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The Green Knight's Squire #3
Swan Knight's Sword
Gilberic Parzival Moth is a strange and lonely boy who has grown up without a father, raised by a single mother who moves from town to town in fear of something she will not name. His only friends are animals, with whom he has always been able to speak. And after surviving his bewildering encounter with the two kings of Elfland and their many strange and wonderful and terrible subjects, as chronicled in FEAST OF THE ELFS, Gilberic finds himself honor-bound to travel to a house of living death called the Green Chapel.
Accompanied only by his faithful dog and following the directions of a talking horse, Gilberic must go against his beloved mother's wishes and go in search of the Green Knight, the mysterious giant who is said to dwell in the chapel, and whom he had previously beheaded. SWAN KNIGHT'S SWORD is the third and final book of THE GREEN KNIGHT'S SQUIRE, the first volume of MOTH & COBWEB, an astonishing new series about magical worlds of Day, Night, and Twilight by John C. Wright.
John C. Wright is one of the living grandmasters of science fiction and the author of THE GOLDEN AGE, AWAKE IN THE NIGHT LAND, and IRON CHAMBER OF MEMORY, to name just three of his exceptional books. He has been nominated for the Nebula Award, for the Hugo Award, and his novel SOMEWHITHER won the 2016 Dragon Award for Best Science Fiction Novel at Dragoncon.
Accompanied only by his faithful dog and following the directions of a talking horse, Gilberic must go against his beloved mother's wishes and go in search of the Green Knight, the mysterious giant who is said to dwell in the chapel, and whom he had previously beheaded. SWAN KNIGHT'S SWORD is the third and final book of THE GREEN KNIGHT'S SQUIRE, the first volume of MOTH & COBWEB, an astonishing new series about magical worlds of Day, Night, and Twilight by John C. Wright.
John C. Wright is one of the living grandmasters of science fiction and the author of THE GOLDEN AGE, AWAKE IN THE NIGHT LAND, and IRON CHAMBER OF MEMORY, to name just three of his exceptional books. He has been nominated for the Nebula Award, for the Hugo Award, and his novel SOMEWHITHER won the 2016 Dragon Award for Best Science Fiction Novel at Dragoncon.
- GenresFantasy
180 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 29, 2016
9 people are currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
John C. Wright
137 books451 followersJohn C. Wright (John Charles Justin Wright, born 1961) is an American author of science fiction and fantasy novels. A Nebula award finalist (for the fantasy novel Orphans of Chaos), he was called "this fledgling century's most important new SF talent" by Publishers Weekly (after publication of his debut novel, The Golden Age).
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 18, 2017
Third and final book in The Green Knight’s Squire trilogy. Serious spoilers ahead.
As in, it opens with Nerea tending his injuries after the disastrous fight that ended the last one. It ends with her getting him back to his mother. Where she is deeply relieved to learn that he has sworn to King Arthur, but tries to forbid him to go to the Green Chapel as he had promised. Then he's arrested by a mysterious government agency where his police badge does him no good. And he has to escape within a day to possibly keep his promise.
With great attention to detail, he pulls it off. And then he sets out. It involves a three-headed dog, summoning his father's boat, a strange restaurant, a covered bridge, defending his mother's good name before the elf kings, and more.
As in, it opens with Nerea tending his injuries after the disastrous fight that ended the last one. It ends with her getting him back to his mother. Where she is deeply relieved to learn that he has sworn to King Arthur, but tries to forbid him to go to the Green Chapel as he had promised. Then he's arrested by a mysterious government agency where his police badge does him no good. And he has to escape within a day to possibly keep his promise.
With great attention to detail, he pulls it off. And then he sets out. It involves a three-headed dog, summoning his father's boat, a strange restaurant, a covered bridge, defending his mother's good name before the elf kings, and more.
June 13, 2024
In this medieval tale of chivalry set in the 21st century, a boy grows up and claims his inheritance. I appreciate what the author has to say about temptation, and the magic and setting are top notch. As always, Wright is generous to the point of profligacy with his storytelling. Magically hidden states, runaway witches, history professors corrupted by the secrets they've read, ideas that other authors would horde away for future books, Wright throws at you in passing. I would have liked more development of the love story, which we got in book one, but needed more of in book three.
February 12, 2017
Wow! So worth the wait!
I read book 1, but it was clear this wasn't a proper trilogy, but really one longer novel. So I waited for books 2 and 3 and then read them all in one go.
Fantastic! Parts are laugh out loud funny, parts will bring a tear to the eye, or a sense of happy satisfaction. All this in a book with intriguing characters, great world-building and a fantastic plot!
Now I want to read it all over again.
I read book 1, but it was clear this wasn't a proper trilogy, but really one longer novel. So I waited for books 2 and 3 and then read them all in one go.
Fantastic! Parts are laugh out loud funny, parts will bring a tear to the eye, or a sense of happy satisfaction. All this in a book with intriguing characters, great world-building and a fantastic plot!
Now I want to read it all over again.
November 26, 2017
Fabulous conclusion to the trilogy. I can't wait for the next set of these books to be out in hardcover. This is fantasy at its finest.
December 6, 2018
Although published as three separate novels, Swan Knight's Son, Feast of the Elfs and Swan Knight's Son are one story divided into three books, so I will review them all together.
Do you look around and think, is that all there is? What happened to all the wonder of the world, its romance, its mystery? Well, the answer lies in these books. The Elfs stole them. They pinched the world's wonders and all the best bits of the geography and hid them behind a mist of unknowing. Now this is an idea I have a great deal of sympathy with. Somebody certainly pinched it, and the Elfs are as good a bet as anyone else (although I suspect we mislaid it ourselves). These Elfs, while magical, supernatural creatures, are fay, Fallen creatures, the glamourous face of those damned forever to the Earth - which is probably why the Elfs are so keen on keeping all the best bits for themselves. (I could never get used to Wright using 'Elfs' as the plural form rather than 'Elves' but it's probably done deliberately to distinguish Wright's Elfs from Tolkien's Elves.)
Into this world is pitched young Gilberic Parzival Moth, a human (well, mostly) teenager, with all the inflexibility of a typical teenager, and a mother who turns out to be, well, something not so human (given her irritating habit of answering every question with a riddle, she's probably related to the Sphinx somewhere down the line). Gilberic becomes a squire, then a knight, mashing modern-day pop culture references with deep forays into mythology and folklore. If you like the idea of a more knowledgeable version of Percy Jackson, with fewer jokes but a more wide-ranging mythology, then these books might be for you.
There is some evidence of the books having been written in a hurry and edited loosely - too many typos and, at one point, Gilberic's mermaid love interest warns him to keep her secret from his canine companion (who can speak, naturally) only for the warning to be forgotten 50 pages later - but the sheer wealth of invention I find hugely enjoyable. The story itself has the same dream-logic of medieval romances such as Orlando Furioso, with not much regard for logic, but then, we're dealing with Elfs here: everyday reality is optional for them.
All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable 21st-century take on the medieval romance.
Do you look around and think, is that all there is? What happened to all the wonder of the world, its romance, its mystery? Well, the answer lies in these books. The Elfs stole them. They pinched the world's wonders and all the best bits of the geography and hid them behind a mist of unknowing. Now this is an idea I have a great deal of sympathy with. Somebody certainly pinched it, and the Elfs are as good a bet as anyone else (although I suspect we mislaid it ourselves). These Elfs, while magical, supernatural creatures, are fay, Fallen creatures, the glamourous face of those damned forever to the Earth - which is probably why the Elfs are so keen on keeping all the best bits for themselves. (I could never get used to Wright using 'Elfs' as the plural form rather than 'Elves' but it's probably done deliberately to distinguish Wright's Elfs from Tolkien's Elves.)
Into this world is pitched young Gilberic Parzival Moth, a human (well, mostly) teenager, with all the inflexibility of a typical teenager, and a mother who turns out to be, well, something not so human (given her irritating habit of answering every question with a riddle, she's probably related to the Sphinx somewhere down the line). Gilberic becomes a squire, then a knight, mashing modern-day pop culture references with deep forays into mythology and folklore. If you like the idea of a more knowledgeable version of Percy Jackson, with fewer jokes but a more wide-ranging mythology, then these books might be for you.
There is some evidence of the books having been written in a hurry and edited loosely - too many typos and, at one point, Gilberic's mermaid love interest warns him to keep her secret from his canine companion (who can speak, naturally) only for the warning to be forgotten 50 pages later - but the sheer wealth of invention I find hugely enjoyable. The story itself has the same dream-logic of medieval romances such as Orlando Furioso, with not much regard for logic, but then, we're dealing with Elfs here: everyday reality is optional for them.
All in all, a thoroughly enjoyable 21st-century take on the medieval romance.
October 31, 2018
3.5 STARS
FINALLY finished it, after setting it aside time and time.
Gilberic Moth does heroic and clever deeds in the attempt to clear his mother's name, and gets a girl (his mother's sister's granddaughter, no less).
It's a very well-done pastiche of Le Morte D'Arthur: a lot of faintly-archaic dialogue and descriptions of place, persons, and action, but very little of inner thoughts or emotions. You are not meant to deeply identify with any character, nor be very immersed into the world, but always observing at a slight remove. This, as well as the ultimate honor is to be a Christian knight, serving King Arthur and God, and all the pristine virginal maidens..
I recognize this series' merits, but it is not quite up my alley. Highly recommended for any fans of the Arthurian legends, and knights and brave deeds.
FINALLY finished it, after setting it aside time and time.
Gilberic Moth does heroic and clever deeds in the attempt to clear his mother's name, and gets a girl (his mother's sister's granddaughter, no less).
It's a very well-done pastiche of Le Morte D'Arthur: a lot of faintly-archaic dialogue and descriptions of place, persons, and action, but very little of inner thoughts or emotions. You are not meant to deeply identify with any character, nor be very immersed into the world, but always observing at a slight remove. This, as well as the ultimate honor is to be a Christian knight, serving King Arthur and God, and all the pristine virginal maidens..
I recognize this series' merits, but it is not quite up my alley. Highly recommended for any fans of the Arthurian legends, and knights and brave deeds.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews