Iain Hawkes’s Reviews > Have Sword, Will Travel > Status Update

Also, on another note, the character arcs of the kids are weird. Odo gets Biter (despite not wanting to be a knight), Eleanor gets to be his squire, despite wanting to be a knight herself. I thought that by the end of the story, the roles would be reversed, or there'd be some kind of moral. Instead, 80% in, Eleanor gets her own sword and gets to be a knight too. Um, yay? Feels like a simple character arc.

Mixed. On one hand, after Biter having berated the kids throughout the novel, it's quaint to see him and Runnell now snapping at each other instead. The twist of the dragon not really being a dragon was...okay, I guess. I can't really call it a disappointment, but it's sort of an anti-climax, even if, granted, I'm not at the novel's actual ending yet.

Still mixed. Things are going back and forth - literally, in some cases, given the time spent on backtracking. I was hoping the barrow would have a wight, but alas. Wenneth being a monk - minor point, but despite being a kid's book, I like the hints at wider worldbuilding/culture, even if it's unreasonable to expect the authors to go in-depth.

So Eleanor's fine being a squire now? Okay...

That was an okay plot twist.

Still, I can see a potential theme at work, the idea that the closer the protagonists get to danger, the more 'real' things become in a sense. Maybe I'm reading too much into things, but it's not like JF can't have themes. Also, bugger you Elanor. I know you want to be a knight, that doesn't mean you should be swept off your feet for Blondie. :P

So sword existentialism is a thing in this setting. That's neat, I guess. Also, the use of armour does feel true to real life, albeit simplified. Also, I don't know if this is good writing or not, but it's kinda telling that only now has anyone really questioned the protagonists being a knight and squire, and that person is, appropriately enough, a knight.

Starting to lose interest. I'll give some credit for worldbuilding as far as the urthkin go, but at this point, it's more or less bog standard fantasy, and the parody elements have either lost their punch or faded into the background. I can understand the story getting more serious as it progresses (in principle at least), but in execution, it's just, well, fine, I guess.

Oh hey, people are finally beginning to question the existence of a tween knight. 0_0

I know this is JF fantasy parody, but the parents are surprisingly willing to let their kids go off on a quest. 0_0