The Legend of the King

 The Legend of the King by Gerald Morris, 295 pages

Book 10 of The Squires Tales series, this is the final installment. And I've read this series before, and knew the first time around how Camelot ends, but oh my, it was sad to read again! Readers are reunited with nearly all the major characters of the previous books, and many of the characters are given excellent and touching endings. 

And of course there still are wonderful passages with stories of adventure and the friendship of Terence and Gawain, along with the other characters in the series, some from Arthurian literature and some (like Terence) completely made up by Gerald Morris. I cried when the story ended, because it's Camelot and it's sad, but also because I loved reading this series and I was sorry to come to the end again. But as a person who likes to reread, I can always start the series over again! 

These books are an excellent introduction to the King Arthur tales. Even though many of the characters are adults, middle-graders will love the action and the compelling stories. Highly recommended for young readers who might not be ready for angsty teen books, but who are looking for something challenging after graduating from chapter books.

The Quest of the Fair Unknown

 

 

The Quest of the Fair Unknown by Gerald Morris, 264 pages

This is the eighth book of The Squire's Tales series. I've been rereading them just for the enjoyment of great writing and fun stories and this book is no different. Beaufils has lived an extremely sheltered life: the only human he has ever known in his isolated home is his mother. Following her death, he wants to search for his father, having learned from his mother that his father was a knight at Camelot. Because Beaufils is very much an innocent, his interactions with the first humans he meets are amusing but also enlightening to the reader: it turns out that Beaufils himself is a very good-looking fellow, but he isn't aware of this and he really doesn't grasp the concept of physical beauty or ugliness in others. He also experiences right away examples of good and evil in the human race. 

Beaufils joins up with the Lady Ellyn, Galahad, Gawain, and others as he embarks on a quest to find the Holy Grail, which interests him much less than finding his father and helping his companions with their quests.

There's so much to love in these stories. It's true of all his books, but it struck me again in this book how many interesting female characters Morris adds to or embellishes using the stories of King Arthur and other popular stories of the Middle Ages. Lady Ellyn in this story is one of my favorite of Morris' female characters: she's funny, introspective, courageous, and kind. These books are great for middle readers interested in fantasy, knights, adventures, magic, and good story telling. I'll be sad when this series ends for me, but it's been fun to reread these books and I'll probably pick up the whole series sometime again soon and start over!

The Lioness and Her Knight

The Lioness and Her Knight

The Lioness and Her Knight by Gerald Morris; 343 pages

Ah! These books are so good and it's so much fun to re-read this series. I've always called them the "Terence and Gawain Books" in my mind, but the series is actually called "The Squire's Tales" and this is Book 7. The first few books in the series heavily feature Terence, squire to Gawain, and his adventures questing with Gawain, who comes to be known as the Maiden's Knight. All of the books are retellings of the King Arthur tales. The author, Gerald Morris, is an excellent scholar of these tales and at the end of each book he discusses the original tale or inspiration that he has rewritten and what he changed in his version. Most of the characters are based on people described in the original tales, but Terence is Morris' own invention. All of the tales feature memorable characters and the plot generally involves the growth of the characters as their personalities evolve and change over the course of the book as they learn lessons from their adventures. And there are so many funny lines, likeable characters, unlikeable villains, tender love stories, and epic battles. And magic and sorceresses and a lot of fun!

In "The Lioness and Her Knight" Luneta travels to Camelot with her cousin Ywain and a court jester, or fool, named Rhience. She's been fighting with her mother quite a bit recently, like any teenager, and jumps at the chance to leave home. Camelot is just a stop (her uncle is Gawain, The Maiden's Knight and she is introduced to Terence and even the intimidating Morgan Le Fay, among other well-known Camelot characters) as Luneta's true destination is the castle of her mother's friend Lady Laudine. On the way to meet Laudine, Ywain hopes to earn a reputation as an excellent knight and ends up involving Luneta and Rhience in adventures they weren't expecting, while Luneta, upon meeting Laudine, can't help but interfere to help Laudine grow a backbone and ends up an apprentice to none other than Morgan Le Fay. And that's just the beginning of all the adventures! I haven't even mentioned the Lioness! Or the Storm Stone! 

This book is an excellent part of the series and I can't wait to get my hands on the next one. It was long enough ago that I read this series for the first that I'm rediscovering them again and enjoying every minute. Boys or girls will love these stories and Morris features a lot of great female characters in all of his books. These books are written for a middle-grade audience and Morris also writes a series of King Arthur tales for elementary readers called The Knights' Tales. I can't recommend his writing enough.