Free Lance and the Field of Blood (Free Lance Trilogy 2) by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell
| Free Lance and the Field of Blood (Free Lance Trilogy 2) by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell | |
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| Category: Dyslexia Friendly | |
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Reviewer: John Lloyd
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| Summary: A second fine example of mediaeval fantasy in this series, reprinted here with dyslexia-friendly bearings. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 88 | Date: September 2017 |
| Publisher: Barrington Stoke | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 9781781127155 | |
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The world of jousting is a fierce one – survive the minor battles with the lance, either as a bonded employed Knight or as a Free Lance, and you might try your hands at the major league. There the men are stronger, the horses faster, and the ground hurts more when you hit it. But the big-time also offers more that can put a humble Knight at risk – such as evil hosts, beautiful princess-types in pickles, and mysteriously successful strangers. Our nameless hero and his loyal horse, Jed, are going to be up against a lot more than they expected here…
This is the second Free Lance book I've read – they had entirely passed me by since first publication in 2003 until here and now in 2017. This is very different from the first book, as that was a standard fantasy quest story, albeit a very good one for this age range. This volume is, it's happy to say, entirely self-contained. Here you get a real evocation of a Knight at a tournament – the preparations he has to undergo, the whole rigmarole with the lady's handkerchiefs and so on, and all the machinations the author can thrust at him.
What this means is that there is a lot more to this book than the generic cover image might suggest, and anyone coming here for the blood and guts of a Knight in full swing may be a little disappointed. I certainly wasn't, for this really worked for me – and that's even when I can't think of working the twist ending out any quicker than I did. It's a drama that's played straight – the hero is an adult warrior, down on his luck and with some unusual decisions under his belt, and is not here to be a proxy for the reader or a comic character. He's a character you will come to enjoy and care for, even if you haven't read the prior book.
This reprint comes to us courtesy of Barrington Stoke, the go-to people for books for the young with reading barriers and disabilities. They peg this as having an interest age of 9+ to go with a reading age of 8 and up, which suggests they recognise it isn't completely specified for a particular niche market, but would serve the general reader too. Either way, you get their typical large font, lemony-tinged and strong paper stock, and all their usual production values that forever act as abject lessons to other publishers. You do also get some words I felt long and awkward for some intended readers – pickpockets for one, and of course tournament – and phrases they may not perhaps be able to parse, such as a fine line in metaphor (I'd find myself chucked out of the tournament faster than a steaming chamber-pot from a bedroom window). That said, the publishers know what they're doing, and the author and artist pair certainly does as well. I thought to find a superior fantasy story once more – I touched base with a really clever story set in a much under-used locale. I'm only left relishing the thought of what the third and final Free Lance may give us.
I must thank the publishers for my review copy.
You might also enjoy Norman the Norman from Normandy (Little Gems) by Philip Ardagh and Tom Morgan-Jones.
We don't get proper books about proper jousting enough here at The Bookbag. So much so I have to nudge you towards The Hawk of the Castle: A Story of Medieval Falconry by Danna Smith and Bagram Ibatoulline for another accurate look at mediaeval activities for this age range.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Free Lance and the Field of Blood (Free Lance Trilogy 2) by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Free Lance and the Field of Blood (Free Lance Trilogy 2) by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell at Amazon.com.
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