The Squire's Tales books 1-8 by Gerald Morris
There are I think 2 books in the series that I haven't read yet because they're not out in paperback. Morris's Squire's Tales series is a usually-lighthearted, frequently-cynical (that's the default, actually) MG retelling of various Arthurian legends, usually avoiding the best known parts save as subplots. (Also, I can't remember if Merlin was ever even mentioned.) Mallory is frequently Morris's base, though he also alsoincorporates De Troyes and the older Welsh stuff.
The first two books-The Squire's Tale and The Squire, His Knight, and His Lady-are Gawain-centric, retelling a variety of Gawain stories and a few extras through the eyes of his squire, Terrence. Terrence will remain Gawain's squire forever because it's more fun that way. The third book is Lynnette and Gareth's story, The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf, told almost entirely through Lynnette's POV. Book four is Parsifal's Page, told through the POV of Piers, a blacksmith's son. The Ballad of Sir Dinadan is the first (and only, so far) book told through the knight's POV and incorporates "Tristan and Isolde," as well as other The Princess, The Crone, and the Dung Cart Knight is the one most centrally based on De Troyes and is told through the POV of Sarah, another OC central character. The Lioness and Her Knight retells Ywain and Laudine's tale through the POV of Laudine's companion, Luneta, made Gaheris and Lynnette's daughter for the purposes of the series. The Quest for the Fair Unknown is about the French tale of Beaufils and the Grail Quest.
I read these largely as I acquired them as opposed to in chronological order, but they stand alone very well. It's a shared universe with characters that show up frequently (Gawain and Terrence most notably, but Morgan and Lancelot have a habit of suddenly popping up and Kay has a habit of tagging along-sometimes to laugh and point-and/or have practical if grumpy opinions, and generally be secretly smarter and wiser-and more crotchety-than anyone else once he's matured a bit) but the books are largely self-contained and offer few spoilers on other books, though some characters have interesting growth throughout the series. (It actually made me interested in how Lancelot grew and changed throughout, if mostly off screen, and that's rather unprecedented.)
As mentioned before, the books are rather cynical and Morris is prone to portraying many more famous figures as rather ridiculous and/or overdramatic, and frequently foolish. In early books, many of then tend to remain that way throughout, though eventually more and more characters grow wiser throughout the course of the story. TBH, The Ballad of Sir Dinadan went so far into the cynicism that I think Morris didn't have nearly as much left for the rest of the books. The cynicism in that one was a but much for me but it's probably my favorite of the ones that didn't have a female POV (the three with female POVs aren't my favorites just because they have a female protagonist-though I'm not about to try denying that that's likely a factor- but they also tend to have more character growth, particularly for the lead and the lead's self-awareness, and have ome of the more interesting main plots.) if only for Dinadan, Kay and Bedivere going around shaking their heads in hooror at idealistic fools, and for having the whole "epic romance that spans years" thing ending with the lovers mutually being all "If I were to get married, I'd marry you, but really, I prefer just being single..."
The books vary in quality, as most series do, though I don't think there are any thatwould qualify as bad. Though, due to the nature of the various legends and their having plot similarities, some plots draw inescapable comparisons to others. For example, Parsifal's Page and The Quest of the Fair Unknown deal with a young man who's only exposure to human society is his mother entering the wide world with no clue how people think and operate, and who makes endless "social blunders" and has a habit of asking questions non-stop. I prefer Beaufils to Parsifal as a character (though, like Lancelot, I find this Parsifal much more interesting than I usually find the character) and think The Quest of the Fair Unknown is a better book than Parsifal's Page, but there's no escaping the feeling of rehashing familiar ground a lot of the time.
Regardless, while not perfect, the books are very fun and have some interesting commentary on various legends and the behaviors of mythic figures, and there's a heavy trend of stories reshaping themselves and growing with every retelling, which is a narrative trope I have a bit of a thing for.
The first two books-The Squire's Tale and The Squire, His Knight, and His Lady-are Gawain-centric, retelling a variety of Gawain stories and a few extras through the eyes of his squire, Terrence. Terrence will remain Gawain's squire forever because it's more fun that way. The third book is Lynnette and Gareth's story, The Savage Damsel and the Dwarf, told almost entirely through Lynnette's POV. Book four is Parsifal's Page, told through the POV of Piers, a blacksmith's son. The Ballad of Sir Dinadan is the first (and only, so far) book told through the knight's POV and incorporates "Tristan and Isolde," as well as other The Princess, The Crone, and the Dung Cart Knight is the one most centrally based on De Troyes and is told through the POV of Sarah, another OC central character. The Lioness and Her Knight retells Ywain and Laudine's tale through the POV of Laudine's companion, Luneta, made Gaheris and Lynnette's daughter for the purposes of the series. The Quest for the Fair Unknown is about the French tale of Beaufils and the Grail Quest.
I read these largely as I acquired them as opposed to in chronological order, but they stand alone very well. It's a shared universe with characters that show up frequently (Gawain and Terrence most notably, but Morgan and Lancelot have a habit of suddenly popping up and Kay has a habit of tagging along-sometimes to laugh and point-and/or have practical if grumpy opinions, and generally be secretly smarter and wiser-and more crotchety-than anyone else once he's matured a bit) but the books are largely self-contained and offer few spoilers on other books, though some characters have interesting growth throughout the series. (It actually made me interested in how Lancelot grew and changed throughout, if mostly off screen, and that's rather unprecedented.)
As mentioned before, the books are rather cynical and Morris is prone to portraying many more famous figures as rather ridiculous and/or overdramatic, and frequently foolish. In early books, many of then tend to remain that way throughout, though eventually more and more characters grow wiser throughout the course of the story. TBH, The Ballad of Sir Dinadan went so far into the cynicism that I think Morris didn't have nearly as much left for the rest of the books. The cynicism in that one was a but much for me but it's probably my favorite of the ones that didn't have a female POV (the three with female POVs aren't my favorites just because they have a female protagonist-though I'm not about to try denying that that's likely a factor- but they also tend to have more character growth, particularly for the lead and the lead's self-awareness, and have ome of the more interesting main plots.) if only for Dinadan, Kay and Bedivere going around shaking their heads in hooror at idealistic fools, and for having the whole "epic romance that spans years" thing ending with the lovers mutually being all "If I were to get married, I'd marry you, but really, I prefer just being single..."
The books vary in quality, as most series do, though I don't think there are any thatwould qualify as bad. Though, due to the nature of the various legends and their having plot similarities, some plots draw inescapable comparisons to others. For example, Parsifal's Page and The Quest of the Fair Unknown deal with a young man who's only exposure to human society is his mother entering the wide world with no clue how people think and operate, and who makes endless "social blunders" and has a habit of asking questions non-stop. I prefer Beaufils to Parsifal as a character (though, like Lancelot, I find this Parsifal much more interesting than I usually find the character) and think The Quest of the Fair Unknown is a better book than Parsifal's Page, but there's no escaping the feeling of rehashing familiar ground a lot of the time.
Regardless, while not perfect, the books are very fun and have some interesting commentary on various legends and the behaviors of mythic figures, and there's a heavy trend of stories reshaping themselves and growing with every retelling, which is a narrative trope I have a bit of a thing for.