Hawk of May [Hardcover]

The Hawk of May is Gwalchmai, son of Lot (possibly) and Morgawse, sister of Arthur and daughter of recently deceased High King Uther. At the beginning of the novel, Gwalchmai has met neither of his more famous relatives, but he knows that both are greatly hated by his parents. Gwalchmai, more familiar to students of Arthurian romances as Gawain, is here the middle son, between his older brother Agravain, and his younger brother (and definitely not the son of Lot) Medraut. Gaheris, normally Agravain's twin, and Gareth are noticeably absent in this rendition. Unlike Agravain, Gwalchmai is not good at the manly arts of war. He is a gifted bard and horseman, but the Celts have not yet adopted battle on horseback yet. Gwalchmai is disappointed in himself and he knows that Lot and Agravain despise him. Finally deciding that he will never be man enough to be a warrior, Gwalchmai agrees to study the black arts from his mother, and discovers that he has a talent for them. He hates his choice, and desperately tries to protect his beloved younger brother, Medraut from them. Medraut, unlike Gwalchmai, has demonstrated that he will be an excellent warrior. When Gwalchmai realizes he failed in preventing Medraut from taking up the black arts, Gwalchmai flees his father's palace, and after a meeting with the forces of the Light, Gwalchmai decides to become one of Arthur's followers.

Until this point, the book is fascinating and can't be put down. Gwalchmai's meeting with his ancestor, Lugh, is one of the best written set ups for the Celtic Otherworld I have read in a while. Gwalchmai is likeable and the conflicts he describes growing up in his dysfunctional family are well written and presented. However, once he catches up to Arthur, the story takes on some false elements that cannot be remedied easily. Arthur treats Gwalchmai shabbily, even when Gwalchmai, suddenly turned into a formidable warrior by virtue of the gift of Lugh, the sword Caledvwlch (with which, for the first time, Gwalchmai is able to beat his brother Agravain), proves his capabilities and loyalties to Arthur. Arthur can't allow himself to accept Gwalchmai is truly out of his mother's control, until the very last, in an unconvincing ending. It is hard to believe that first Arthur, the good Celtic lord, would treat a man so rudely and inhospitably, and that second, Arthur's warriors would want to follow a man of such ignoble actions. Arthur's behavior is very un-Celtic like; so is the behavior of his soldiers.

However, most of these are the same liberties taken by the writers before and after Bradshaw. I eagerly look forward to finding her other, unfortunately out-of-print Arthurian novels.

The book is an enticing and enjoyable read. The author provides a beneficial note on the pronounciation of the Welsh spellings used and I found them to be not the least bit daunting. In fact, I liked the change to an otherwise very familiar legend. I found that the name and location variances kept me from "assuming" I knew where the story was headed. I like the author's descriptions of key characters and was excited that Guenevere received barely a nod in this book with no sign of Lancelot yet. Too many authors put too much into the love triangle and miss the mark when describing Arthur. Bradshaw has done a marvelous job...I found myself torn between disliking Arthur and sharing in the feeling of awe that he inspired amongst his men and his people. There is a trace of magic introduced, but none of the Merlin shape changing and time travel that bogs down too many Arthurian attempts. The lore and myth seems more believable - as if the door really stood open at that time in history and we, today, have simply drifted too far away from it. At any rate, the book is excellent. I see many copies on Amazon for a bargain - GET ONE!!!

The book's only other failing is a tendency to be a little too "talky" at times, wandering far afield as Gwalchmai wrestles with his internal darkness and ponders the nature of Light and religion. But the action, when it occurs, is well handled.