jefffrane's review
4.0
It turns out Cameron's true passion is the medieval period rather than the Ancient World and he's having a great time with his new character and story. He botched the story a little by setting up an unneeded frame that defies time, but the tale itself is terrific. And, no, I don't do plot summaries. Just read the book.
reachersaid_'s review against another edition
(DNF:15%)
I was in the mood for some medieval historical fiction and the synopsis of this one seemed interesting enough; a knight's journey to knighthood. It was also written by an author who wrote a fantasy series I thought was mostly okay.
After over four hours of reading, I pulled the plug here because of the storytelling format more than anything else.
First-person pov is not my preferred option, but because I have read something amazing in first-person, I know it's a matter of execution. What I can't seem to stomach however, is a first-person pov where the main character gives a retelling of their life. It becomes almost like a bar room story that lacks the grounded solidity of a real story, and there is the potential for some unreliable narrator nonsense.
Not for me.
I was in the mood for some medieval historical fiction and the synopsis of this one seemed interesting enough; a knight's journey to knighthood. It was also written by an author who wrote a fantasy series I thought was mostly okay.
After over four hours of reading, I pulled the plug here because of the storytelling format more than anything else.
First-person pov is not my preferred option, but because I have read something amazing in first-person, I know it's a matter of execution. What I can't seem to stomach however, is a first-person pov where the main character gives a retelling of their life. It becomes almost like a bar room story that lacks the grounded solidity of a real story, and there is the potential for some unreliable narrator nonsense.
Not for me.
firerosearien's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
For fans of medieval combat, you should give it a go. Otherwise the battle scenes get repetitive quickly.
Content Warnings
Medieval combat, lots of fight scenes and violence; a lot of reference to raping women though not usually graphically depicted.
patremagne's review
4.0
http://abitterdraft.com/2014/03/the-ill-made-knight-by-christian-cameron.html
It seems like every other book that I read is by Christian/Miles Cameron. After finishing The Ill-Made Knight, the first in Cameron’s Chivalry(?) series, I am convinced that the man cannot write a bad book. He’s able to write medieval and ancient historical fiction as well as fantasy without really suffering from the sort of timidity that many writers do when trying to write in an unfamiliar genre. Granted, the change from medieval historical fiction to medieval fantasy isn’t as drastic as it would be from medieval historical fiction to something like a science fiction thriller, but it still takes great skill.
William Gold was born a common boy, dreaming what all medieval European boys dreamt of becoming – a knight. Shortly after the tale begins, however, Will runs into trouble and is branded a thief, an outcast. He becomes the squire for one Sir Robert, and thus the tale of his long, arduous journey to knighthood begins. The Ill-Made Knight is set during the Hundred Years’ War between France and England, with a vast array of famous figures present – Geoffrey de Charny, Bertrand du Guesclin, Geoffrey Chaucer, the Black Prince of Wales, John Hawkwood – you name him, he’s probably there.
I think that’s the biggest selling point with Cameron’s novels – the authenticity. With a lot of medieval fiction, be it fantasy or historical, knights and soldiers will simply be men covered in metal wielding metal sticks. With Cameron, you get a full experience – each piece of armor has a name, weapons are unique, there are different fighting styles, and so on. Sometimes reading about Will put on his armor (via his squire) might be considered slow, but more often than not it adds to the incredible immersion that Cameron goes to great lengths to satisfy, including significant research and reenactment. I believe that immersion is what makes historical fiction so great. In fantasy and science fiction you’re often taken to completely new worlds, and in historical fiction you are given the chance to almost re-live a past time period if the author’s talented enough. Cameron certainly is.
There’s always been a romanticized view of the knight – full of chivalry and proper behavior. In The Ill-Made Knight, Cameron shows the darker side, and in many cases the side that was more prevalent in the middle ages. The mercenaries, many of them knights, in what would be known as The White Company, were hardly more than brigands while in France, pillaging where they pleased and furthering the point that war is hell.
The resulting story that Cameron provides is both informative and incredibly entertaining, with historical characters brought to life. I can’t recommend his books enough.
It seems like every other book that I read is by Christian/Miles Cameron. After finishing The Ill-Made Knight, the first in Cameron’s Chivalry(?) series, I am convinced that the man cannot write a bad book. He’s able to write medieval and ancient historical fiction as well as fantasy without really suffering from the sort of timidity that many writers do when trying to write in an unfamiliar genre. Granted, the change from medieval historical fiction to medieval fantasy isn’t as drastic as it would be from medieval historical fiction to something like a science fiction thriller, but it still takes great skill.
William Gold was born a common boy, dreaming what all medieval European boys dreamt of becoming – a knight. Shortly after the tale begins, however, Will runs into trouble and is branded a thief, an outcast. He becomes the squire for one Sir Robert, and thus the tale of his long, arduous journey to knighthood begins. The Ill-Made Knight is set during the Hundred Years’ War between France and England, with a vast array of famous figures present – Geoffrey de Charny, Bertrand du Guesclin, Geoffrey Chaucer, the Black Prince of Wales, John Hawkwood – you name him, he’s probably there.
I think that’s the biggest selling point with Cameron’s novels – the authenticity. With a lot of medieval fiction, be it fantasy or historical, knights and soldiers will simply be men covered in metal wielding metal sticks. With Cameron, you get a full experience – each piece of armor has a name, weapons are unique, there are different fighting styles, and so on. Sometimes reading about Will put on his armor (via his squire) might be considered slow, but more often than not it adds to the incredible immersion that Cameron goes to great lengths to satisfy, including significant research and reenactment. I believe that immersion is what makes historical fiction so great. In fantasy and science fiction you’re often taken to completely new worlds, and in historical fiction you are given the chance to almost re-live a past time period if the author’s talented enough. Cameron certainly is.
There’s always been a romanticized view of the knight – full of chivalry and proper behavior. In The Ill-Made Knight, Cameron shows the darker side, and in many cases the side that was more prevalent in the middle ages. The mercenaries, many of them knights, in what would be known as The White Company, were hardly more than brigands while in France, pillaging where they pleased and furthering the point that war is hell.
The resulting story that Cameron provides is both informative and incredibly entertaining, with historical characters brought to life. I can’t recommend his books enough.
nerdyboy's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5 stars
Once again this author doesn’t disappoint.
The tale of William Gold on his journey to becoming a Knight had me riveted the entire time.
The author shows his knowledge of the period the lifestyle and the arms and armour by being quite detail heavy but to me this never detracted from the experience only enhanced it. The combat is also extremely well written and engaging placing you in the scene.
I came to love the character of William and look forward to his continuing adventures.
nghia's review
3.0
The Ill-Made Knight is a heavily-fictionalized take on the early years in the career of William Gold, a English man-at-arms who dreams of being a proper knight, from 1356-1364. That takes him from age 14 up to age 22 and covers the end of the Hundred Years' War between England and France -- William's first battle is at Poitiers -- to the beginning years of the great condottieri in Italy.
The biggest problem Cameron has is that a real life biography is messy and simply isn't going to have the story beats we've come to expect. There aren't really any nemeses (the Bourc Camus is a half-hearted attempt at one but he simply disappears from the last 1/3rd of the book) or narrative arcs. William Gold's sole goal in life is to become a proper knight but he has no actual plan on how to do that; he spends most of the quite long book bouncing around from one mercenary company to another, usually on the wrong side of the thin line between mercenary and outright bandit.
This has the consequence that the book doesn't feel like it is ever building towards anything. It is just "one thing after another". That is just like real life but it did make the reading drag for me. (And there are three more books in the series!) There was a point when William was in Yet Another Battle and I realized I was at the 90% mark on the book. "Huh, guess it is going to end soon somehow." And the ending is, indeed anti-climactic.
While reading this, I realized it is the very definition of a "boys adventure". There is essentially no inner life to anyone. It is just action action action action. There are even a few passages that hint at something else, things like:
But...none of that is shown to us. What did he actually learn? How did he learn it? One gets the impression that he feels his audience would get bored if he included anything like that. Towards the end, the book improves slightly on this front by giving a love interest with Emile, a stronger emphasis on his fall/redemption and struggle to be a true knight and not just a bandit, and a return to (sort of) faith. But these are all very underdone and largely feel like too little, too late after the numbing monotony of battles that came before.
Finally, there were a few parts that left me confused because the author would have things happen that seemed to contradict previous developments with William Gold. Quite early on we are told
But not too long after that he runs into Sir John Hawkwood again
When he's all of, I dunno, 16 or 18 or so? He claims he is confident (and others agree with him) he can beat the Bourc Camus. But when he's 21 he's saying
and talking about how easily bested he is by Boucicault, who defeats him without breaking a sweat. After being a seasoned campaigner for a half-decade, he's being taught how to light a fire properly by Fra Peter. I just had a hard time reconciling it.
The Ill-Made Knight isn't terrible but I'm not sure I'm ready to read another 1,500 pages of the same.
The biggest problem Cameron has is that a real life biography is messy and simply isn't going to have the story beats we've come to expect. There aren't really any nemeses (the Bourc Camus is a half-hearted attempt at one but he simply disappears from the last 1/3rd of the book) or narrative arcs. William Gold's sole goal in life is to become a proper knight but he has no actual plan on how to do that; he spends most of the quite long book bouncing around from one mercenary company to another, usually on the wrong side of the thin line between mercenary and outright bandit.
This has the consequence that the book doesn't feel like it is ever building towards anything. It is just "one thing after another". That is just like real life but it did make the reading drag for me. (And there are three more books in the series!) There was a point when William was in Yet Another Battle and I realized I was at the 90% mark on the book. "Huh, guess it is going to end soon somehow." And the ending is, indeed anti-climactic.
While reading this, I realized it is the very definition of a "boys adventure". There is essentially no inner life to anyone. It is just action action action action. There are even a few passages that hint at something else, things like:
From her I learned what Emile might have taught me of courtly love – about how love can make you a better knight.
But...none of that is shown to us. What did he actually learn? How did he learn it? One gets the impression that he feels his audience would get bored if he included anything like that. Towards the end, the book improves slightly on this front by giving a love interest with Emile, a stronger emphasis on his fall/redemption and struggle to be a true knight and not just a bandit, and a return to (sort of) faith. But these are all very underdone and largely feel like too little, too late after the numbing monotony of battles that came before.
Finally, there were a few parts that left me confused because the author would have things happen that seemed to contradict previous developments with William Gold. Quite early on we are told
"One man – Sir John Hawkwood – says you are wise beyond your years."
But not too long after that he runs into Sir John Hawkwood again
Hawkwood looked at me, as if seeing me for the first time. "So, there is something inside that head besides empty chivalry."
When he's all of, I dunno, 16 or 18 or so? He claims he is confident (and others agree with him) he can beat the Bourc Camus. But when he's 21 he's saying
I really didn’t understand, then, how great was the divide between the competent man-at-arms and the trained man-at-arms.
and talking about how easily bested he is by Boucicault, who defeats him without breaking a sweat. After being a seasoned campaigner for a half-decade, he's being taught how to light a fire properly by Fra Peter. I just had a hard time reconciling it.
The Ill-Made Knight isn't terrible but I'm not sure I'm ready to read another 1,500 pages of the same.
beau_kemp's review
4.0
A great story, and although a bit confusing at times, I really enjoyed it. I think it was a bit too long. I suspect I'll pick up the next book the next time I get the hankering for chivalry.
wyopoke87's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
amanda31's review against another edition
5.0
A damn good book! So glad to have found another great HF writer with enough published to keep me going for a while!