The Knight's Secret by Jeffrey Bardwell is a bit of a strange
fantasy with some creativity in terms of characters and ideas. Having said
that, I think the book could use some work because the first two chapters were
amazing then the story dragged.
The
book opens with Kelsa's grandfather, Sir Corbin, being invited to give a speech
before the new Empress. However, shortly after he dies – before making the
trip. So, Kelsa and her mage mother cook up a plan to transform Kelsa into Sir
Corbin, take on the role, and give the speech.
The Knight's Secret is narrated from Kelsa's perspective, first as a
girl, and starting chapter 3 as a woman pretending to be a man. An old one.
There
is lots of humor, especially how Kelsa adjusts to being an old. Imagine a
16-year-old girl turning into an 80-year-old man with a lot of health hazards!
"It was an effort to
straighten myself, not from any aches – though my body had those aplenty – but from
old habits. Kelsa sat in the saddle like a sack of potatoes…but the great Sir
Corbin? The Hero of Jerkum Pass always perched in his saddle like he had a
spear shoved up his backside."
In
terms of characterization, I loved Kelsa and her witty, sarcastic comments. She
is the main character after all. And she does all the hard work in the novel.
The
language in The Knight's Secret was fine, with little imagery. Narration
was a bit difficult to navigate. Even though it's all from Kelsa's perspective,
when she becomes her grandfather, she thinks as a man and would occasionally
comment that some fleeting thoughts are Kelsa's.
I
applaud Bardwell for his idea of transformation but felt it was a bit confusing
at times. Still,
the book wasn't as fast-paced I would have liked. Remember the speech from
chapter 1? By chapter 10 or later, it's still not written or given.
I
came to a point where I was thinking of dropping the novel altogether but
decided to give it one more chapter to decide. Luckily, that chapter kept me
going till I finished it.
Did
characters ever talk so much? In The Knight's Secret they do. A freaking
lot! There was a ton of dialogue in the book. And while I favor dialogue over
endless descriptions, I felt that The Knight's Secret had too much that
just didn't move the action or novel forward. I honestly started skipping
lines.
I
rarely comment on book covers, unless they're wicked amazing, but in The
Knight's Secret, I felt there was a discrepancy since Sir Corbin was over
80 years old. When Kelsa transformed, she looked like her old grandfather. Not the
young-looking knight on the cover. I like the cover but I just don't think it's
fitting for this book.
There
was also some adult content that I had not been expecting. Considering who the
characters were, it wasn't particularly interesting. Or I wasn't willing to
read this.
A
lot of secrets and information the reader has been craving throughout the book
are revealed at the end. But let's not talk about the end because I felt the story
ended abruptly. I understand that series tend to have open endings, but this
was odd. I felt like I was watching TV and the lights went out in the middle of
the movie, not that I got semi-satisfying ending.
Overall,
I think the book could use some work. Hence, my overall rating is 2.5 stars.
Note: I received a free copy of
The Knight's Secret from its author Jeffrey Bardwell in exchange for an
honest review.
No comments:
Post a Comment