GRAIL QUEST love...
Jul. 10th, 2006 10:56 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
lagilmanI love it when nobody tells you people are saying nice things... (thanks to bn.com, for posting these reviews!)
GRAIL QUEST: THE CAMELOT SPELL
Children's Literature - Laura Ruttig
Gilman breathes fresh life into the Arthurian legends by skewing the point-of-view of her novel away from the standard realm of knights' adventures. Instead, book one of the "Grail Quest" series explores the journey of three teenagers at King Arthur's court who go in search of Merlin for a solution to the sudden tragedy that befalls the court. A strange spell has put all of the adults at court to sleep, leaving only the children and young adults to defend the castle and find a way to awaken the king's court. Gerard, Ailis, and Newt make a strange trio, each comes from a different background within the castle. Gerard is an adopted nephew of the king and is training to become a knight. Newt has worked his way up from feeding the hounds to the horses, but as a stable boy, his status remains much lower than Gerard's. Finally, Ailis is an orphan, an occasional favorite of the queen, but as a serving girl her status is lowest. The author's attention to the class differences between the three, as well as their understanding and acceptance of it, reveals the inequities built into Arthurian society. At the same time, the three teens learn to work together, developing an understanding of each other's strengths and weaknesses, in order to solve the puzzle. Gilman's reasonably realistic use of the medieval setting and her excellent development of the characters places this fantasy-adventure a step above the average.
VOYA - Christina Fairman
In this engaging fantasy, the first in the Grail Quest trilogy, three young adventurers must break a mysterious spell that has incapacitated all the adults in King Arthur's court. The trio seeks the magical help of Merlin, but they soon discover that he has been imprisoned in a house of ice and cannot return to Camelot. He offers, however, a riddle and a magic map, both of which will provide clues leading them to three talismans that will lift the spell. Their journey takes them on a difficult path through the countryside, where the children encounter an evil slave driver, a gruesome troll, and a frightening dragon, each of whom holds a piece of the puzzle. Even though readers will never really doubt that the trio will find the talismans, most will be surprised by a final encounter that reveals the evil source of the spell. The believable dialogue, succinct plot, and uncomplicated references to court life will appeal to middle readers who are beginning to explore Arthurian legend. Advanced readers will fare better with books that explore magic and myth in greater detail, such as The Lost Years of Merlin by T. A. Barron (Philomel, 1996/VOYA October 1996). There is some mild violence, but it is limited to a brief scene that is appropriate to the story. Schools and libraries that serve adolescent and preteen populations will benefit from having this well-written book in their collections. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8).
GRAIL QUEST: THE CAMELOT SPELL
Children's Literature - Laura Ruttig
Gilman breathes fresh life into the Arthurian legends by skewing the point-of-view of her novel away from the standard realm of knights' adventures. Instead, book one of the "Grail Quest" series explores the journey of three teenagers at King Arthur's court who go in search of Merlin for a solution to the sudden tragedy that befalls the court. A strange spell has put all of the adults at court to sleep, leaving only the children and young adults to defend the castle and find a way to awaken the king's court. Gerard, Ailis, and Newt make a strange trio, each comes from a different background within the castle. Gerard is an adopted nephew of the king and is training to become a knight. Newt has worked his way up from feeding the hounds to the horses, but as a stable boy, his status remains much lower than Gerard's. Finally, Ailis is an orphan, an occasional favorite of the queen, but as a serving girl her status is lowest. The author's attention to the class differences between the three, as well as their understanding and acceptance of it, reveals the inequities built into Arthurian society. At the same time, the three teens learn to work together, developing an understanding of each other's strengths and weaknesses, in order to solve the puzzle. Gilman's reasonably realistic use of the medieval setting and her excellent development of the characters places this fantasy-adventure a step above the average.
VOYA - Christina Fairman
In this engaging fantasy, the first in the Grail Quest trilogy, three young adventurers must break a mysterious spell that has incapacitated all the adults in King Arthur's court. The trio seeks the magical help of Merlin, but they soon discover that he has been imprisoned in a house of ice and cannot return to Camelot. He offers, however, a riddle and a magic map, both of which will provide clues leading them to three talismans that will lift the spell. Their journey takes them on a difficult path through the countryside, where the children encounter an evil slave driver, a gruesome troll, and a frightening dragon, each of whom holds a piece of the puzzle. Even though readers will never really doubt that the trio will find the talismans, most will be surprised by a final encounter that reveals the evil source of the spell. The believable dialogue, succinct plot, and uncomplicated references to court life will appeal to middle readers who are beginning to explore Arthurian legend. Advanced readers will fare better with books that explore magic and myth in greater detail, such as The Lost Years of Merlin by T. A. Barron (Philomel, 1996/VOYA October 1996). There is some mild violence, but it is limited to a brief scene that is appropriate to the story. Schools and libraries that serve adolescent and preteen populations will benefit from having this well-written book in their collections. VOYA CODES: 4Q 4P M (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses; Broad general YA appeal; Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8).
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-07-11 03:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-11 06:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-11 11:15 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-11 12:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-11 06:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-11 06:43 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-11 06:45 pm (UTC)Ego is good. Hubris is bad. Abject self-unworthiness is annoying. Thus sayeth the elder grasshopper. ;-)
no subject
Date: 2006-07-12 12:24 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-07-12 04:14 am (UTC)You may expect them, but I don't. I assume everyone else sees all the flaws I spotted after the sucker went to press, and then some, and is just waiting to mock me for it.
Actually, what I expect is the review that says "despite some evident skill in character development and worldbuilding, Gilman fails..."
It's that paranoia that keeps me working to do it better, tho, so it's not all bad.
no subject
Date: 2006-07-12 02:32 pm (UTC)StalkerFan t-shirt... *grin*no subject
Date: 2006-07-13 11:33 pm (UTC)(yeah, I do know that was lame... forgive me I just got back from work)
But seriously I'd prefer something like "Laura Anne Gilman is my IDOL!" with your face super impossed over a picture of Kali or something. So much more subtle...