The Bright Sword by Lev Grossman

I am not into Arthurian literature, and so when I say that I very much enjoyed that, I should also add that if you are a big King Arthur fan, you might not have the same response to this. For one thing, we find out quite early that the king is missing and presumed dead, and the other is that Merlin doesn't get a candy coated Disney treatment here--he is a sexual predator with a penchant for raping young girls that he takes under his wing, which is apparently a return to tradition, but doesn't play as well now as it might once have done. The book opens with Collum, an aspiring knight hoping to join King Arthur's Round Table at Camelot, being challenged by another knight on the road, and the two engage in a heated duel. He does well and is taken in to the fold. The knights who remain now have a monumental task ahead of them: figure out who can succeed Arthur, and with Collum coming along for the ride, they work figure out how to go about identifying such a person. The non-linear adventure they embark on solving the problem of locating Arthur's successor is an examination sorts; who are the people who make up the legends and what are their motivations? It delves into questions of the nature of heroics, of leadership, of bravery, and of knowing when to hold onto the stories and when to move on from them. It's a complicated, meandering, and fascinating story.