Review: The King’s Peace


The King’s Peace
Jo Walton


2002, originally 2000 • 544 pages • Tor Fantasy





Anyway, right—the book in question, which, thrillingly, opens with what I am going to assume is a reference to a The Lord of the Rings-inspired poem about Théodwyn. The King’s Peace is Jo Walton’s riff on Arthurian myth, that great drained well of modern fantasy. Or nearly drained, anyway, because The King’s Peace is very good reading. Instead of following Arthur (Urdo), Merlin (Raul), or Guinevere (Elenn), we follow a regular, if ultimately very decorated, soldier in Urdo’s army—Sulien ap Gwien, a fiercely loyal woman dedicated heart and soul to Urdo and his efforts to unify the varied kingdoms of the island of Tir Tanagiri.

The riff is quite loose, and all the better for it. The general outline is more or less followed (I wonder if this kiddo named Morthu might be a troublesome sort?), but this frees up Walton, in her first novel, to focus on the life of Sulien as a soldier. There’s exactly the right amount of detail for you to submerge yourself in as a reader, even if you, like myself, have no head for visualizing military maneuvers. I found myself dangerously close to missing my subway stop a few times while reading this.

It’s so rich and dense, in fact, that it took a while for it to dawn on me the extent of Walton’s alternate history here. While Sulien is an exceptional woman, she’s hardly the only woman serving under Urdo—female “extras” appear regularly and Sulien often talks with Marchel, the other woman who shares her high rank. About a third of the way through the novel, it’s revealed that women, in this universe, have much more control over their bodies. They have to actively choose, on some level, to conceive a child, and can’t even conceive until they marry and have a certain ritual performed, except in very rare cases. And that very subtle difference makes all the difference, explaining why Tir Tanagiri’s culture has a much broader view of women than the myth and history it’s inspired by.

It’s very heartening to read a sixteen year old fantasy novel (I personally know children younger than this book who can have conversations with me!) that deftly shows the value of reproductive rights with its worldbuilding. Jo Walton, you treasure.

That said, it’s a fair warning to tell you that the novel opens with young Sulien attacked, raped, and left for dead by Jarnish invaders. As the novel progresses, Sulien realizes that she has no desire for romance or sex. It’s refreshing to see a novel that features a determinedly asexual and aromantic heroine, but it does feel a little troubling that the reason for her being that way is blamed on her sexual assault. (Other characters outright say this to her face; Sulien, for her part, struggles against that idea, but seems to be without the vocabulary to do anything more than deny it.) And later, when her rapist reappears in her life, it is compelling to see how Sulien must square this with her devotion to Urdo’s laws—but I find it troubling that he grows to be a character thought affectionately of by other characters. This makes him sound like a more important character than he is, but I’m not saying that to downplay this troublesome thread.

Ultimately, I think The King’s Peace would be fascinating in conversation with Kushiel’s Dart—both are dense alternate histories of Europe from the very early aughts that deal with religion, invading Norsemen, and court intrigue, with two very different heroines at the center. I wonder if anyone’s written about the pair of them together?

I bought this book from a used bookstore.

I work for a division of Macmillan.

4 thoughts on “Review: The King’s Peace

  1. This sounds interesting. I’ve never read anything by Jo Walton but I’m tempted to do so now. I’m not sure if this is the book I would start with though because of the sexual assault thread. I’m not sure I’d be able to get past how that is handled from the sound of it, but who knows.

    • Please do! This one isn’t necessary—so please don’t push yourself if you know that the sexual assault thread isn’t your cuppa—but Walton is a really amazing writer. Her other novels that I’ve read are fantastic.

  2. I enjoyed your review of this, but I am curious as to what troubles you with the trajectory of the Jarnish young man; I think that Walton allows for the possibility of redemption is part of the strength of the book.

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