The central social concern of the trilogy (Hawk of May, 1980; Kingdom of Summer, 1981; and In Winter's Shadow, 1982), introduced in this first volume, is the deglorification of war and of heroism in combat. The hero is Gwalchmai, a gentle and sensitive boy who much prefers harping to fighting, in contrast to his father Lot and his brother Agravain, both of whom are warriors. In his family, Gwalchmai is the object of scorn for his artistic and intellectual nature. To their dismay he cannot fight on foot at all but only on horseback, for he is an exceptionally skilled horseman. Through Gwalchmai the traditional view of heroism as exemplified in the legends of Arthur and his knights is subjected to negative scrutiny. Neither military nor political acts of aggression are presented as heroic, and those who seek fame and glory on the battlefield or on the throne are...