Fate/stay night: Garden of Avalon

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A novel by Kinoko Nasu himself giving us more about Artoria and her knights? And it doesn't have the excessive fluff that plagues the VN? Hell yeah!

I like how it's made of short retellings of key moments from Arthurian legend (most of them don't go beyond 10 pages, but it's narrated well enough that it feels satisfying and doesn't fall short). The prose is beautiful (shoutout to the English translator) and you can immediatly tell who's narrating without it saying "Heya, I'm Lancelot, here's my story".

Talking about Lancelot, he, Gawain and Kay get to tell their own stories. These were my second favorite things about ... this book. Lancelot is a good character overall, but it's the first time we get to see in detail his feelings about Artoria and Guinevere, which was much needed to understand his Berserker version in Zero. Gawain lacks something in Grand Order that I can't really describe, but becomes more interesting in his chapter here (haven't played Extra yet btw). And for Kay, seeing a new Knight of the Round Table in Fate is always a joy. He's an asshole, so I love him and hope he becomes a servant along with Agravain in the future.

But beyond them, the best character by far was... not Artoria, but Merlin. Calling this book the most beautiful representation of Merlin on paper isn't crazy. If what we got to see in Grand Order was great, this is above that. A POV of the futa sage himself must've been difficult to write, but Nasu pulled it off perfectly.

I haven't talked about Artoria because, honestly, I don't think that there's anything new about her. Her themes were already profound enough in the VN, so there wasn't much to expand about her. Hell, I feel like she gains more from the Camelot singularity than from this novel. Thankfully it didn't feel repetitive.

Should Fate fans read this novel? Yes, it is pretty good and short. Nothing groundbreaking, but a good addition to the franchise for people like me who care about minor characters and spinoffs.

Garden of Avalon serves as Type Moon's official interpretation of Arthurian legends in the grand scheme of the infamously grandiose lore of the Nasuverse, starring best girl Saber as it tackles her origins, her reign of Britain and her eventual downfall.

For whom is this novel written for? Do I need prerequisite reading before reading this? While GoA serves mostly as a lore piece to not really explain but elaborate on Saber's character prior to Fate Stay Night, there isn't much of a need to read anything related to Fate before jumping right in, though the last chapter might be a bit confusing without ... knowledge of the Fate route in Stay Night, but hey, all the more incentive to read the Visual novel eh?

If you're someone who's already a Fate fan and want more Saber content, this novel is for you. As much as I loved Saber in Fate route, I did want to see more of the kingly side of Artoria, which this novel provides. If you're someone who has watched the Ufotable adaptations and still don't understand why Saber is best girl, while this novel might not fully convince you since Fate Route is the route that fleshes out her character the most, it will still hopefully make her a more interesting character in your eyes. If you're someone completely new to Fate and just want a good old Arthurian story, I can't say that it is for you, but it is an interesting reinterpretation of Arthurian legend in my eyes nonetheless.

The various narrators that tell the tale each shed light on the different sides of the story, painting the canvas that is the King of Knights. Is Saber an unfeeling, inhuman machine that possesses no feelings of her own? Or is she a tragic, misunderstood king that only hoped for the best of her people? Nasu has always been one of his best amongst his peers in conveying a sense of mysticism and romanticism in his works, and the way he portrays the tragedy of Artoria feels like something straight out of Shakespeare, with elegance and deftness that sets him apart from his contemporaries.

If I had any complaints, it would be that it wasn't any longer. GoA is an incredibly short read for the amount of content it could have covered, however I understand the reasoning behind its lack of coverage on other more important events in Arthurian lore. The focus is and has always been on Saber, not the exploits of the Knights of the Round Table, but even then my inner Arthurian fanboy does crave more. Also, while I am thankful to the translators, the translation itself is not the best, with a lot of awkward phrasing and grammatical issues, which does impact the prose of the story and therefore the enjoyment.. However, it is still decent enough to not be too big of an issue.

It's an awesome read. it adds context to Saber's decisions and behaviors throughout the stay night virtual novel. The music blends really well with the story and makes for a great addition. This was my introduction to Merlin in the Nasuverse and I liked the way it was done. I got a crush on Artoria so I might score it a bit too high, but I feel like this deserves an 8. The only thing I suggest is that it should be longer, some of the sections can feel fast. Other than that I wouldn't change much of anything. I hope this eventually gets a ... manga adaptation, or if God loves us, ufotable makes a 1 shot or something.