So, a couple days ago I received an angry e-mail from SamoaPhoenix demanding to know why I hadn't told her I was reviewing the Squire's Tales... to which I promptly responded with a screencap of the e-mail I had sent her with a link to my review of the Squire's Tale ;) How we got here isn't what's important. What's important is that SamoaPhoenix wanted in on the action. This isn't a joint review and we probably aren't going to be posting our discussions (that was a lot of work and there are almost double the books in this series). But you will be getting back-to-back reread reviews from us which hopefully won't be too similar as we both enjoy these books and SamoaPhoenix and I can be scarily in step with each other sometimes (see the
Crystal Cave Reviews).
~Storyteller Knight
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Title: The Squire's Tale
Author: Gerald Morris
Publisher: Dell Laurel-Leaf (Random House)
Pages: 212
Synopsis: (from the publisher) Life for the young orphan Terence is peaceful, spent with the old hermit Trevisant in a quiet wood. That is, until the day a strange green sprite leads Terence to Gawain, King Arthur's nephew, who is on his way to Camelot in the hope of being knighted. Trevisant can see the future and knows that Terence must leave to serve as Gawain's squire. From that moment on, Terence's days are filled with heartstopping adventure as he helps save damsels in distress, battle devious men, and protect Arthur from his many enemies. Along the way, Terence is amazed at his skills and newfound magical abilities. Were these a gift from his unknown parents?
As Gawain continues his quest for knighthood, Terence knows he won't rest until he solves the riddle of his own past. |
So a
bit of background before my review begins. I was one of the ones who lobbied
hard for Story to read this series back when we were in college and I am eager
to join her on her read-through. I discovered these books at my local library
back when I was fourteen. Only the first two books were published then, The Squire’s Tale and The Squire, His Knight, and His Lady. I was
a casual YA fantasy reader, and Arthurian fantasy was as good as any other. It
was also about this time that I discovered and read T.A. Barron’s Lost Years of Merlin series, Jane
Yolen’s Sword of the Rightful King,
and a few other Arthurian titles. I even gave The Once and Future King a try, and gave up in disgust after
reading Book 1. If all Arthurian readers had back in the mid twentieth century
were that and Mary Stewart’s Merlin series, well…let’s just say I’m glad I
wasn’t alive then.
But I
digress. Anyway, long story short I fell in love with this series. I eagerly
waited for each new installment to be published all the way through high
school, college, and beyond until the series wrapped up with Legend of the King in 2010. Gerald
Morris has had a profound impact on my worldview in general. Along with J.K.
Rowling, Tamora Pierce and Diane Duane, he was one of the most important authors
to me during my formative high school years. He views life with such wisdom and
humor. He made my journey through classic medieval works like The Canterbury Tales (from which the
series takes its title) and Sir Gawain
and the Green Knight enjoyable, because I felt like I knew secrets about
the characters my bored classmates could never guess at. Just so you’re aware,
I might be a bit biased in my reviews of some of my favorite Squire’s Tales, as they rank among my
all-time favorite books. I don’t like all of them, and I will try to be as
honest as possible and not just view them through my nostalgic rose-colored
glasses.
On to
the review!
Wait,
one last thing: I have always wondered what was up with this cover. Having read
the book, the scenario on the cover never comes close to occurring so I’m not
sure what the heck the publishers were thinking on this one. I guess they
wanted to indicate this is a humorous tale full of misadventure and folly…who
knows. The reprint cover that is currently available through Amazon is way
better in every aspect.
Warning for Spoilers
