Hawk of May by Gillian Bradshaw

Hawk of May is the first of an Arthurian Trilogy by Gillian Bradshaw. It tells the tale of Gwalchmai, also known as “Hawk of May” or Sir Gawain in Arthurian Legend. Gwalchmai is the middle child of King Lot and Morgawse (in this version of the tale, Morgawse is the daughter of Uther). While Gwalchmai’s older brother Agravain is a brilliant warrior, Gwalchmai finds himself lacking. In order to find something that he excels at, he starts to learn Latin and sorcery from his mother Morgawse.

One night when he discovers the true depths of Morgawse’s evil, Gwalchmai flees from the darkness and toward the “light.” He goes to a magical kingdom and upon his return to Britain, discovers that he is now a brilliant warrior who would like to use his power for good. He knows that good is his parents’ enemy, King Arthur, and determines to join his band of warriors. Will Arthur accept Gwalchmai and be able to put aside his prejudices?

Hawk of May is a unique look at a different aspect of Arthurian Legend and I enjoyed this different take on the legend. Overall though, I found myself kind of indifferent to the book and I’m not sure why. I have been pondering all day and I can’t come up with a good reason. The book was okay, but it didn’t really hook and intrigue me as other books of Arthurian legend have before.

Book Source: Advance Review Copy from Sourcebooks. Thank-you!