The Book of Knights

Young Adelrune is a likable little boy oppressed by his strict stepparents, who are in turn under the thumb of a narrow and harsh religious rule. Finding privacy in his step parents' attic before he has even learned to read, Adelrune discovers a dusty copy of The Book of Knights. The pictures enchant him and obsess him to the point where he is motivated to learn to read, so that he can have access to the words of this secret treasure as well. The years of his young childhood are made bearable by the ideas and images of the book, and he resolves to run away and become a knight - a story that will enchant readers the way Adelrune himself was charmed and entertained.

From Publishers Weekly

Like Phyllis Gotlieb (see Flesh and Gold, reviewed above), Meynard is Canadian. He edits the SF magazine Solaris and has published six books in French, as well as a number of SF and fantasy stories in English. His first fantasy novel to be written in English is a coming-of-age tale of a young man desperate to become a knight. Raised in a society governed by a quasi-religious doctrine called "the Rule," Adelrune is fascinated by the dusty old copy of The Book of Knights he discovers in the attic of his foster parents' home. Eagerly abandoning the Rule for the romance of knightly honor, Adelrune runs away from home to seek out a sage named Riander and pays six years of his life for knightly training. Though the boy physically ages six years overnight, he still retains the mind of a youth. Eventually, Riander sends him on a journey as a final test of his abilities. Little does Adelrune realize that he will grow into his adulthood as well as his knighthood in the course of his adventures, even learning the secret of his own mysterious parentage. Though the plot rambles at times, Meynard's writing is deft, creating evocative imagery with the simplest language. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Spurred on by a miraculous book depicting the deeds of famous knights, a young boy leaves his foster home to seek his own destiny as a hero. The first English-language publication by French Canadian author Meynard evokes a fairy tale-like atmosphere in his depiction of the trials and tribulations of his young protagonist. The author's lyrical style accentuates the allegorical nature of this intensely compact tale of self-discovery. Transcending the fantasy genre, this novel belongs in most libraries.Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

First English-language fantasy from a Canadian author who hitherto has written in French. In the village of Faudace, the lives of young foundling Adelrune and his adoptive parents are governed by the austere precepts of the Rule. Hidden in the attic, Adelrune finds a dusty old tome, The Book of Knights, whose illustrated lives and deeds become his inspiration. And through the window of Keokle's toyshop, which he is forbidden to enter, he glimpses a large doll with a blue dress and blood on her face; for some reason, the doll mesmerizes him and he swears to rescue her, even though Keokle denies the doll's very existence. So Adelrune, now 12, runs away to find Riander, who, according to the Book, trains knights. Riander agrees to help, but Adelrune must pay for his training with six years of his life. Adelrune's final test is to discover his own weapons and armor. Various adventures follow: He helps some shelled beings persecuted by an evil magician, receives assistance from a band of women warriors and witches, crosses the steppe and outwits the dreadful Manticore, serves the vast Ship of Yeldred and forestalls a meaningless war, enters the forest to defeat the evil Queen of Cups, and eventually returns to Faudace to confront Keokleand solve the linked riddles of the doll and his own parentage. Mildly entertaining, with incidents reminiscent of highly diluted Jack Vance, but otherwise undistinguished. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

About the Author

Yves Meynard has been the literary editor of the SF magazine Solaris since 1994.

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