Author: Jackson C. Garton
Publisher: Pride Publishing
Publication Date: April 28, 2020
Length: 291 pages
Reviewed by Sammy
Synopsis
Lancelot has loved Arthur for nearly a thousand years but has never had the courage to act on it—‘til now.
After being away at college for a year, Lance returns to Avalon, Kentucky for the summer. He hasn't seen any of his friends in months, but all that changes when Arthur—the one person he can't have, but desperately needs—offers him a ride home from work.
The last time Lance saw Arthur, the two had not parted on the best of terms—with Arthur's father finding them asleep on his bed, and physically wrenching Lance away from Arthur. The incident put a strain on their friendship, and convinced Lance that they will never be together.
For the past five years, Lance has fought his attraction to Arthur, because as a budding brujo, he believes in magick, destiny, and fate—that everything happens for a reason—that nothing good will come of an Arthur Pendragon-Lance A. Lotte pairing.
Then one evening Arthur sends Lance a text, telling him that he's in love with him, forcing Lance to question everything.
[Content Warning: This book contains instances of dead-naming and transphobia, drug use, and violence. There are mentions of sexual assault, child disappearance/kidnapping, religious persecution, homophobia, racial profiling, racism, drug abuse, overdose, and suicide.]
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Review
Lance isn’t thrilled about being home but at least his
dysphoria is beginning to ease—after top surgery at least he is looking more
like the man he knows himself to be. But seeing Arthur again is something Lance
is terrified of—especially since he has been in love with the guy for years. He
believes they are the reincarnation of the original Arthur and Lancelot of
legend—something he has never shared with Arthur simply because Lance can’t
take the doubt he knows will be Arthur’s first reaction. But that is how ‘Magick’
works—and Lance is not only a practitioner of the art but a firm believer.
When two strangers come to town bearing the names of Morgan
and Mordred, Lance realizes something is about to happen and it will take
everyone from his adopted sister Gwen to Arthur to battle the evil that has
been living just beneath plain sight in the town they love. It will mean that
Lance must finally allow himself to put aside the belief that his and Arthur’s
love is destined to fail and instead do everything within his power to save his
friends—and his boyfriend. Little do any of them realize just how powerful an
evil they are about to come up against and just how perilously close they will
brush against the Arthurian legends of old.
Avalon’s
Last Knight by Jackson C. Garton is a beautiful
blending of legend and magic—with a plethora of characters on the LGBTQIA
spectrum featured in this fascinating story. While you will have to have a
pretty solid grasp on Arthurian legend in order to make sense of the various
players in this novel and the reasoning behind what Lance understands and fears
most about falling in love with his friend, Arthur, I will say that there are
moments of explanation that will help the novice along. However, as a critique
of this story that would be my first concern—that readers may not have the
foreknowledge needed to understand how intricately these characters are
interwoven and predestined to be together.
The second factor that drew me away from the story a little
was, of all things, their names. It was a bit heavy handed to have Lance’s last
name be Lotte and Arthur’s be Pendragon. I felt that was just a bit much
considering we would have felt the impact of their first names more than enough
to plunge us into the legend thread without the silly last names.
However, despite these small annoyances, this story was most
compelling and I enjoyed these characters immensely. I found them to be just
the right blend of young adult and otherworldly creature—that meant when they
were possessed by their alter egos the switch from Lance to Lancelot and Morgan
to Morgana was very realistic to me. I did occasionally flounder when other spirits
were introduces in to the story since I am unfamiliar with different forms of
witchcraft and the tenets of their religions but still these scenes where others
visited Lance and Morgan flowed well and fit into the narrative smoothly.
I loved that this novel had not one but two trans characters
and they drew comfort from each other. I also really applaud the author for
surrounding Lance with not only a caring and understanding boyfriend in Arthur
but a support team of friends who encouraged him to break loose from his fears
about losing Arthur before even taking a chance on their love for each other.
As a romance this story really shined and I loved how incredibly loving and
loyal Arthur was while still coming across as a typical handsome teenager. I
also appreciated seeing how Lance dealt with his emotions and fears surrounding
his body and revealing it to Arthur completely. The realistic trauma that Lance
dealt with when it came to body dysphoria and how he tries to overcome it is
emotional and intense and so well done.
All in all, Avalon’s
Last Knight is an incredible novel of love and acceptance with a dash of
fantasy thrown in the mix. It is highly entertaining and a wonderful story.
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