Book of the Month: Black Horses for the King

By Vitora

 

            Anne McCaffrey, winner of both the Hugo and Nebula awards, is best known for the series that details the adventures of the dragons of Pern as they battle the fiery Thread in an attempt to save their delicate world—this being the Dragonriders of Pern series.  But she is also known for a contribution to the massive pool of books about the legendary King Arthur; though she “swore that she would never write an Arthurian story”, McCaffrey eventually gave in.  In 1996, her love of horses drove her to write the 217-page (Harcourt Brace hardback edition) novel Black Horses for the King, the tale of young Galwyn and the black Libyan chargers who became mounts for the soon-to-be King Arthur and his warriors.

 

            McCaffrey’s wide cast of characters are quite unlike those found in the traditional Arthurian story—even she says so herself—and are a very interesting lot.  Impulsive, land-bound Galwyn, the narrator of the tale, is a clear and refreshing main character; he goes through the perfect amount of development over the course of the novel while still retaining his original humorous and spontaneous nature.  Then there is Lord Artos (later known as King Arthur), who, along with his band of kindly but rough-around-the-edges knights, is patient and determined on his quest for horses powerful enough to bear his heavy soldiers.  Artos is a fatherly man, praising Galwyn for the smallest things—a luxury the boy did not even dream of back on his wicked uncle’s ship.  There are other memorable characters, too, such as old Canyd, whose catch phrase is “no hoof, no horse” and who can call any horse to him with a single word; Iswy, the vengeful rider who lames the Libyan horses out of spite and hatred for Galwyn; and Spadix, Galwyn’s clever pony.  Each character is easy to recall when one reaches the end of the book—except, of course, for the fact that many of the names are near unpronounceable!

 

            Galwyn is an orphan whose Uncle Gralior has forced into apprenticeship aboard his boat—he’s an unwilling sailor with a knack for getting himself ridiculed.  He “rebels at making a seaman”, and jumps at the chance to go ashore when the great Lord Artos asks him to guide his men around the port city.  When Artos and his men see the way Gralior treats his nephew, they are outraged and offer to take the boy on several other horse-finding expeditions.  Eventually, Galwyn makes his escape and joins the party on their journey to purchase the fine horses of Libya.

 

            Once they have obtained the horses, their path winds to the stronghold of Camelot, where Galwyn comes under the watchful eye of Canyd as the two labor hard to keep the black steeds shod.  Galwyn grows in body and in mind and, in the last battle detailed in the book, gets revenge against one of his greatest enemies.

 

            I’ve never liked King Arthur books, but this was an exception.  I think that Anne McCaffrey’s approach of steering away from Arthur himself and instead focusing on someone minor was definitely the difference; Galwyn, as an ordinary person, is easier to relate to than the legendary king of Britain.  After all, how many of us are the kings and how many of us are the servants?  Black Horses for the King was an excellent read, certainly a book I would recommend for a lazy summer afternoon.