Review: Cursed by Thomas Wheeler and Frank Miller

Hey all, Dani here.

Brrr….it’s starting to get chilly here. We might have to cave in and turn on our heat pretty soon. Until then I’ll just keep cuddled up under a mountain of blankets. Anyway, I hope you are all having a wonderful week so far. My work week is over, so now it’s all about relaxing and enjoying the weekend. I bought Damian and I tickets to go to a musical mystery dinner at the Columbus Zoo tonight, so that should be fun, and then on Saturday we will be heading down to the Ohio Renaissance Festival to eat and drink our way around the festival grounds (check out my Instagram to follow our food adventures there, lol).

Anyway, before I get started on my weekend though, I have a few more blog posts to finish up, including this review. So let’s jump into that, shall we?

Summary

Soon to be a Netflix original series!

The Lady of the Lake is the true hero in this cinematic twist on the tale of King Arthur created by Thomas Wheeler and legendary artist, producer, and director Frank Miller (300, Batman: The Dark Night Returns, Sin City). Featuring 8 full color and 30 black-and-white pieces of original artwork by Frank Miller.

Whosoever wields the Sword of Power shall be the one true King.

But what if the Sword has chosen a Queen?

Nimue grew up an outcast. Her connection to dark magic made her something to be feared in her Druid village, and that made her desperate to leave…

That is, until her entire village is slaughtered by Red Paladins, and Nimue’s fate is forever altered. Charged by her dying mother to reunite an ancient sword with a legendary sorcerer, Nimue is now her people’s only hope. Her mission leaves little room for revenge, but the growing power within her can think of little else.

Nimue teams up with a charming mercenary named Arthur and refugee Fey Folk from across England. She wields a sword meant for the one true king, battling paladins and the armies of a corrupt king. She struggles to unite her people, avenge her family, and discover the truth about her destiny.

But perhaps the one thing that can change Destiny itself is found at the edge of a blade.

My Thoughts

Rating: 3.5 stars

So…I wanted to love this book. Really, I did. I adore Arthurian Legends, and having the sword meant for the true king choose a lady instead…yes. This had the potential to be utterly amazing. But…it just didn’t wholly work for me, which just sucks.

It took me the longest time to feel like I was drawn into the story, and I didn’t feel like I connected to the characters all that well. Maybe it was the way it was written that didn’t work well for me, which happens sometimes, so that’s okay.

And then I do really enjoy books that are illustrated or have some sort of media content, so I was excited to see how the artwork throughout would enhance my reading experience. Except that I found myself not liking the art style either.

I don’t know. I feel like this is such a bummer review, and I feel bad about that. This had an interesting premise, and I feel like it had some interesting set-up and lore and action. So maybe I’ll end up liking the Netflix adaptation better? Because I am still going to give the show a chance. But the book just didn’t hit the spot for me.

Where to Buy

You can pick up your own copy of this book from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-a-million, Book Depository, or your local independent bookstore.

You can also check with your local library.