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King Arthur's Round Table is infamous.
The supposedly equal people Arthur sat with at that table? Not so much.
But Gerald Morris's The Squire's Tale series puts everyone in the spotlight: knights, ladies, faeries, and, of course, squires.
The series begins with The Squire's Tale and is currently composed of nine books, with the tenth and final book slated to come out this year. Currently, I've only read the first eight, and I'm both excited and sad to read the final two: they're excellent reads, but I hate to see a series I love end.
Though, with the risks facing many mid-list authors, I'm just grateful that I do get to find out what happens.
Unlike many series', The Squire's Tale books don't focus solely on one or two characters. Terence (crush # 1... crush # 2 is Rhience from the seventh book, Lioness and Her Knight. I really have a problem) is Sir Gawain's squire, and the two of them are the main focus in the first two books (The Squire's Tale and The Squire, the Knight, and His Lady, respectively). They then make cameo appearances in almost all of the other books, which focus on various members of King Arthur's court, or those trying to become a member of court, such as a bumbling, would-be knight or a saucy damsel in distress who decides to save herself.
Each of the books is based off of an Arthurian legend, with tweaks and invented characters as necessary. Yet the language is modern and the plots fast-paced, making the stories smooth, fast reads.
And also incredibly fun reads. Morris' books are filled with humor, which manifests itself both in witty banter and bizarre scenarios, such as a cantankerous, unskilled knight who forces everyone who passes into a fight, no matter how uninterested (or talented) they may be. The characterization is also strong, with strong, funny, and multi-faceted protagonists who just try to do what's right amidst the danger, drama, intrigue, and absurdities of both Arthur's world and the adjacent faery world. Additionally, in spite of the patriarchal structure of the time period, which Morris portrays, both male and female characters are self-empowered, making the romantic sub-plots satisfying connections between equals.
In spite of being light, funny reads with modern language, though, the books are serious at the proper moments, and still manage to get across the impression of a very different time-- a time when the golden rule is chivalry, courtly love reigns, and knights just hang around court until there's a quest to be completed. As different as it is from our own, however, Morris' world is fully realized, immersing readers into both medieval life and a place where magic, both faery and otherwise, (with sometimes serious, sometimes hilarious results) is very active.
So if you enjoy humor, adventure, light fantasy, intrigue, mystery, romance, ya books, or Arthurian legend, join Terence on his first quest in A Squire's Tale, as he leaves his sheltered adolescence (literally-- he lives with a hermit in the woods) for the exciting world of quests, court, knights, and magic. Trust me, once you read the first book, you'll have to read them all.
And remember, spreading the word about mid-list authors and their books is important, so if there's a mid-list book or series that you love, write an original review and email me at doingitwrite@gmail.com. I'll post it under a "guest reviewers" section.
Though some reviews of the book say that this novel is aimed at the younger end of young adult readers, I absolutely fell in love with Standard Hero Behavior by John David Anderson. The 2007 novel is Anderson's first and only, making me wonder if Anderson has fallen to the wayside like so many other talented mid-list authors, who lose publishing chances just because their books aren't bestsellers.
And, if you're interested in humorous light fantasy and read this book, you'll see just how not okay that is.
Protagonist Mason Quayle is a bard, and his best friend Cowel a door-to-door plume salesman, in a town devoid of heroes. Mason spends his time penning heroic ballads about average accidents (the story opens with Mason writing a dramatic poem about a farmer who managed to escape his fight with a chipmunk), while Cowel mostly gets doors slammed in his face. Neither make enough money to pay the bills, which is a particular problem in Darlington.
Situated near mountains just crawling with deadly beasts-- ogres, goblins, orcs, and more-- Darlington used to be a center for heroes. Now there's only one: Duke Darlinger, who charges an expensive protection tax that has bankrupted the once prosperous city, and made it so that Mason and Cowel can barely put food on the table. But when Mason discovers a secret about the Duke that puts the entire town in deadly danger, he and Cowel set off on a quest to find real heroes to save the day.
Mason is thrilled-- finally he'll be doing something, like the bards of old, who fought valiantly alongside heroes to record their stories. He may just achieve his dream to get noticed... and find out the answer to questions that have plaguing him his whole life: why did his father, one of the town's former heroes who left for adventure when Mason was little, never return? Is he still alive? And was he truly a hero?
Standard Hero Behavior is a gentle parody of quest stories, and Mason and Cowel's mission is filled with misadventure and bizarre characters, such as a retired hero-turned-shoe-salesman, a somnambulist swordsman, a swarm of deadly pixies, an attractive young witch, and a werewolf hit man. This ensures that the plot is almost as amusing as the tone (though it does turn serious at the proper moments). The story is written in typical, modern language, making the read quick and hilarious, due to the sharp commentary on the situations and the banter between Mason and Cowel.
Just as in Hilari Bell's Knight and Rouge series, it's the characters and their friendship that really make the book. Mason and Cowel are both quick-witted and sarcastic, and their observations and back-and-forth are fun and funny to read. Underneath it all, however, there's clearly a deep friendship, which is cute and endearing.
A clever, parodied premise (Duke Darlinger has sponsors who pay for advertising space on his horse, and for Darlinger to promote them during his victory speeches), an interesting plot (will the boys save the day?), great tone, likable characters, hilarious banter, a little bit of romance, and emotional stakes (will Mason find out about his father? Will Mason and Cowel discover what they want to do with their lives?) ensure that Standard Hero Behavior is a must-read for lovers of light fantasy.
And I would love to see another book by Anderson. So if you loved this book, like I did, spread the word. And remember, if you have a book by a mid-list author that you love, write and original review and email it to me at doingitwrite@gmail.com-- I'll post it!
With the commercial success of Twilight, vampire novels have dominated the bookshelves, in both teen and adult literature. No matter your feelings about that, the fact is that there are so many it might be difficult to choose one, were you so inclined, not only because of variety, but because, let's face it, there are some not-so-great reads in that pile, just riding the wave.
Whether you're looking for a vampire read or not, I still suggest Catherine Jinks' The Reformed Vampire Support Group.If the title isn't enough to grab you (yep, I literally judge books by their covers), let me give you a little description of the main characters.
The vampires are not the calm, ruthless terrors of Bram Stoker's Dracula. They are not the glittery romantics of Twilight, or any sort of sexy as embodied in the media today, whether books, television, or movies.
No, the vampires are, as protagonist Nina bluntly states, dead, and get all the perks that come with that.
And when I say perks, I'm being sarcastic.
Can only go out at night, and only with the added precaution of sunglasses. Weak bodies. A million ailments. An eternity of hiding the fact that you have eternity.
A pretty mediocre, depressing eternity, at least for Nina, who still hasn't fully accepted her disease.
Nina has been trapped in the un-aging body of a fifteen-year-old since the seventies, and still lives with her mother. Every week, she attends the Reformed Vampire Support group, with vampires who have given up biting people. Instead, they take enzyme supplements and drink the blood of guinea pigs... and woe to the person who has to clean up if they don't hit the vein just right.
To complete the irony, Nina makes a living as an author, writing about sexy, glamorous vampires who actually do things-- and heroic things, at that.
Nina finally gets her chance to prove that vampires aren't boring and useless when one of their group is staked. Along with her friend Dave, another vampire, Nina is on a mission to find and stop the murderer before he can find the rest of them-- a mission that's severely complicated when they run into a dangerous, gun-toting werewolf trafficker along the way.
The Reformed Vampire Support Group is funny, exciting (lots of action, adventure, and solving-the-mystery, with only the very slightest touch of romance), and totally clever. Jinks turns the vampire novel on its head by writing about the less-than-glamorous side of being undead, and Nina's voice is the perfect way to do so. Nina's blunt, sarcastic voice is amusing and perfect for the book.
Neither she or her fellow vampires are sexy (see the pic, above), but all of the characters in Jinks' novel work. So many are likable, such as witty Nina, steadfast Dave, and Nina's human, chain-smoking, elderly mother, who still devoutly cares for her daughter and puts up with the rest of Nina's undead posse. The cast is fairly large, but it provides an eclectic, well-rounded group-- after all, anyone is at risk for being bit, from dim-witted George to Bridget, an eighty-plus nun-- that is often hilarious.
Great characters, voice, and an interesting mystery/action plot. Go on, give the decrepit vampires a chance. They're not just riding the wave.
Trust me, even though they're from Australia, they couldn't surf anyway.
(And hey, remember-- if you have an original review you'd like posted for a mid-list book you love, email me at doingitwrite@gmail.com).
This may come as a surprise, but I don't actually have book reviews for every book that I love lying in wait for opportune moments such as this. So you're in for a treat, folks-- book review improv!
Hopefully that sounded less nerdy to you than it did to me when I typed it.
Next up on my list of mid-list books that I love (and that need to be saved) are the Knight and Rouge novels by Hilari Bell. The books are teen/fantasy/buddy/mystery/adventure/humor novels, and star Sir Michael Sevenson and, of course, Fisk.
The premise of the series is that idealistic Michael, who is eighteen in the first book, decides to become a knight errant and search for good deeds and adventure, even though the profession has been defunct for over two centuries. In repayment for Michael getting him out of a long stay in jail, streetwise seventeen-year-old Fisk, former burglar, cardsharp, and conman, becomes Michael's squire, joining him on Michael's crazy misadventures.
And they certainly are misadventures. In the first book, The Last Knight, the boys free a damsel in distress from a tower keep... only to belatedly discover that she was an accused murderess, awaiting trial for her husband's poisoning.
Oops.
Now they have to find and re-capture her, or face the consequences. I won't go into the plots of the second and third books (I don't think there are any spoilers in the plot summaries, but as someone who took off the jackets of Harry Potter books and hid them until I was finished with the entire things, I won't be the one to make that judgment call) but you can read the official plot summaries posted on Hilari Bell's website by clicking on the title of each book: The Last Knight, Rogue's Home, and Player's Ruse.
There's a lot to love about these books. The mystery/adventure is well-written and entertaining, and I'm often trying to figure out whodunnit right along with the characters. The chapters alternate between the voices of Michael and Fisk, and it's entertaining to get the different perspectives of the characters. The books are funny (which probably shouldn't be surprising by now-- humor is something I really value, both in books and everything else). The humor usually manifests itself in Michael and Fisk's friendship. Hilari Bell said that she aimed for the books to be buddy novels, like "fantasy versions of 'buddy' cop shows," but I would describe their relationship as a little bit bromantic, and it's so cute that they're close, even though it outwardly manifests itself in arguments and funny, witty banter (and, come on, who doesn't love good banter?).
My favorite aspect of the books, though, is the characters themselves (I know, right? You'd never have guessed that from my first post). They're flawed, multi-dimensional characters who are nonetheless impossible to dislike because of their kindness, wit, and humor, which makes me want to read about them no matter what they're doing.
But what they are doing is totally entertaining, so I recommend (these are now the links to the B&N pages) The Last Knight, Rogue's Home, and Player's Ruse if the genres listed a few paragraphs above seem to be something you'd be interested in.
And remember, follow the blog, spread the word, and shoot me emails/reviews you've written about your favorite mid-list author at doingitwrite@gmail.com.
Oh, and preview for tomorrow: the post will not be a book review. That's right, folks-- improv AND variety. Really, I'm too good to you.
King Arthur's Round Table is infamous.
