Review: Spear by Nicola Griffith

Spear by Nicola Griffith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


I was provided an audio ARC of this book via Netgalley, all opinions are my own. The audiobook is narrated by the author, which in this case works really well. The writing is very poetic, and she is able to capture the cadence of her writing in the way I feel only she could. With a retelling or fantasy such as this she was also able to pronounce the names of the characters the way she envisioned.


I've always been fascinated by Arthurian lore, and I really enjoyed the unique take on this one. It keeps the heart of the Arthurian legend while putting a new spin on it. Our main character Peretur is female and is called by visions to be a knight in King Artos' court. She grew up in seclusion with her mother who kept them warded in a cave. When she comes of age, Per ventures off on her own as she knows she has a destiny to fulfil and evil to fight. In order to gain the trust of the King she must prove herself worthy. Peretur gathers used armour and a broken spear as she ventures out beyond her cave to win accolades, prove her worth and see what fate has in store for her. This has all of the elements a retelling needs: a quest, action, magic, and a love story.


If you are looking for a great retelling and a queer one at that, I highly recommend this. It is well researched and the writing is beautiful. This did start out a little slow for me, mainly because I'm not usually one who enjoys a more poetic writing style, but after a few chapters I settled in and really enjoyed the story.

This book comes out tomorrow April 19, 2022.  

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