Half Sick of Shadows is a unique retelling of the classic King Arthur story. It follows an oracle named Elaine, along with her best friends, the sorceress Morgana (Arthur’s sister), the half-fey knight Lancelot, the rightful heir of Camelot Prince Arthur, and Arthur’s true love, the magical Princess of Lyonesse Guinevere (or Gwen). Switching between Elaine’s past, present, and visions of the future, we learn that the five friends were groomed by their mentor on Avalon, an elderly oracle named Nimue or the Lady of the Lake, to ensure that Arthur becomes the King of Camelot and declares peace between the humans and the fey, at whatever cost. Throughout the book, Elaine and her friends must decide how far they are willing to go to ensure the best possible future for Camelot.
Firstly, before reading this book, I only had a vague recollection of the King Arthur story, so I am sure that I missed a lot of the references and connections that Sebastian made in Half Sick of Shadows. Therefore, this book is ideally suited for fans of the King Arthur legend and perfect for fans of medieval fantasy and retellings, including fans of A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer and The Alchemyst by Michael Scott. This book deals with themes such as appearance versus reality, fate versus freewill, quest for power, death, growing up, love and heartbreak, court life, good versus evil, knowledge versus ignorance, heroism, friendship, and the role of women. It is important to note that this book may be a trigger for people struggling with depression and/or suicide.
I found this book to be a bit confusing because it was constantly switching between the past, present, and future visions. It was frustrating because when Elaine is scrying the future, she is only seeing one of many possible outcomes; nothing is guaranteed and Elaine struggles to figure out how to obtain the future she covets. It was quite scary for me to read about all the ways that Elaine and her friends’ futures could go catastrophically wrong. Whilst this book was slow to start with, it got significantly better once it got going!
First off, it was very interesting that Elaine was the main character instead of Arthur. It was also great to see how Elaine, Morgana, and Gwen were strong and powerful on their own and were constantly challenging the traditional expectations of women in Camelot Half Sick of Shadows had a little bit of everything, including action, adventure, quests, romance, royalty, friendship, magic, and so much more. Lastly, my favourite thing about this book was that I thought that the ending was totally fitting yet unexpected!
Fans of retellings and Laura Sebastian’s other novels (including Ash Princess) are sure to love Half Sick of Shadows.
Half Sick of Shadows is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of July 6th 2021.
Will you be picking up Half Sick of Shadows? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
Everyone knows the legend. Of Arthur, destined to be a king. Of the beautiful Guinevere, who will betray him with his most loyal knight, Lancelot. Of the bitter sorceress, Morgana, who will turn against them all. But Elaine alone carries the burden of knowing what is to come–for Elaine of Shalott is cursed to see the future.
On the mystical isle of Avalon, Elaine runs free and learns of the ancient prophecies surrounding her and her friends–countless possibilities, almost all of them tragic.
When their future comes to claim them, Elaine, Guinevere, Lancelot, and Morgana accompany Arthur to take his throne in stifling Camelot, where magic is outlawed, the rules of society chain them, and enemies are everywhere. Yet the most dangerous threats may come from within their own circle.
As visions are fulfilled and an inevitable fate closes in, Elaine must decide how far she will go to change fate–and what she is willing to sacrifice along the way.
The Lady of Shalott reclaims her story in this bold feminist reimagining of the Arthurian myth from the New York Times bestselling author of Ash Princess.
