Free Lance and the Lake of Skulls [Hardcover]

Paul Stewart (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 17, 2003

Free Lance is down on his luck and stuck in the Badlands. And as usual there is an oaf who wants to take him on. But that fight leads to a job offer which has enough gold attached to it to get him out of this hole: the local lord wants him to recover an enchanted crown from the middle of the lake of skulls. Of course he omits to tell Free Lance of the terrors that await. Full of drama and humour, this swashbuckling fantasy adventure introduces a marvellous new hero by two of the leading exponents of the genre with an action hero who is both charismatic and mysterious, and told in a laconic, Marlowesque first person narrative. Certain to be enjoyed by all readers of THE EDGE CHRONICLES and Terry Pratchett, and those aspiring to read them. Part of a unique range of books aimed at 11+s that through innovative integration of text and illustration are also accessible to those with reading abilities of as young as 7.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 4-7–This first tale in this series is narrated by a knight who calls himself a "free lance," a warrior who wanders on his own instead of promising his loyalty to a particular lord. Traveling through the Badlands, he seeks to secure enough money for shelter and food to last the winter. Lured to a village to participate in a tournament, he finds himself swept into the local lord's greedy plans. If the knight can retrieve a magical crown from the Lake of Skulls, he will be well rewarded. The task seems easy until he encounters a hag complete with "slavering teeth" and "a razor-sharp scythe." The story contains numerous fight scenes in which heads are bludgeoned or totally removed. Though accompanied by pen-and-ink illustrations that show the mostly evil and unattractive characters, the text lacks imagery. Readers may long for more information about the central character's past. The action seems too hurried and the knight's skirmishes are too easily won. Although this story has the blood, battles, and setting for a true Middle Ages adventure, the characters are lacking in heart and history.–Erin Gray, Brentwood Branch Library, Springfield, MO
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review

This is one knight who survives not just by being heroic - a pile of skulls is testimony to those who've tried this - but on his own wits. -- Waterstones Books Quarterly 20030601 Raymond Chandler goes to Camelot ... Narrated in a hard-bitten, sardonic voice ... aimed at children of 10 upwards whose reading ability is some way behind their chronological age, but it could be equally enjoyed by word-savvy eight and nine-year-olds. -- TES 20030829 Owes a lot to Beowulf and more to pulp fiction: close scrapes with monsters and villains, wisecracks, double and triple crossings and plenty of Tarantinoid violence. The language has the easy clarity of a Paul Jennngs story with a similar wealth of episode ... The energy of Riddell's line drawings matches the hectic pace of the storytelling. One for the lads? All the females are villainous and most end up dead, so it should go down well amongst some of them at least. -- Books for Keeps 20040301 Suitable for pupils of 11 years up ... written to appeal to less able readers ... Funny with a good line in irony ... There are some hefty examples of similes to appeal to the English teacher. The premise of the story and the settings are really clearly described and illustrated so that the reader willl have a good picture of the situations in his head. ... an engrossing story for this age group ... it is likely that having read this one readers will be looking for more. -- School Librarian 20040304

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 128 pages
• Publisher: Hodder Childrens (July 17, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0340874082
• ISBN-13: 978-0340874080
• Product Dimensions: 8.7 x 5.4 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,927,821 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fun read !, September 9, 2004

By 

Avalon "always reading in San Diego" (San Diego,CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lake of Skulls (Knight's Story, A) (Hardcover)

Lake of Skulls is a quick read that would really appeal to boys who are not that into reading. It's full of odd illustrations from the bestselling author and illustrator of the Edge Chronicles. In this story we follow a free lance knight who calls himself Freelance, on his adventures traveling through the badlands to recover a magical crown from the Lake of Skulls. There are many fight scenes, won of course by Freelance and at times very Middle Ages graphic for me but sure to appeal to young boys.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great story for younger readers, February 5, 2005

By 

Janet L. Santini (Pennsylvania) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Lake of Skulls (Knight's Story, A) (Hardcover)

I first was drawn to this book because my ten year old son read several of the Edge Chronicles' books and loved them. My eight year old son had the same response to the Knight's Story 1 - Lake of Skulls. In fact, I have never seen him take to a book like this story and believe me I have tried a lot of books. The illustrations are wonderful and appeal to the children without being gory. Hooray for a great job done by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell! Keep writing! Every mother loves to see their children read.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must read!!!!!, February 7, 2005

By 

Book Worm (Devon, U.K) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Lake of Skulls (Knight's Story, A) (Hardcover)

I've just turned 13 and I think Freelance and the Lake of Skulls is a funny horror book which has the things to make it a good horror story, like an evil lord and a brave hero. It has an exciting plot. Another good book by Paul and Chris. Can't wait for book three, better get book two.