Rebecca Swain wrote this review.
Kingdom of the Grail is not a retelling of the Arthurian legend. Merlin appears at the beginning and the end of this story; Parsifal makes an appearance; and the Grail is the focal point of the story, but the action takes place hundreds of years after Arthur’s death.
The protagonist in this novel is Roland, as in Song of Roland. Tarr tells Roland’s story from an Arthurian point of view, positing that Roland was one of Merlin’s descendants, a yellow-eyed, shape-shifting Breton witch who served in Charlemagne’s army of Franks. It is not necessary to be familiar with the legend of Roland in order to enjoy and understand this book; however, if you would like to read the poem, you will find it at this internet archive.
While serving Charlemagne, Roland begins to suspect that someone is ensnaring the king’s son, Pepin, in evil magic. At the same time, a mysterious woman appears among Charlemagne’s men with a powerful sword which she offers to whoever can remain standing at the end of a special tournament. Roland wins the sword, but is not certain what exactly he is expected to do with it. He finds out on his way home from a ruinous war in Spain.
As you would expect from a Judith Tarr book, there is a good deal of goddess worship and female power in this story, and a strong female protagonist. Sarissa, the mysterious woman with the sword, has knowledge of Roland’s true importance to the world, and feels it is her duty to make sure he fulfills his destiny, although he tries to run away from it and her.
This is an enjoyable book, and well-written, filled with romance and warfare. Roland is a bit too sweet for my taste, too modest and too shy with women. Tarr has a tendency to present her male protagonists as the equivalent of virginal young girls when it comes to sex, which is hard to square with the fact that they are handsome, experienced men. But this is a small complaint. Roland is a wonderful hero, brave, but with moments of cowardice; arrogant without even realizing it; steadfast, though sometimes unforgiving. Neither he nor Sarissa are infallible, and this makes them more interesting than cardboard heroes. This is a worthwhile version of the Roland legend.
(Roc, 2000)
