Gay Knights and Horny Heroes: Tales from the Court of King Arthur

Title: Gay Knights and Horny Heroes: Tales from the Court of King Arthur
Author: Michael Gouda
Cover artist: Paul Richmond
Publisher: Dreamspinner Press
Amazon: Buy Link Kindle
Genre: Fantasy/Erotica
Length: Novella (102 pages)
Rating: 3.75 stars out of 5

A guest review by Sirius

Summary: A gay twist on stories about Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table which were essentially well-written erotica, but did not satisfy me as much as I hoped they would.

Blurb:

The timeless tales of King Arthur have been told throughout the ages as sterling examples of bravery, manhood, and heart-searing romance. But really, we know it’s all about the men.

Here we have a re-imagined landscape of Arthurian love stories, a place in which contests of strength become contests of foreplay, a knight’s favored squire may be his equally favored bedmate, and Lancelot is given his rightful place in history: at Arthur’s side and in his bed, for as long as the two shall live.

Come, gentle readers, and venture into the world of yore, where men were men, and so are their lovers, and every warrior loves a good joust! Welcome to the world of Gay Knights and Horny Heroes—God save the King! (And the man at his side!)

Review:

I have always loved stories about Arthur and his knights and yes, I have to admit that long before I started reading gay romance, I could never stand Queen Genevieve and have always wanted for Arthur and Lancelot to end up together. 🙂 When I saw the stories about the Knights of the Round Table with a gay twist which promised just that, oh I expected to be such a happy camper! Moreover, since I could not wait to see and “meet” familiar characters, I reread some traditional Arthurian legends which I have in my home library. I think I should not have done the rereading.

First of all I was reminded of why exactly I do not reread Arthurian legends too often: it always makes me cry at the end — a lot — and second, I was wondering why exactly the author decided to call these stories “Tales from the Court of King Arthur” if the knights bore for me little or no resemblance to the familiar figures. Oh, there were some clever references to the “Once and future King,” and the story of Arthur and Lancelot used a similar twist to what happened between them when Gwen was in the picture, but the knights in my opinion did not show much knightly behavior. I think I just wanted them to show some kindness, be champions of the weak, etc. that I am used to seeing from them. I totally realize, of course, that “knightly morals” are the stuff of legends and not of real history, and this may be just a personal preference, but I suppose I wanted to see that element in any interpretation of Arthurian legends. For example, one of the knights in one of the stories is being told — forced really — to go on a quest to defeat a dragon. I found Merlin’s explanation of how to defeat the dragon to be very funny, but I did not like the knight being scared of going on the quest. Yes, I know it makes him more human which is a good thing, but I wanted to see him being brave like knights are supposed to be.

On a positive, there is a whole lot of sex in these stories, and I thought it was extremely well-written, clever, sometimes funny erotica with vague resemblance and allusions to the Tales from the Court of King Arthur. I would advise readers not expect a traditional romance though; Arthur and Lancelot’s story is the only one which kind of reminded me of romance, but even that one was a stretch. Several knights find lovers very quickly over the course of the story, but again, I felt that it was all about the sex. And while the erotica was good, I think I just wanted more of what I perceive as “Arthurian spirit,” which I did not find enough of in these stories.

Lastly, I found the ending to be a little bit more hopeful than the original legends but not by much.

I think I can recommend it as a clever and sometimes funny spoof of Arthurian legends with a good amount of very descriptive sex.