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Graustark #3
Truxton King: A Story of Graustark
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY HARRISON FISHER.
296 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1909
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About the author
George Barr McCutcheon
299 books19 followersGeorge Barr McCutcheon was an American popular novelist and playwright. His best known works include the series of novels set in Graustark, a fictional East European country, and the novel Brewster's Millions, which was adapted into a play and several films.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 3, 2021
This is the longest and my favourite Graustark novel so far. I knew we were upping the stakes with this one as soon as I saw what GBM did to the protagonists of the first book in chapter one!
The titular Truxton is yet another American who finds his way to the (non-existent) country of Graustark in search of love. He’s not that soppy, though. It’s strongly hinted (or maybe even stated outright; I forget) that he fought as a mercenary in a South American war recently, basically for shits and giggles. He’s the kind of guy who buys a broadsword from an antiques shop just as an excuse to talk to the girl behind the counter. You know, a bit of an idiot.
Mr. King gets more than he bargained for, though, when he gets swept up in a plot to assassinate the six-year-old prince of Graustark by an anarchist group… and even there all is not as it seems.
I found this one completely engaging and actually quite exciting at times. There’s a lot of combat in this one to go along with the political intrigue and we even get a witch! There’s also a fair amount of humour, as you’d expect from the author of Brewster’s Millions, and the end was sweet and hilarious at the same time. Great stuff.
My only complaint is that the romance element gets more than a little sappy at times, but that’s a minor niggle. I’d give this one 4.5 stars if I could. I nearly rounded up to 5 but changed my mind at the last minute as it just didn’t quite feel like a 5 star book.
My next book: MODOK: Head Games
The titular Truxton is yet another American who finds his way to the (non-existent) country of Graustark in search of love. He’s not that soppy, though. It’s strongly hinted (or maybe even stated outright; I forget) that he fought as a mercenary in a South American war recently, basically for shits and giggles. He’s the kind of guy who buys a broadsword from an antiques shop just as an excuse to talk to the girl behind the counter. You know, a bit of an idiot.
Mr. King gets more than he bargained for, though, when he gets swept up in a plot to assassinate the six-year-old prince of Graustark by an anarchist group… and even there all is not as it seems.
I found this one completely engaging and actually quite exciting at times. There’s a lot of combat in this one to go along with the political intrigue and we even get a witch! There’s also a fair amount of humour, as you’d expect from the author of Brewster’s Millions, and the end was sweet and hilarious at the same time. Great stuff.
My only complaint is that the romance element gets more than a little sappy at times, but that’s a minor niggle. I’d give this one 4.5 stars if I could. I nearly rounded up to 5 but changed my mind at the last minute as it just didn’t quite feel like a 5 star book.
My next book: MODOK: Head Games
March 27, 2015
Having read the first two books in the Graustark series I expected this novel’s title to be a reference to a king from a fictional place called Truxton. As it happens, Truxton King is the name of a young American man in search of romance and adventure.
I enjoyed this one more than the previous Graustark instalments, mainly because the plot is stronger and there are few mundane passages, though I feel the main characters in this tale are not as strong as those in Books 1 and 2. Some of the secondary characters from those novels appear here. Interestingly, the author changes the main players each time. In a way he had to do so to open up new possibilities.
My favourite character was seven-year-old Prince Robin, aka Bobby. I found him both endearing and amusing. The author does a great job of bringing this boy to life, making him likeable rather than a spoilt brat.
As mentioned, I liked the plot, but at times I had to suspend belief. On occasion I found things a little too melodramatic. Some off the dialogue sounded unnatural because the author was conveying information to the reader that should’ve been relayed via the narrative.
George Barr McCutcheon’s works often have a strong patriotic theme, something which is very much in evidence in this book. In fact it’s borderline fanatical, almost preaching that the Americans are the best in everything, like they’re some sort of master race.
Nothing wrong with anyone being proud of their country, but in this instance I felt like the author – or the third-person narrator if you prefer – was forcing “American superiority” down my throat.
In my opinion Mr McCutcheon’s greatest strength is his use of humour. Here he employs it at times to good effect on and off throughout this novel, complementing the large amount of action and romantic interludes.
In short, this was a good read on the most part.
I enjoyed this one more than the previous Graustark instalments, mainly because the plot is stronger and there are few mundane passages, though I feel the main characters in this tale are not as strong as those in Books 1 and 2. Some of the secondary characters from those novels appear here. Interestingly, the author changes the main players each time. In a way he had to do so to open up new possibilities.
My favourite character was seven-year-old Prince Robin, aka Bobby. I found him both endearing and amusing. The author does a great job of bringing this boy to life, making him likeable rather than a spoilt brat.
As mentioned, I liked the plot, but at times I had to suspend belief. On occasion I found things a little too melodramatic. Some off the dialogue sounded unnatural because the author was conveying information to the reader that should’ve been relayed via the narrative.
George Barr McCutcheon’s works often have a strong patriotic theme, something which is very much in evidence in this book. In fact it’s borderline fanatical, almost preaching that the Americans are the best in everything, like they’re some sort of master race.
Nothing wrong with anyone being proud of their country, but in this instance I felt like the author – or the third-person narrator if you prefer – was forcing “American superiority” down my throat.
In my opinion Mr McCutcheon’s greatest strength is his use of humour. Here he employs it at times to good effect on and off throughout this novel, complementing the large amount of action and romantic interludes.
In short, this was a good read on the most part.
Read
May 31, 2015I liked this novel also as with the other Grustark novels. I recommend the whole series.
December 17, 2024
Boring
April 7, 2025
Not quite as good as the other two, but a perfect third book
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews