Finished this a few days ago.

She had thought the anger was gone, the desperate feeling of betrayal eased, but shards of broken dreams remained like shattered pieces of glass dropped on a marble floor. Self-pity had found time enough to weave a snare of despair and hopelessness time to mix with an ample portion of jealousy, to breathe the sulphur fumes of hatred.The Kingmaking - Pendragon's Banner Book 1 by Helen Hollick

If you expect anything of the usual in this retelling of Arthur's story then basically don't read it. It's real, it's gritty - it brings the dark ages to life with all their terrible brutality and cunning plotting. The men are /real/ men - both for good and ill. Arthur's no angel and Gwenhwyfar no whiter than white holy woman, rather she's a daughter of Gwynnedd, as down to earth as they come.

Trapped in a marriage to Winifred, daughter of Vortigern, an a half saex to boot, Arthur must bide his time until he is in a position to take over kingship of all Britain. The plot twists and turns around incidents that make sense of the fanciful in the other retellings. Not the least of the heartache is the love Arthur and Gwen have nursed since childhood, and the equally intense hatred Winifred harbours for Gwen, even though she holds little love for her husband. It's a story of the pride of some of the characters, with murder, rape, pillage, battle, war... and realistically told.

And Morgaine? Oh yes, she makes an appearance - but not /at/ /all/ as you would expect her to be. I'm very torn... not sure if I want to read book 2 or not... and not becuase it isn't good - it is. Just because some of it perhaps hits a little close to home.

gw=