so, you pulled the sword from the stone, now what?
were you a fan of BBC’s Merlin? did you like the King Arthur subplot of Once Upon a Time? have you ever dreamt about pulling a sword from a stone? this list of Arthurian inspired books is for you!
disclaimer: I have not read all of these books
as always, taking any and all suggestions!!
created by erintripsey
last updated August, 2026
Comments
Hi Erin, Just letting you know I’m thinking about nominating this list for a quest. It’s very cohesive. And Arthur’s legend has fascinated me for some time.
I do have an additional recommendation, Jack Whyte’s Camalod Chronicles series (also known as Arthur the Legend series), starting with The Skystone. (It has a prequel, but I’d recommend reading it later.) The series is extremely well done. It tries to limit the fantasy side by coming up with realistic alternatives that could have led to the various parts of the legend. The series starts before Arthur at the fall of the Roman Empire, but carries on through to the end of the legend. It includes Uther Pendragon, Merlin, and other well known characters, along with Arthur, Lancelot and Guinevere. For me, it had one of the most moving stories about Uther. I found the series fascinating (though admittedly I haven’t read the prequel).
Catherine 🥹 that is so sweet!! I will definitely be adding The Skystone to this list now, it sounds so interesting 🙂↕️
I decided to go ahead and nominate your list. Considering King Arthur comes up on 17 lists and yours is the most popular (and the best imo), I think this would be a great quest, and generate a lot of interest.
😭😭😭 thank you so much 😭😭 i think this would be such a fun quest, especially with all the quests arthur and gang get up to!
There are so many variations in different genres and sub genres that there’s something for almost everyone. Wondering if there is an Arthur horror retelling? Not that I’d read it. 😂
doing a quick google search and I found a few! wow I didn’t think about Arthurian horror but that’s a great suggestion!!
OMG THE SKYSTONE. I loved that book so much, like 10/15 years ago! And somehow I had completely forgotten about it until now. I need to find it for a re-read...
Recommending the Once & Future series by Kieron Gillen if you're open to graphic novels. One of my absolute favorites!
amazing!!! I love graphic novels, I haven’t read nearly enough! adding now :)
It came to me after the previous recommendation but I recommend Gwen and Art are not in love as well! The second book is set to come out soon
Gwen and Art was one of my first forays into Arthurian retellings and it’s one of my faves! I’m looking forward to the second book!!!
Ooooh I'll be excited to hear your thoughts when it comes out!
The best, probably most realistic, and likely the most researched King Arthur book I’ve ever read is Rosemary Sutcliff’s Sword at Sunset. It focused on the king/leader/warrior known as Artos the Bear. Sutcliff was known as a YA fiction writer whose stories focused primarily on the fall of Rome in Britain. Her stories were all well researched. This was her only adult book. I thought it was fantastic.
Incredible!!! Thank you for this thoughtful suggestion! I will certainly be adding it now!!!
Woah, I've had this as a naked hardcover on my shelves for years. I found it at a used bookstore without the dust jacket and never really looked into it—I wanted it more as a display/accent piece since it was in the 25 cent pile. What a small world! Maybe I'll actually add it to my tbr
That sounds incredible. I have been reading a few and they having been 'hitting' the spot.
I’m getting an Arthurian itch again. I read a few of these a while ago, almost all of Jack Whyte’s Camulod Chronicles, but now I’m feeling I want to read more.
Looking up that now, you are a wealth of knowledge 🤩
the everlasting!! una everlasting is an amalgamation of king arthur and his knights and all those stories
smashing the add button immediately!!!!
AGREE WITH EVERYTHING THAT I FUCKING HAVE.
I feel so seen by the description for this list! I LOVED BBC’s Merlin show 🤩 excited to add some of these books to by TBR 🎉 thank you to compiling this list
yay!!! I’m so glad you found some books from this list!!!
Me too! I had your same reaction and immediately saved the list🤩
I just started So This is Ever After and I thought about your list! In the blurb it says it's Arthurian inspired and I believe it. The main character has a sword from a bog, he's destined to get rid of evil, and he's named Arek and his best friend that he's in love with is Matt! Very Arthur and Merlin if you ask me
omg that sounds so good I’m adding it to this list immediately and to my tbr!!!
Please let me know if you end up reading it, I would love to chat about it with someone
I just went to Libby and I already had it tagged for my tbr on there so!!! placing a hold now!!
Some really great books on this list! Half Sick of Shadows is probably my favorite fantasy book I’ve picked up in the last couple years.
It’s still on my tbr but I’m planning on reading it this month or next!
Robin Sloan’s Moonbound is a far-distant-future Arthurian retelling that I thought was very fun! really love this collection 💞 thank you for creating it!
thank you so much! I had a lot of fun making this one ☺️ Moonbound sounds great, definitely adding to the list and my tbr!!
This list looks fantastic - thank you for putting this up! I'm so happy you included Rosemary Sutcliff's Sword at Sunset, that book doesn't get as much recognition as it should!
thank you!!! shout out to @CatherineJ for that suggestion!!!
I love it! I’ve never really looked at king author retelling except legendborn. So this is so fun!
thank you!! several of these are on my tbr so I’m looking forward to getting into them next year!
i dnfed "a tempest of tea" pretty early. i didn't know it was arthurian inspired? how so? /gen
the mc is named Arthie and the Arthurian aspect has to do with how she acquired her weapon, so while it is pretty loosely inspired by Arthurian lore, it’s there!
Thanks for making this list! You might be able to include The Lady of the Lake by Jean Menzies. The author note directly mentions BBC's Merlin.
oooh! Thank you for the suggestion, I just added it!!!
Also wondering if Le Morte d’Arthur by Thomas Mallory could or should be added? I haven’t read it, and I know it’s often divided into two parts due to length (though I think it’s about the same length as Middlemarch) but it does feel like it’s part of the Arthur canon.
after looking it up, it looks like it should definitely be added!
Love this list!! I'd like to also suggest Greenteeth by Molly O'Neill (edit: whoops, my other suggestion, The Witch Below The Dreaming Wood, is already on there!)
Ooooh thank you thank you!! I’ll add Greenteeth now!
