I adore Kiersten White. Not only is she a fellow Buffy fan(atic), but her stories are fresh, modern, dark, and fun. I always expect a good story whenever I open one of her novels. That being said, The Camelot Betrayal, the next book in Ms. White’s Camelot retelling, exceeded even my expectations
Ms. White excels at turning history and traditional stories on their head and continues to do so here. Between her gender-bent version of Lancelot to the “real” story of Tristan and Isold, every character contains some sort of surprise. More importantly, she does not make such changes for the sake of being different but rather does so in a way that makes the history and these stories more inclusive, more representative, and more tolerant than the originals. It is a beautiful approach to storytelling, one I feel enhances her stories.
In The Camelot Betrayal, Ms. White is careful to show growth in both Guinevere and Arthur, which is vital to this sequel. Not only does Guinevere take a more determined and action-laden approach towards finding her true purpose as queen, but her efforts force Arthur to reexamine his idea of marriage, especially one to Guinevere. The growth shown by both characters is vital for the story and should lead to some fireworks in the series finale.
The ending of The Camelot Betrayal is particularly agonizing in its implications and open-ended nature. Personally, I choose to believe that Ms. White is not being purposefully cruel but rather is setting up readers for a most exciting and unpredictable ending. Plus, I hope she makes up for the cliffhanger with lots of steamy scenes!
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