Review by Booklist Review
Gr. 5^-8. A perfectly delicious, not entirely serious, reimagining of part of Thomas Mallory's Le Morte d'Arthur. Sixteen-year-old Lady Lynet, younger sister of the beautiful, shallow Lyonesse, is tired of watching the Red Knight slaughter Lyonesse's suitors and stealthily rides to Camelot to ask King Arthur to send a knight to defeat Red. She's worried, though, because her father died opposing Arthur. She's aided by a dwarf she meets along the way, a polite, knowledgeable fellow, who helps her navigate the paths to Camelot, joining her and the kitchen knave Beaumains--or is Beaumains really someone else? As they travel, Lynet sees a lot of knights fighting, learns that appearances can be deceiving, and finds true love. There's a lot of commentary about the foolishness of men--certainly this gaggle of knights offers much to giggle at--and Lynet's directness contrasts strongly with her sister's simper and whine. Lancelot, Gawain, and Morgan Le Fay make cameo appearances, but no previous knowledge of Arthurian legend is required to enjoy this sweetly amusing tale. --GraceAnne A. DeCandido
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 6-9-A rollicking treatment of a lesser-known episode from Sir Thomas Malory's Le Morte D'Arthur. Teenaged Lady Lynet sets out for Camelot, looking for a champion to free her family's castle from the siege of an evil knight. Along the way, she befriends several mysterious companions, none of whom is exactly as he or she first appears. Scattered throughout Lynet's saga are droll, unusually modern portrayals of many familiar Arthurian characters. The heroine, nicknamed the Savage Damsel, is a take-charge kind of gal. Noble Sir Gareth appears as a "clothheaded ninny," whose turbocharged sense of honor forces him into an unnecessary duel with every knight he stumbles across, and brave Sir Lancelot has burned out on chivalry and admits he has become a media creation. The novel is also enjoyable for its good-natured spoofing of the conventions of its medieval setting. Knights of the Round Table avoid any tournament where the prize is a lady's hand in marriage, figuring there must be something wrong with her. Characters poke fun at one another's lofty, Maloryesque language. Also, some of the most courageous knights are shown to be none too bright, which explains why they risk their lives so readily. Although the story lacks the majesty of other tales closer to the heart of the Arthurian legend, it is great fun and will be enjoyed by fans of the genre.-Beth Wright, Fletcher Free Library, Burlington, VT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Intermediate, Young Adult) Arthurian legend continues to be re-imagined and reinvigorated in the series that began with The Squire's Tale (rev. 7/98). In this episode, sensible sixteen-year-old Lynet travels to Camelot seeking assistance when her family's castle is besieged by a knight set on marrying Lyonesse, her lovely but peevish sister. Joined on her journey by a wise, unflappable dwarf named Roger, Lynet is dismayed when the only one at Camelot who comes to her aid is a bedraggled kitchen servant named Beaumains. Unbeknownst to Lynet, Beaumains is actually Sir Gareth (the brother of knights Gawain and Gaheris), who is living in disguise after taking a solemn vow. Lynet's initial disdain turns temporarily to infatuation when, on the journey back to Castle Perle, Beaumains begins to exhibit brash, even foolhardy, daring. No matter how many heads are lopped off along the way, the whimsical narrative retains its wry dialogue and characterizations. Readers will be pleased when old friends such as Terence and Lady Eileen appear, though the new characters presented here-most not whom they seem to be-are equally memorable. Even Lynet, after an encounter with enchantress Morgan Le Fay, discovers a hidden side of herself. Morris's respect for his source material is evident in the author's note, which describes the plot of the original Sir Thomas Malory story and explains its literary shortcomings. ""It is a pure pleasure and an honor to retell this story...to fill in some of the gaps, and maybe turn a few things upside down."" A pleasure no doubt shared by Morris's readers. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
In Morris's third (Squire's Tale, 1998; The Squire, the Knight and the Lady, 1999) wry, sometimes hilarious, take on an Arthurian legend, a sharp-tongued young damosel gets an education in sorcery, intrigue and what true knighthood is all about. To save her beautiful, if vapid, older sister Lyonesse from the clutches of a bloodthirsty suitor, Lynet sets out on her own to recruit a champion from Camelot. She returns with a savvy, but inept, dwarf, Roger, and a kitchen knave dubbed `Beaumains` who, from his adroit sword work and obsession with fighting every armored comer to the death, is obviously a knight in disguise. Though Lynet is deeply smitten, in time she loses both her infatuation and at least some of her romantic illusions, incidentally gaining along the way grounding in sorcery and herb lore. There's plenty of violence here, and not the cartoon sort either, but Morris doesn't glorify it; instead, he populates the woods (every clearing, it sometimes seems) with knights of every stripe, from murderous brutes and big talkers to mild mannered, sensible sorts--including among the latter the renowned Sir Lancelot and Sir Gawain. Ultimately realizing that her true hero has been literally under her nose the whole time, Lynet douses Roger with a magic potion that not only heals a mortal wound, but, to her amazement turns him back into (tah-dah!) Sir Gaheris, Prince of Orkney. As Beaumains turns out to be Sir Gareth, his featherbrained brother and so a perfect match for Lyonesse, the tale ends with a grand double wedding. Fans of Gail Carson Levine's Ella Enchanted (1997), Patricia Wrede's Enchanted Forest Chronicles and similarly lighthearted fantasy will be delighted. (afterword) (Fiction. 1115) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
