Geekess reviewed The Red Knight by Miles Cameron (The Traitor Son Cycle, #1)
Review of 'The Red Knight' on 'Goodreads'
4 stars
Slow burn awesome.
Paperback, 672 pages
English language
Published April 4, 2012 by Orbit.
4 stars
(15 reviews)
Miles Cameron weaves an epic tale of magic and mercenaries, war and depravity, politics and intrigue in this action-packed debut fantasy The Red Knight.
Twenty eight florins a month is a huge price to pay, for a man to stand between you and the Wild.
Twenty eight florins a month is nowhere near enough when a wyvern's jaws snap shut on your helmet in the hot stink of battle, and the beast starts to rip the head from your shoulders. But if standing and fighting is hard, leading a company of men -- or worse, a company of mercenaries -- against the smart, deadly creatures of the Wild is even harder.
It takes all the advantages of birth, training, and the luck of the devil to do it.
The Red Knight has all three, he has youth on his side, and he's determined to turn a profit. So when he …
Miles Cameron weaves an epic tale of magic and mercenaries, war and depravity, politics and intrigue in this action-packed debut fantasy The Red Knight.
Twenty eight florins a month is a huge price to pay, for a man to stand between you and the Wild.
Twenty eight florins a month is nowhere near enough when a wyvern's jaws snap shut on your helmet in the hot stink of battle, and the beast starts to rip the head from your shoulders. But if standing and fighting is hard, leading a company of men -- or worse, a company of mercenaries -- against the smart, deadly creatures of the Wild is even harder.
It takes all the advantages of birth, training, and the luck of the devil to do it.
The Red Knight has all three, he has youth on his side, and he's determined to turn a profit. So when he hires his company out to protect an Abbess and her nunnery, it's just another job. The abby is rich, the nuns are pretty and the monster preying on them is nothing he can't deal with.
Only it's not just a job. It's going to be a war. . .
If you're a fan of Mark Lawrence, John Gwynne, or Brian McClellan you won't want to miss out on this intricate, epic debut fantasy.
William Ray reviewed The Red Knight by Miles Cameron
Review of 'The Red Knight' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
The Red Knight is a great tale of medieval fantasy. It's an entirely imaginary world, but it shares so many realistic details with our own that it's easy to lose track of that fact. It feels grubby, yet enobled. The layers of original fantasy are revealed somewhat slowly at first, but build to an excellent crescendo. For lovers of classic fantasy, this is a must read.
Felis reviewed The Red Knight by Miles Cameron
Review of 'The Red Knight' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
Truly exceptional worldcrafting, characters, writing. A pleasure to read.
Old_Tim reviewed The Red Knight by Miles Cameron
Review of 'The Red Knight' on 'Goodreads'
5 stars
The titular Red Knight leads a company of mercenaries who have been hired to find & kill a monster who is on the estate of a large Abbey. As their monster hunt proceeds, they realize that the monster is just the first of many, and what looks to be a simple hunt & kill operation turns into a protracted siege, with the fate of the kingdom at stake.
The Red Knight is a remarkable genre debut. Its melding of gritty historical background with magical elements will immediately draw comparisons to George RR Martin. Like Martin, Cameron uses a fictionalized medieval England as the setting for his larger fantastical tale. There is a large cast of characters, with many POVs.
What sets The Red Knight apart from the legion of Martin imitators? Several factors: first is the feeling of historical accuracy given to the equipment and combat sequences. Cameron is apparently …
The titular Red Knight leads a company of mercenaries who have been hired to find & kill a monster who is on the estate of a large Abbey. As their monster hunt proceeds, they realize that the monster is just the first of many, and what looks to be a simple hunt & kill operation turns into a protracted siege, with the fate of the kingdom at stake.
The Red Knight is a remarkable genre debut. Its melding of gritty historical background with magical elements will immediately draw comparisons to George RR Martin. Like Martin, Cameron uses a fictionalized medieval England as the setting for his larger fantastical tale. There is a large cast of characters, with many POVs.
What sets The Red Knight apart from the legion of Martin imitators? Several factors: first is the feeling of historical accuracy given to the equipment and combat sequences. Cameron is apparently a re-enactor, and his personal experience with the historical equipment comes through in his writing. He writes with full awareness of the physicality of the medieval armor & weaponry he discusses. He knows where something is going to chafe, and how your arms feel after swinging heavy weaponry.
The second factor would be his unique magical system. Without delving deeply into spoilers, magic users are divided into two groups; users of the light, representing civilization, and users of the green, representing the Wild. Additionally, he incorporates the ancient practice of memory palaces into the subjective experience of the magic practitioners.
Magic & weaponry aside, Cameron does a great job working with his large cast of characters. He develops distinctive voices for each of his POV characters. We see the mercenaries grow from little more than outlaws into a force fighting for something bigger than them. The fact that they are reluctant heroes makes their story all the more compelling.
Strangely enough, the strong historical spine to this novel may be its biggest drawback. Readers uninterested in medieval siege tactics, the composition of military groupings, or the logistics caravans may be somewhat alienated from a riveting story. Personally I found the detail fascinating and grounding in a fantastical story.
The Red Knight is highly recommended. It is one of the best fantasy debuts I’ve read in many many years. I am very much looking forward to continuing the series.
Subjects
- Fantasy
- High Fantasy