10 books like Sir Gawain and the Green Knight

If you’re interested in the Arthurian Legend, Thomas Mallory is a great place to start. He’s not the first guy to write about King Arthur and his knights (that honor is widely attributed to French poet Chrétien de Troyes), but he is possibly the first writer to collect all the scattered legends into one cohesive narrative. He’s also the only guy to do it while imprisoned for attempting to overthrow the government/having sex with another guy’s wife, at least as far as I know, and that passion for insurrection and adultery definitely shows through in his work. It’s a very old book, and as such the language can be a bit dense and meandering, but it’s also the basis for every other book on this list, and its age means you can read it for free through Project Gutenberg, so that’s a plus.

Arthur Rex tells the same story as Le Morte D’Arthur, but in a radically different way. Where Mallory idolizes the knights and nobles of Arthur’s court, Thomas Berger paints them in the most unflattering light possible. Everyone is a cretin, a sex maniac, or both, and their backwards morals are used as clever mirrors of our own modern moral failings. Arthur Rex is probably the funniest version of the Arthurian Legend that I’ve read. It’s got its tongue firmly lodged in its cheek. Even so, the ending managed to make me cry, so props to Berger for capturing the full range of emotions with this one.

I read The Mists of Avalon while on a backpacking trip in Hawaii. Thus the mists described so vividly in the novel are forever intertwined with the morning mists on the north shore of Kauai. 

Atmospheric and compelling are the first two words that come to mind in describing this novel. Stereotypes about women, such as Morgan le Fay (usually portrayed as a one-dimensional villainess) are completely dismantled.

Instead all of Bradley’s characters, both male and female, are as real as flesh and blood people, caught in a tumultuous time period.

Like Dances with Wolves, The Mists of Avalon spoke to me deeply about the sadness of a dominant culture completely suppressing a richer, older one that was much more in harmony with nature.

Also a twist on a classic tale, The Once and Future King delves into Arthurian legends and forms the basis of many more recent interpretations in film and television.

Often speaking affectionately to the reader, White decidedly takes the role of a wizened elder recounting important stories of ages gone by to the younger generation.

This is a vivid, dramatic and well-paced version of the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. It is set in a legendary time full of castles such as Tintagel, or as here: "Meanwhile Sir Lancelot had lain six days and six nights prisoned in the vault below Sir Meliagraunce’s castle, and every day there came a maiden who opened the trap and let food and drink down to him on the end of a silken cord. And every day she whispered to him, sweet and tempting…" I love the resonance of Sutcliff’s writing; rereading it just now, I couldn’t resist reading it out loud just for the beauty of the sound of the language—something I’m very conscious of because I write poetry.

I love the medieval English setting, and the author clearly knew what he was talking about when it came to such energetic pursuits as archery, falconry, hunting, and jousting. The novel wasn’t terribly well-served by Disney’s cinematic retelling of it, but the idea of exploring King Arthur’s childhood is a fascinating one and the execution is terrific. The main character, Wart, is very well realised and White’s Merlyn is a brilliantly cunning and believable wizard.

The first thing that drew me to Davis’s books was that teen/dragons were the main characters. Throughout the series these teenagers with dragon abilities face many crises in faith as they battle the forces of evil. Another interesting twist is Davis used the story and characters from the King Arthur story. These characters help and hinder the teen in their efforts to save their dragon world and fight evil. The reader watches with bated breath as Billy and Bonnie fight to preserve a secret legacy and discover their place in God’s world of dragons.

What can I say about A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court? Seriously, what can I say? I was just a young kid when I read it. I still have the book. But I don’t remember details or have anything insightful that I can say about it. But I do remember being highly entertained and digging the time travel idea. That plot device really caught my imagination and I just have this very vague memory of being transported back to those mythical days as if the book itself were a time portal.

I also remember feeling really at home with Twain’s tongue-in-cheek style of writing. He activated those little satire-loving circuits in my little juvenile brain.

Though this book is historical fiction rather than fantasy, and I generally am a fantasy fan, K. M. Grant does wonders in this book. It takes place in King Richard’s crusades and, though the book spans several years, you never feel rushed or disconnected from the characters. It does not pick sides but rather has characters on both sides who come together, not in war, but in their love for a small blood-red stallion. As a huge history fan and an equestrian, this book combines medieval times and a knowledge of horses with a talent of weaving stories. It is superb! I cannot say enough about it.

Hilari Bell’s Knight and Rogue series is about Michael, a nobleman turned knight-errant, and his reluctant squire Fisk.

In Lady’s Pursuit, they work together one last time to save a damsel in distress, but it’s the relationship between the two men, with their different backgrounds and worldviews, that really make the book stand out.

Lady’s Pursuit is a satisfying conclusion to a fun and thoughtful series, and can be read alone (although I do recommend the whole series if you want more backstory).

Hilari Bell is my go-to author for mid-story twists—bad guys aren’t necessarily bad, they have strong reasons for their actions. Makes for a satisfying, thought-provoking read.