It’s safe to say Sir Gawain and the Green Knight is one of the most popular Arthurian tales. In it, an axe-wielding green knight shows up in Camelot with a bizarre challenge. A challenger must strike his neck with the axe. If the green knight survives, then it’s the challenger’s turn to take a strike one year from then. The knights are understandably hesitant, so Arthur volunteers himself. That’s when the young Sir Gawain decides to step forward in the king’s place, beheading the green knight. To everyone’s shock, the man is still alive, and Gawain must embark on a journey that could very well be his last. In Falcon, Richard Lewis explores the story through a critical, introspective lens, covering many of the same events with a very different tone.

With so many versions of the tale out there, just standing out is a legendary quest in and of itself, but Richard Lewis’ retelling is particularly unique. It adds context and details from other tales, especially Le Morte d'Arthur, and draws you in with its contemplative mood and immersive descriptions. The novel expands on and humanizes the characters, making them flawed and far from greater-than-life idealized figures. In fact, Gawain’s journey is all about the clash between ideals and reality as he reflects on chivalry, faith, life, and death. These elements change the way you read every line of dialogue. Scenes from the original story aren’t just rehashed for the sake of it, but instead open up room for brand new interpretations. Overall, Falcon is a must-read for fans of Arthurian legends.

Falcon by Richard Lewis begins years before Camelot reaches its height, when Uther Pendragon engineers the death of Gorlois and fathers a child, enabled by Merlin. Gorlois’s daughter, Morgan, learns the truth, studies magic, and leaves court with the knowledge of how King Arthur’s rule began. Decades later, during a feast staged to display Arthur’s authority, a knight in green enters the hall and, with a formal bargain, binds one knight to seek him out in a year. Sir Gawain accepts, lops off the Green Knight's head, and watches as the knight picks it up and walks away. When winter returns, Gawain rides north toward the place of reckoning. His journey leads him through villages scarred by war and into the household of Lord Bertilek, where hospitality is governed by a closed system of enforced reciprocity, with an enchanting twist in the battle with the Green Knight.

I read Richard Lewis’s Falcon, quite literally, on a weekend getaway to the ruins of Tintagel Castle, watching my husband and daughter cross the footpath into Arthurian legend. Lewis does the story proud with one of his own in this fantastic reworking of the Gawain story. I love following Gawain through the year, seen in Gawain’s careful husbanding of Gringolet, his repeated attendance at Mass, and his deliberate withdrawal from tournaments as the appointed battle draws near. The period details are spectacular, and along the road as Gawain approaches his destiny, we meet a hermit and the enigmatic women of Bertilek’s household. The tie-in to the title comes in the shape of the white falcon, whose brief guidance redirects Gawain toward shelter, a moment that signals how chance and duty intersect. Overall, this is an excellent addition to the Arthurian fantasy canon. Very highly recommended.