Exiled From Camelot

EXILED FROM CAMELOT by Cherith Baldry
Green Knight Publishing (Pendragon) - 2000
ISBN 1928999166 - Paperback
Fantasy / Athurian

Reviewed by Rachel A Hyde
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Sir Kay is a busy man with an important job to do; he is King Arthur's High Seneschal of Britain. When most knights were striving to be preux and boasting of their battle prowess Sir Kay has his steward's duties to attend to which are vital to the smooth running of the realm but not exactly exciting - but is he the craven coward that the other knights think he is? When a youth arrives at the court declaring himself to be Arthur's son he is welcomed but things don't go as planned and soon Sir Kay is held responsible for his murder. Stripped of his rank Sir Kay ends up once again in the hands of Arthur's bitter enemy Briant and his sorceress lover Brisane. Can he prove that they are villains when magic compels everybody else to think otherwise?

Sir Kay is often portrayed in the Cycle as being arrogant but here we see his good side as the useful but neglected seneschal. The magic is at times a bit too convenient as it explains away everybody turning on Sir Kay (who seems too trustworthy and sober to do anything but obey the orders of the King he loves) without creating a lot of tension between Sir Kay's friends and enemies which would have been more interesting. This is a good example of the romantic, quasi-mediaeval dreamworld and Baldry writes an exciting page-turner where the language seems exactly right (neither "gadzookery" nor overly modern) and the characters seem like old friends to anybody who loves the Mallory version of The Matter of Britain.