Sword at Sunset (Rosemary Sutcliff)

As my time winds down in the UK, I want to finish the way I started: with a good story about King Arthur.  Rosemary Sutcliff's Sword at Sunset fits the bill.  Similar to Bernard Cornwell's trilogy, Sutcliff re-imagines Arthur as he might have truly been (not as the legends make him out to be).  In her case, Arthur is "Artos the bear"- the son of a Briton and Roman- a child of two worlds, working the fight off the incoming Saxons (who invaded shortly after the Romans deserted the island).  Sutcliff places even more emphasis on realism than Cornwell- gone are all references to Lancelot, Merlin, and magic; in their place are realistic-sounding Roman and British characters.  The 10% I read was well done, but I put it down.  I suppose that bears further explanation.

I learned something about myself (and my reading style) reading this book.  Sutcliff's prose is immersive, evocative, beautiful, and intensely descriptive- and I had a hard time following it.  As I pondered why it was taking me such effort to plow through this, I realized it had to do with the nature of the writing.  Her descriptions of the landscape, environment, and other elements is impressive- and to me, not overly useful.  I realized that when I read, I tend to disregard many descriptive elements, and focus mostly on the plot and nature of the characters themselves.  Normally (apparently) that works out fine, because the authors I read don't but such emphasis on descriptions.  Sutcliff breaks that pattern for me, and I had a harder time with her than I did with Charles Dickens (whose language is harder but emphasis is more up my alley- plot and character).  So, after taking five days to get through 10% of the book, I decided to move on.  She's a good author, and I'd recommend her for those who enjoy the aforementioned emphasis.  It's just not for me.

As an aside, apparently this book is not the first in the series (although it's the first to be written for adults; Sutcliff wrote mostly children's books).  It's the fifth book in a set that begins with The Eagle of the Ninth. 

As another aside, Sutcliff also did a trilogy for children on King Arthur, but those books are a more classic, legendary take on the King (and feature all the familiar faces).  Since I respect her as an author, and suspect that the trilogy will be less descriptive, I plan on picking that up.

(Anticipated) Rating: A-