

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Morrow

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1978

Categories: FICTION