Synopses & Reviews
Arthur turned and strode toward us. He was magnificent, and I will never forget that, in that moment, I first loved him. And I believe had I known what the future held for us: all the trouble, torment, battle, and grief of our lives I still believe that I would have yielded my heart into his keeping as I did then...
In a sweeping epic of the imagination, Alice Borchardt enters the wondrous realm of Arthurian legend and makes it her own. The Dragon Queen is the first volume in a trilogy of novels that boldly re-imagines Camelot and casts Guinevere as a shrewd, strong-willed, magical warrior queen.
Born into a world of terrible strife, where war is constant and weapons are never far from the hands of men or women, Guinevere, daughter of a mighty pagan queen, is a threat to her people and a prize to the dreaded sorcerer Merlin. Sent into hiding, she grows up under the protection of a shapeshifting man-wolf and an ornery Druid. But even on the remote coast of Scotland, where dragons feed and watch over her, she is not safe from the all-seeing High Druid Merlin. He knows the young beauty's destiny, and he will stop at nothing to prevent what has been foretold. For if Guinevere becomes Queen and Arthur, King, they will bring a peace to the land that will leave the power-hungry Merlin a shriveled magician in a weary cloak.
Yet Guinevere possesses power of her own dazzling power to rival even that of Merlin. Summoned from her home by forces she cannot fathom, she travels from the Underworld to an Otherworld of the Past, at each step calling on ancient powers to aid her way. When young Guinevere proves her mettle to an embarrassed Merlin, even her faithful dragon protectors cannot prevent the evil that the sorcerer rains down. Seeking revenge, Merlin banishes Arthur to a world from which the only escape is death. Now Guinevere must face Merlin's wrath without him and prove that she is worthy of being Arthur's Queen.
From the glass-roofed Great Hall at Tintigal to the lush garden forts of Wales, Alice Borchardt details the travels of Guinevere in a rich fabric of prose. The Dragon Queen is a novel of great emotional depth, timeless romance, and soul-stirring adventure.
Review
"Bold, courageous, prophetic...this Guinevere enchants and engages the reader immediately....Borchardt further stakes her claim as a writer of breathtaking eloquence..." Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
Review
"This Guinevere is fierce, smart, skilled....In addition to being exceptionally well written, the book has enormous integrity: All of the stories...are well grounded in the history, politics, and religion of the time." San Jose Mercury News
Review
"[A] rousing new twist on an old story....Borchardt works her own magic by creating a vastly different Merlin from the star-cloaked graybeard of popular image....Borchardt's followers and fantasy lovers should go along willingly..." VOYA
Review
"The author has created a world that is civilized yet wild, brutal yet beautiful a world in which readers can easily become immersed....It's a fresh and scintillating take on a well-loved theme." School Library Journal
About the Author
Alice Borchardt shared a childhood of storytelling with her sister, Anne Rice, in New Orleans. A professional nurse, she has also nurtured a profound interest in little-known periods of history. She is the author of Devoted, Beguiled, The Silver Wolf, Night of the Wolf, and The Wolf King. Her most recent novel is The Raven Warrior, the continuation of the Tales of Guinevere. She lives in Houston.