First-novelist Thomson gives the legend of King Arthur a plausible historical setting in sixth-century Britain, but strips it of chivalry, magic, and romance. Four voices tell interrelated stories: Nimue, wife of the bard Myrddin, watches her husband cast away love, family, and honor to bring about his vision of a king who will unite the feuding chieftains against the marauding Saxons. Morgan, who witnesses her father’s murder and her mother’s rape by the thuggish Uther Pendragon, suppresses her lust for revenge to contract an incestuous marriage, until her bitterness proves stronger than her love. Luned, sharp-tongued handmaid to the emotionally fragile Lady Elen, pragmatically shepherds her mistress through two disastrous marriages. Finally, Medraud, Arthur’s nephew/son, raised incapable of affection or trust, destroys the kingdom to fill his own emptiness. Arthur himself is barely glimpsed as the golden sun around whom the others revolve, his warmth eclipsed by the foreboding atmosphere. Thomson paints a convincing portrayal of a grim, brutal age, and lays bare each character’s secrets with piercing clarity. But it’s hard to imagine who would enjoy visiting a Camelot so devoid of wonder, charm, and beauty, where every wedding leads to betrayal, all parents fail their children, and any hopes, ideals, or good intentions bear only poisoned fruit. Though Arthurian aficionados will derive satisfaction from spotting classic characters, those new to the stories will remain puzzled by their allure. So tainted is this Arthur’s reign that it’s a relief when he crumples bleeding to his doom. Vivid, sophisticated, but deeply, needlessly depressing. (Fiction. YA)