Lance Of Truth

Pendragon Legacy #2

by Katherine Roberts

Lance of Truth

Genres: Arthurian, Fantasy, Magic, Historical, Medieval, Adventure, Middle Grade

464 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

I grew up in the south west of England and studied Mathematics at the University of Bath, writing fantasy and science fiction in my spare time. After graduating with 1st class honours (in maths, not fantasy writing!), I worked with computers for several years before redundancy convinced me that working with horses might be healthier.

I spent the next decade working in various horse racing yards, and kept on writing. "Song Quest" was eventually published in 1999 and went on to win the Branford Boase Award for best debut children's novel by a UK author.

Reviews

[Atharva Shah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the second book in the series with many plot twists and character developments. Mordred, the dark prince has Gunivere, queen of Camelot and mother of Rhianna Pen dragon captive at the frozen north walls who plans to exchange Excalibur for Gunivere. Meanwhile, a jousting competition has been arranged in Camelot as Rhianna receives the message from Mordred for the exchange and tels the knights that she wants to come north to meet her mother and safely rescue her but the nights decline and take the Excalibur with them in the north keeping Rhianna in the dungeons because she is very troublesome and arguing. But Cai, the squire has changed the reals sword with a fake one with the held of Elphin.
Elphin and Rhianna with Arianrhod run away from Camelot and travel through the shadow portal with the help of Merlin and meet Sir Lancelot, who is a legend and the best knight alive in the world. They join alliances and rescue the knights and queen Gunivere from the clutches of Mordred but Lancelot gets injured with poison and also informs that he has lost the Lance of Truth to Mordred, and it is one of the Lights. Rhianna meets her mother and talks about King Arthur and herself and her adventures in the past. She also finds out the secret between Gunivere Sir Lancelot and knows the truth about her father, Arthur. Later, she challenges Mordred to a final duel against Lancelot which he loses due to the interruption of Cai and Rhianna gets back her Lance of Truth and sends Mordred to dungeons.
This book was better than the previous one recurring the characters like Arianrhod, Elphin, Merlin, Cai, Bors, etc. The northern frozen land is portrayed in a rich variety and the book is descriptive. The character development is very much intense and of course there are battles and mysteries to solve.

[Emma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review by Chris 9:1
The Lance of Truth is one in a set of four fictional fantasy books (set in the 'Dark Ages) Each of these books includes exciting jousts, fierece dragons and mighty Magic.

Katherine Roberts has aimed the writing style within the book at children between the ages 9 - 12. It delivers a well written story and the words are 'toned down' so that younger readers can enjoy the plot.

The story takes place in the Arthurian era, and follows some of it's folklore and culture assisting the world building and delivery of the plot.

The main character, Rhianna Pendragon, who is Arthur's daughter, is on a quest to revive her father and rescue her mother, to do this she needs to collect four 'lights' to restore Camelot. On her way there she must overcome challenges desicions and enemies of her and her father.

Although this genre does not suit my tastes or likes, it was well written and enjoyable. I would recommend it for anybody who likes the Fantasy/Magic/Action genre.

[Tracey · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good easy read. Nice twist on the legend of King Arthur. Rhianna Pendragon was an intriguing feisty young woman.

[Beth Kemp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This adventure is every bit as fast-paced and gripping as the first, with Rhianna and friends seeking out the second of the lights. They'll need all four to revive Arthur and restore Britain.

The quest is again central to the narrative and, although the story is clearly original (with the new invention of Rhianna in particular), there is plenty here that is familiar from Arthurian legend and the courtly tradition. I particularly enjoyed the verses at the start of each chapter, which form a ballad that gives an overview of the story when put together (yes, I did read them as such once I'd finished the novel!). The map and decorated headings also add to the feel of an older book, strengthening the presentation to make this a lovely package. These little hardbacks would make lovely gifts because they feel special and exciting as objects, thanks to these well-considered touches.

I love Rhianna as a character particularly and she is what makes this series special, amongst quests and fantasy adventures for the 9-12 age group. Her absolute refusal to comply with what a lady of Camelot 'ought' to be continues to delight and inspire, and the introduction of new characters enables Katherine Roberts to revisit and underline this point, just as some of the knights from book one are starting to see what Rhianna has to offer and treating her less as 'just' a damsel.

These are many-faceted books with a broad appeal, containing magic, mystery, adventure, danger, friendship, family and a richly-imagined medieval setting. I would definitely recommend the series to both boys and girls of 9+.

[Booker G. A. Feniks · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book has the same problems as the last, although it has improved in the typo department. However, a new problem arises, in the constant recaps to the previous book. I know that long series often benefit from recaps, especially series for children, but there is a line that is very easy to cross, between well made recaps, & unnecessary & boring recaps. The Lance of Truth, unfortunately, cannot get over this hurdle, & its way of inserting unnecessary recaps in the form of exposition dumps, worsens the story. On top of that, much more of the book is now dedicated to telling, rather than showing, chapter 14 being the most egregious example of this. Sometimes, you get to the end of a book & wonder 'how is the author going to be able to wrap everything up in so few pages?' This book, however, made me ask the question 'what else could this book possibly want to say?' Only for me to realise 'nothing, really.' The last chapter feels both like the author needed to extend her wordcount, but also struggled to finish it before a deadline. It ruined & otherwise passable book, & with all of its other problems, it loses the third star that its predecessor had.

[Tugba Sabaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

/ Serinin 2. kitabının yorumu olduğu için 1. kitabı okumayanlar için spoiler içerebilir. /
Rihanna, ilk ışığı Ekskalibur'u elle geçirmiştir ama babası Kral Arthur'u iyileştirmek için yeterli değildir. Diğer 3 ışığı da bulması gerekmektedir. Rihanna Camelot'a döndüğünde annesinin Sir Lancelot ile beraber güvenli bir bölgeye kaçarken Mordred tarafından kaçırıldığını öğrenir. Kader Mızrağı'da Sir Lancelot ile gitmiştir. Rihanna'nın hem ikinci ışığı bulmak hem annesini kurtarmak istemektedir. Bunun için Yuvarlak Masa Şövalyelerini ikna etmesi veya yakın arkadaşları ile beraber ayrı bir plan yapması gerekmektedir. Tabii ki Merlin'de bu plana destek olacaktır.

[Hannah]

This book was going great until my mum told me it was over due. Also, I'd had it out for 7 weeks (renewed), and I was kind of getting bored of the brilliance of it, so that's why I stopped it.
It was actually good, and my favourite character was, um, the main one? I don't know. (I also can't spell her name properly.) I didn't like Gareth. He was VERY annoying.
If this book was actually made up of all that I had read, then I would've rated it 3. Because despite all the good parts, it kept going on about: "oh Authur's dead I'm going to cry now".

[Helen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the first book in this series, "Sword of Light" to use with my Chatterbooks group. I enjoyed it, so I decided to read the rest in the series. I like Rhianna and her friends. They may not be part of the 'canon' as far as Arthurian legends are concerned, but they add an interesting dimension to it.

[Aisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can't wait for the next!

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Brilliant. And so onto the next in the series. :)

[Kyuutomo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Second book is even better than the first one!!

[Nathan · Rating 4 out of 5]

good

[Graeme Bell · Rating 1 out of 5]

King Arthur for little children.