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Parke Godwin
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Firelord Mass Market Paperback – January 1, 1994

by Parke Godwin (Author)
4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 38 ratings
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Artorious Pendragon, a young warrior-king destined to unite the shattered land of Britain, reaches unattainable heights, only to lose his heart and his kingdom to the greatest betrayal of all. Reprint.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    400 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Avon Books
  4. Publication date
    January 1, 1994
  5. Dimensions
    4.25 x 1 x 7 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0380775514
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0380775514
  8. See all details
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Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Avon Books; Reprint edition (January 1, 1994)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Mass Market Paperback ‏ : ‎ 400 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0380775514
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0380775514
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.2 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 4.25 x 1 x 7 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars 38 ratings

About the author

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Parke Godwin

Parke Godwin

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Parke Godwin (1929–2013) was a bestselling historical fantasy and science fiction author. Before becoming a professional writer he was a military intelligence radio operator during the Korean War, a research technician, a stage actor, an advertising man, and a maitre d' hotel.

His classic three-part retelling of the King Arthur legend (FIRELORD, BELOVED EXILE, and THE LOVERS: THE LEGEND OF TRISTAN AND YSEULT) is set in the 5th century, during the collapse of the Roman Empire; and his reinterpretation of Robin Hood (SHERWOOD and ROBIN AND THE KING) takes place during the Norman conquest.

His other well-known books include DARKER PLACES (a thriller), THE LAST RAINBOW, THE TOWER OF BEOWULF, THE LORD OF SUNSET, and two science fiction satires, WAITING FOR THE GALACTIC BUS and THE SNAKE OIL WARS. His short fiction includes the award-winning ”The Fire When It Comes” and "Influencing the Hell out of Time and Teresa Golowitz," which was made into a TWILIGHT ZONE episode.

In collaboration with close friend Marvin Kaye, Parke wrote two science fiction novels — THE MASTERS OF SOLITUDE and WINTERMIND — and a horror novel called A COLD BLUE LIGHT.

Customer reviews

4.9 out of 5 stars
4.9 out of 5
38 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

D. Waples
5.0 out of 5 stars Good service
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2022
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Item arrived on time and in very good condition, as described.
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Helen Marshall
5.0 out of 5 stars Best story ever of King Arthur!
Reviewed in the United States on January 10, 2017
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This is, hands down, the greatest, most amazing telling of the tale of King Arthur you will ever read. Period.
It has passages that have stayed with me for over 25 years, and reading it another time years later is to be spell-bound all over again. It is original in approach, and the characters are redrawn wonderfully.
It strikes you that you've read all the legends of King Arthur and suddenly, someone has recorded it as it really was, and for the first time you hear it all aright. It rings with authenticity.
Cannot recommend this book highly enough - if there were more stars, I'd give them!
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Lori
5.0 out of 5 stars Still an amazing read, even when read 30yrs later.
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2021
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I read this in my teens and reading it now over 30 years later, it is still amazing and insightful. Absolutely love this book.
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syrn
5.0 out of 5 stars Was in very good condition
Reviewed in the United States on January 30, 2013
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My wife was very pleased with this book which replaced one she used to have. It was in excellent condition. We would recommend this to others. The little bit more we paid for a better condition was worth it.
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sturmkiester
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the all time great fantasy writers
Reviewed in the United States on November 30, 2014
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One of the all time great fantasy writers, able to weave fiction and historical fact together like no one else.
One person found this helpful
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Orange Blossom Meadow
5.0 out of 5 stars King Arthur at his best
Reviewed in the United States on August 12, 2013
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Firelord is a new angle on the legend. Every character is given a place in the story. I love it!
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DRW
4.0 out of 5 stars Good Arthurian tale.
Reviewed in the United States on September 20, 2017
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Good solid version of the Arthurian tale and prequel to Beloved Exile. Enjoyed them both.
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Arthurian Tapestry
5.0 out of 5 stars "Ought to have something tasteful" and this novel gives it to us!
Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2018
Some good Arthurian books are as elusive as the Grail! I can't believe that this novel lingered unread on my shelf for so long, whilst other less worthy Arthurian efforts got my attention. How many versions of the Arthurian legend have I waded through to get to this forgotten gem! Think about it: wherever you turn you can find a reprints from the long-winded New Age Marion Zimmer Bradley to the Evangelical “Tolkien wanna-be” Stephen Lawhead. Although some of these books do contain a few good ideas, the prose style is as cringe worthy as the prose to be discovered in the selections from an Evangelical bestseller list.

Parke Godwin deserves better than to be relegated to the out-of-print shelves, especially when these other works are still in print pretty much everywhere. As others have said, the prose style of Parke Godwin is well suited to his subject—he captures an entire realm, with such minutiae that somehow deftly avoids being prolix or purple. There is no filler like Bradley or Lawhead, both who would have benefitted from being mentored by Godwin in a creative writing course had he ever given such a class.

The story is told from Arthur’s point of view like Sutcliff’s equally superb “Sword at Sunset” and covers the same period, although Godwin injects a bit of dreaminess into his narrative with an imaginary Merlin whom only Arthur sees. Godwin’s book feels a bit like a cross between Mary Stewart and Rosemary Sutcliff with a lot more grit and gore. The battle sequences are truly riveting, as the familiar cast of characters take the stage—Bedivere, Gareth, Geraint, and Gawain to name a few (and yes we have the later French addition of Lancelot too!)

Be prepared to be amused at Godwin’s take on Tristan’s Ysuelt whose love triangle is not celebrated with romantic flare but deconstructed with Ysuelt’s confession to Trystan: “Love? Love, who? When? Where? I was sixteen. We had a few weeks, we had a boat, and then it was Mark…I but a torn scrap of meat between your jealousy and his fumbling.”
Finally, after the whining of Bradley’s so called feminist take on the legend, we have some Arthurian women with some bite, standing up and challenging even those old ideas any of us may have had of the old romances.

Oh, but it gets better—much better. We have the ardent Lancelot befuddled by the manipulative and sly Guenevere, and we cannot help but love her still! Lancelot thinks he loves a queen whom only he can fulfill and even challenges Arthur: “Why in God’s name did she marry you? Why you when I could been happy all my life with nothing but her?” Godwin’s contrast before the Lancelot who gets played and the Arthur who doesn’t turns the whole love-triangle into a refreshing spin.

Guenevere sees Arthur as an unrefined peasant, who entangles himself with Morgana and the faerie people; Arthur sees his queen as an aristocrat and bitch, which she doesn’t deny: “That I am, and the best in Britain. God wouldn’t waste a nice girl on you, Pendragon.”

I love them! These are flesh and blood people, in a time of turmoil and strife. Of course, the novel is not without its faults–there are unfortunate pacing issues at the beginning of the novel, which may deter many readers from completing as it did me so many years ago. The Morgana of this book did not quite take with me—something a bit too outlandish, even untouchable, and I think this may have been the author’s intent. But, it is so worth it to get to the latter half of the novel with an invocation of the chivalric legends that will come.

Trystan foretells the legend that they will become: “…Camelot! Palace of the mind that will endure as long as men dream. The Grail, the great deeds, the battle, the songs. I’ve been writing some of them myself. Ought to have something tasteful before the Christians get hold of you.”

Exactly! And that is what Godwin delivers before Bradley and Lawhead got hold of him.
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Top reviews from other countries

J. Turner
5.0 out of 5 stars fabulous!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 23, 2013
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This is the best version I have ever read of the exploits of 'King Arthur' and his knights. Godwin is a master storyteller, and not only keeps you turning the page, but transports you back into a 'time when...' The mythic cast of characters are rendered faithfully, but less romantically than is the norm, and Godwin breathes new life into them as never before. His Welsh isn't bad either... though there are one or two blips! It didn't detract from my huge enjoyment of the novel though... if I have one gripe, it is that I should have read this years ago. Elegiac, superb, brutal. Recommended!
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Jinane
5.0 out of 5 stars Intriguing
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 12, 2013
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This is damned intriguing and well written. You got sucked right into it. I'm glad I finally got to it.
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