Customer Reviews

One Good Knight (Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms, Book 2)

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(14)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Honestly, being the huge Mercedes Lackey fan that I am--and having loved the Fairy Godmother--I was rather disappointed by this book. I wouldn't call it bad, exactly; I did enjoy it, but I know from her previous books that Misty can do much better.

What was wrong with it? Well, nothing at first, although the one "big surprise" midway through, I guessed shortly after meeting the character it concerned. But the conclusion was just...bleh. All the built-up action was resolved by the use of contrived deus ex machina, in about five seconds. The happy ending was about as cliched as it's possible to be; the romance is randomly thrust on the reader without any indication of feelings developing between the characters. It's simply not there one minute, and there the next. And the speeches they make at the ending to declare their love...ugh. I'm sorry, but real people just don't talk like that. Not to mention, there were tons of things that weren't explained properly at all (what were the Queen's motives? how did Solon turn into a Demon Lord?).

Mercedes Lackey is, beyond a doubt, an excellent author capable of crafting amazingly beautiful and gripping stories. But, as is doomed to happen with an author so prolific, she sometimes churns out one that just doesn't live up to her potential. This is one of those.

If you're a diehard Misty fan like me, go ahead and read it--it's all right, except for the cliches and the disappointing ending. Otherwise, there are better books. If you want to read something by her, you'd be better off with Children of the Night, Bedlam's Bard, or any of the Valdemar novels.

One Good Knight (2006) is the second Fantasy novel in the Tales of the Five Hundred Kingdoms series, following The Fairy Godmother. In the previous volume, Alexander and Elena organized resistance to the invasion of Fleurberg by a Dark Magician. After the death of the Katschei, Alexander and Elena were wedded, becoming Godmother and Consort. Then an Order of Champions was established at Glass Mountain, with Alexander as their Master, and Elena was given charge of Fleurberg in addition to her other kingdoms.

In this novel, Princess Andromeda of Acadia is nineteen years old, but is still considered a child by her mother, Queen Cassiopeia, and Chief Advisor Solon Adacritus. She writes a report on the merchants for a trade conference and impresses both the Queen and the Chief Advisor. After that, her mother orders redecoration of the Princess wing, appoints two ladies to design her wardrobe and jewelry, and assigns a steward to handle her affairs.

Andromeda is quite overwhelmed by this attention and augments her studies to further impress her mother. She notices that income from wrecked ships has grown due to an increase in the number and severity of storms. Her studies and inquiries suggest that this increase is probably due to the manipulations of a great wizard. She reports this matter to her mother.

Afterward, Andromeda is resting high up in a tree within the palace garden when she notices a strange flying creature. As it comes toward her, she recognizes that it is a dragon. Then it reaches the palace and she observes that it is a very large dragon. It flames some high architectural features, grabs a couple of animals and flies away.

The panic within the palace is phenomenal and the subsequent meeting of the Queen's advisors is very lively. Andromeda has quickly reviewed the literature on dragons -- consisting mainly of myths and legends -- and reports to the advisors that the only known method of managing a dragon is the sacrifice of virginal maidens. The ensuing discussion is even livelier, mostly concerning the means of choosing such sacrifices.

Queen Cassiopeia states that the only fair way to select sacrifices is by a lottery. After the spate of crazy volunteers dies down, a lottery is organized. Some women find ways to disqualify themselves, but others are taken by the dragon. Rumors begin spreading that anyone who speaks out against the Queen is more likely to have a family member selected for the sacrifice. But then Andromeda is selected.

This novel is mostly about the influence of the Tradition within the Five Hundred Kingdoms. Andromeda's knowledge of the Tradition comes in handy at various points in this quest.

The Queen has sent to Glass Mountain for a Champion to fight the dragon, but the good knight doesn't come forward as expected. Someone has erected a magical barrier at the border to keep out such warriors. However, Andromeda is sort of saved by a Champion at the sacrificial site. Andromeda convinces the knight to take her along as a guide and finally proves to the Champion that she can be a help rather than a hindrance.

They travel cross-country in the same direction that the dragon had flown, stopping for supplies here and there, and finally enter the Wyrding Lands. They encounter unicorns and a fox along the way before meeting the dragon and his brother. Then Andromeda learns that all is not as it seems.

Andromeda is nineteen and naive. Then she is faced with one of the most difficult of issues: does her mother love her. While many events occur in this plot, this one issue is the crux of the story. Even her interspecies romance with the younger dragon is only a temporary relief from this main concern.

Highly recommended for Lackey fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of adventure, betrayal and romance.

-Arthur W. Jordin

First off, I have to say that I LOVE Mercedes Lackey's style of writing and I instantly fell in love with her writing after reading The Fire Rose.

I read The Fairy Godmother and was in absolute book heaven! I was so enthralled by the fairytale world Ms. Lackey created that I could barely put the book down! It has now become one of my all-time favorite books. I couldn't wait to get a hold of the next novel set in the 500 kingdoms...but, this book was kind of a let-down.

I started reading the book and DID instantly fall in love with the writing style and the characters (although I had a hard time imagining Andie as PLAIN looking throughout the story) but halfway through the book I felt almost cheated. I can't really explain why without giving too much away, but I felt like the romance in the book was pretty much KAPUT!
There was none! That is what this story mainly lacked. I did like the story and read it very fast, but I couldn't help but wonder if Ms.Lackey wrote this one in a rush. The ending wrapped up WAY too fast and I felt like things were resolved too quickly.

Anyways, I just wanted to put my two cents in. If you are looking for a light-hearted, fun adventure this is a good book to read. If you are looking for a romance novel-DEFINETLY pass this one up.

This has to be one of the weakest offerings to date by Lackey--and I've read them all, including "If I Pay Thee Not in Gold" and "The Wizard of London" (the two I would have considered the worst until this point)

Lackey began this world brilliantly with "The Fairy Godmother"--a light, clever, and ultimately amusing read set in the 500 Kingdoms. I eagerly awaited the continuing adventures of Godmother Elena, Champion Alexander, and their battles against and for the "tradition."

Upon finishing this second installment, I wonder why I bothered. The story is shallow and poorly explored, with enormous gaps in continuity and character development. With the names "Andromeda" and "Cassiopeia" I had hoped for a retelling of the Pegasus tale, and instead got only a nod in that direction when Andie revealed that she dreamed of running away on a flying horse.

I was bothered by the love story, which was ridiculous and painful to read. Lackey has always been a fan of unusual romantic pairings, and "One Good Knight" was an exception only in the fact that this was by far the least interesting or suspenseful of them all.

Overall, I read this book constantly feeling like half of the story had been left out in the name of expediency. Where are the long explorations, like we saw with Vanyel and the Mage Winds trilogy? Even "The Fairy Godmother" gave us a plausible amount of time to adjust to her characters and their world, and the second half of the story felt like a logical step. In "One Good Knight," we got eighty or so useless pages of exposition with the usual sob story about a neglected child who wishes only to please a parent who cares nothing for her (and by the way, Lackey did this infinitely better in "The Black Swan"). The rest of the book was a meander towards a plot resolution that was never fully explained (exactly how did Solon become a Demon-Lord?) and a happily-ever-after ending that bordered on the laughable.

Misty, I long for your golden days...
If you're interested in Lackey's fairy tales, I'd recommend her series that began with "The Fire Rose" and took us through Beauty and the Beast, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella.

I loved The Fairy Godmother, I adore the entire 500 kingdoms premise, and this one fits in, but its for a much younger audience. In One Good Knight, friendship takes the place of any hint of romance. ie., no kissing, no fondling, no sexual tension, only strong companionship and platonic hugs for emotional support. A great basis for love, granted, but a friendship ring at the end would have been just as acceptable as wedding bells.

The writing is the usual crisp and witty Lackey style and for that alone I recommend reading One Good Knight, but not if you're looking for romantic chemistry, a complex plot, truly evil villians or dazzling magic. Everything is toned down for a YA or female Harry Potter audience.

FYI: Do NOT read the synopsis on the fly cover of the book, it gives away the one and only mild surprise in the story.

Andie is a princess in a small kingdom ruled by her mother. The kingdom is relatively peaceful until the arrival of a dragon. To keep the dragon at bay, virgins must be sacrificed to him. And even then, things are not as they seem.

The weakest part of the entire book is the ending; it seemed rushed to some extent, as if Misty was looking for the simplest way to get the book done. The character of Sir George could have been explored a little more.

Andie was wonderfully developed as a character. Her feelings and ideas were very well articulated. I enjoyed having Godmother Elena brought into the story, and there were enough twists to keep the book interesting.

Princess Andromeda just wants to be useful. She isn't as beautiful as her mother, but she can't believe she's completely useless. When she comes up with the idea of writing up what she's learned from her studies into actionable reports for her mother's chief advisor, she finally gets the acceptance she so craves. Her mother and the advisor call on her assistance in identifying problems, researching difficult points of law, and even give her a new staff with instructions to make her look better . When a dragon invades the little Kingdom of Acadia (one of the 500 Kingdoms), Andromeda (Andie) is given the job of researching a cure to the dragon. This research job, though, definitely does not make her feel better. Until a champion can be summoned, an evil dragon can only be placated by a weekly sacrifice of a virgin. As a virgin herself, Andie is on the candidate list.

Andie's research also indicates that there's something wrong in the kingdom. Too many storms are causing too many shipwrecks--possibly disrupting trade in a trade-dependent nation. As the nation has been without a Godmother for generations, magical cures to their problems are slow in coming--and even when the Champions try to send a representative, they find that they're blocked by some magical barrier.

The power of magic and tradition will create a solution--but as Andie discovers, tradition likes tragedy as much as happily ever after. And falling in love with the first hero who comes along, while certainly fitting the tradition, is not anything that either Andie, or George, the hero, has any interest in. Somehow Andie has to find a way to make tradition work in her favor, rather than letting tradition take unbridled control.

In the second of her 500 Kingdoms novels, Mercedes Lackey continues to play with the fairy tale genre, laughing with (certainly not at) the traditions of these stories--princesses may be beautiful or smart, but not both; foxes are clever and offer unexpected help; maidens must fall in love with their rescuers; unicorns have an uncurable addiction to virgin human females; and a ragged army has more chances of success than a professionally clad army. Andie is a likable character, not quite on the wrong side of too perfect, and not quite on the wrong side of too innocent (but close in both cases). Her ultimate romantic conflict adds to the fairy tale feel and will increase the satisfaction of Luna's strong romance readership while amusing Lackey's fantasy fans as well.

I found the first chapter a little narrative-heavy as Lackey went into information dump mode. By the second chapter, though, she had picked up the pace of the story. Once she did this, ONE GOOD KNIGHT was one good book.

It is interesting to note that this is not a very good book. After considering the novel's premise, one would think that it would prove as entertaining as any of Mercedes Lackey's books. Lackey, an author who has developed that exacting balance necessary to romantic fantasy, writes here in her new Five Hundred Kingdoms universe, which was, in The Fairy Godmother, so sly, ironic and engaging.

That encouragement seemed cemented by a quick skim through the first few pages, which established that the characters in her sophomoric effort are those reliable archetypes that Lackey has perfected. Princess Andromeda of Acadia, has a kind and generous heart that shines through her shy, bookish exterior; a perfectly flawed heroine. Andromeda's antagonists are her mother, the Queen Cassiopeia, and the queen's adviser, both of whom demonstrate the lewd ambition of most of Lackey's most effective villains. As they plot to cheat Princess Andromeda of her rightful place (one is reminded, often, of Lackey's subtler The Black Swan), Andromeda finds herself allied with an unlikely Champion and a surprising love interest, and summons within her the strength to fight back against the traitors to the crown.

From this brief synopsis, the reader can determine that there is nothing groundbreaking in One Good Knight. That is not necessarily a fault. But what one slowly comes to understand in this, the latest variation of Lackey's perfected formula, is its utter lack of charm. Lackey seemed unable to find in herself the slightest enthusiasm in any of her favorite constructions. Her villains laid manipulative traps for the heroine, only for them to be forgotten shortly after. The reasoning behind most of the characters' actions never developed. And aimless descriptions dragged on as her heroes drifted together, seemingly without real motivation.

By the time the romantic thread of the story was clumsily resolved, one could only stare, wide-eyed, at what could only be the most falsely bland conclusion that Lackey (or any author outside of the romance shelves) has ever wrought. How could any author genuinely enjoy her characters and still lump them together so indifferently? The passionless union of the two couples, not to mention the utter confusion of the "climactic" battle, leaves the reader perplexed. His confusion is not aided by what may be the most mediocre final line ever to span a paperback's page.

There can be no argument: this book is neither original nor well-written. The only place where opinions may disagree is with whether this novel is a misstep, and not a growing trend, in Mercedes Lackey's prolific career.

One Good Knight starts out in the usual Lackey style, with a young person who is not accepted by her peers/family/country. Her engaging writing style is much in evidence as she wends her way through the story of Princess Andromeda, who tries to find ways to fit in and to use her formidible intellect. Alas, she falls awry of the court magician, and is donated to a dragon as a virgin sacrifice. Surviving the encounter, she plots revenge, assisted by a host of similar sacrifices, along with a couple of dragons and Fairy God Mother Elena from Lackey's earlier book, "A Fairy Godmother."
At that point, however, the book becomes very shallow, and moves way too quickly toward the ending. I liken this effort to some of Lackey's more juvenile-oriented fiction (her Gryphon series is a prime example). The ending is far too trite, and leaves the reader wondering about the motivations of some of the key players, including the queen. This does not live up to the promise of "The Fairy Godmother," and really looks as if the ending were cobbled together at the last minute. I realized I was going to be disappointed when I ran out of book long before I thought I should run out of the story. Disappointing -- get it in paperback, or wait until your library gets it.

I love many of this author's books, especially Fairy Godmother, and the concept of Tradition. However, in this book she seems to use the Tradition as a crutch. The story is entirely predictable and formulaic, which most readers would find annoying, at the very least, in any other novel, but it seems that because she acknowledges that weakness, it's okay. The book is well written, but essentially boring. I felt very disappointed by this novel. If you really want to know what it's about, read the inside cover. That's pretty much all you need to know about this book.