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margeryb's review against another edition
3.0
Between three and four stars. As an adult reader, it is more of a three star read in terms of my personal enjoyment. As a piece of kid lit and getting into my own child self's brain, this was four star quality fantasy writing.
My first reaction to this book was a sense of nostalgia for the more straight forward high fantasy/sword and shield fantasy books I read as a young person that aren't really in vogue right now (nevermind that I read another of Gerald Morris' books). There is a sort of charm to being immersed in a story of questing knights without any twists or edgy reimaginings.
The Squire's Tale is a retelling of a snippet of Arthurian legend, some adventures of Sir Gawain as told via a newly invented character, his squire Terrance. It is written in a way that is very approachable for kids without any of the condescending implications of "for kids." It doesn't blunt some of the more brutal aspects (people get beheaded), but it moves along at fairly fast pace giving enough to description to be vivid without any beleaguered descriptive passage. Morris' biggest strength is his way he draws characters with strong personalities as revealed by behavior and dialogue. There were a few points I laughed out loud by some of the banter.
As a consequence of the source material, it is a very episodic book. About two-thirds through, that drained some of my reading enthusiasm, which I probably my one primary mark against it.
My first reaction to this book was a sense of nostalgia for the more straight forward high fantasy/sword and shield fantasy books I read as a young person that aren't really in vogue right now (nevermind that I read another of Gerald Morris' books). There is a sort of charm to being immersed in a story of questing knights without any twists or edgy reimaginings.
The Squire's Tale is a retelling of a snippet of Arthurian legend, some adventures of Sir Gawain as told via a newly invented character, his squire Terrance. It is written in a way that is very approachable for kids without any of the condescending implications of "for kids." It doesn't blunt some of the more brutal aspects (people get beheaded), but it moves along at fairly fast pace giving enough to description to be vivid without any beleaguered descriptive passage. Morris' biggest strength is his way he draws characters with strong personalities as revealed by behavior and dialogue. There were a few points I laughed out loud by some of the banter.
As a consequence of the source material, it is a very episodic book. About two-thirds through, that drained some of my reading enthusiasm, which I probably my one primary mark against it.
cereuslyrico's review against another edition
5.0
The series grows as you read along, with each book easily enjoyable on its own, while still adding to the overall plot. Highly recommend.
elusivity's review against another edition
3.0
3 STARS
Retelling of Arthurian legends, with addition of a squire named Terence and a very sympathetically depicted Sir Gawain.
Very simple, very straight-forward little story. I enjoyed it, but two days later much details have already been lost..
Retelling of Arthurian legends, with addition of a squire named Terence and a very sympathetically depicted Sir Gawain.
Spoiler
Terence was raised, shades of SWORD IN THE STONE, by a hermit who remembers time backwards: he remember the future, but not the past. One day while hunting, Terence ran into Gawain, and became his squire. They meet people. They joust, defeat random knights, go to King Arthur's court and Gawain is knighted. They go on a quest, where Sir Gawain and Terence ended up in Faerie and met Gawain's one true love, the enchanter Ganscotter's daughter. They return to mortal lands, now carrying a longing for Faerie. Then Terence somehow senses an evil Enchantress who tries to take over the world by magically poisoning King Arthur. This Enchantress is Morgause, Gawain's estranged mother. Terence and Gawain rides to defeat her, and succeeds. Terence discovers his father is Ganscotter, that he has the right to live in Faerie, but chose stay with Gawain instead.Very simple, very straight-forward little story. I enjoyed it, but two days later much details have already been lost..
abookishwonderer's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
brookerhees's review against another edition
4.0
Some of the knightly duels were a bit more gory than I remembered (in a kid's book kind of way). But given the subject matter, that's somewhat to be expected. Still overall a fun, light take on the knights of the round table
lavendermarch's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 stars because I wish it was longer, however there's a second book, so yay!
Reread June 21st, 2022
This was a nice palette cleanser after several disappointing books. It wasn't perfect - I would have appreciated more well-rounded female characters (I think there werel only two that were somewhat close) but it was a King Arthur retelling that I had read and enjoyed before, even if I didn't remember much. It was a quick, entertaining read. I might reread book two as well. 3.5 stars.
Reread June 21st, 2022
This was a nice palette cleanser after several disappointing books. It wasn't perfect - I would have appreciated more well-rounded female characters (I think there werel only two that were somewhat close) but it was a King Arthur retelling that I had read and enjoyed before, even if I didn't remember much. It was a quick, entertaining read. I might reread book two as well. 3.5 stars.
nerdyforbooks_'s review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75