Kings Ransom Review Spotlight, #Giveaway and Review

BOOK INFORMATION

TITLE – Young Knights of the Round Table: The King’s Ransom AUTHOR – Cheryl Carpinello GENRE – Middle Grade Arthurian Legend PUBLICATION DATE – 2016/2012 LENGTH (Pages/# Words) – 120 Pages PUBLISHER – Beyond Today Educator COVER ARTIST – Kaytalin Platt

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BOOK SYNOPSIS

Answer the hero's call to Adventure with the Young Knights of the Round Table on their Quest.

Three friends. Three quests. Three mysterious predictions.

In medieval Wales, eleven-year-old Prince Gavin, thirteen-year-old orphan Philip, and fifteen-year-old blacksmith's apprentice Bryan are brought together in friendship by one they call the Wild Man. When an advisor to the king is killed and a jewelled medallion is stolen from the king's treasury, the Wild Man is accused of the theft and murder. Filled with disbelief at the arrest of the Wild Man, the three friends embark upon a knight's quest to save their friend's life. To succeed, the three must confront their fears and insecurities, and one of them will have to disclose the biggest secret of all. Join Gavin, Philip, and Bryan on their quest and share the adventures that await them in the land of King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.

My Review

This is an excellent young adult adventure which I really enjoyed.The three main characters are very well drawn and it is easy to relate to them and their various personalities, and while they each come from different backgrounds, their bond of friendship is strong and enduring.  A tale of loyalty and courage, set in medieval Wales in the time of King Arthur, i was immediately drawn into the story. Being from Wales myself, and steeped in both Celtic and Arthurian legend I found nothing that drew me out of the story and it kept me turning the pages. There is a great  double twist at the end, involving two of the major characters, and I really didn't see it coming.  This is not only a wonderfully told adventure story for young people, but one that I can imagine would fire their imagination and create a lasting interest in reading and history.  I can thoroughly recommend 'Kings Ransome for boys and girls of all ages, as well as young at heart adults.

AMAZON KINDLE US – AMAZON KINDLE CA – KINDLE UK AMAZON PAPERBACK – BARNES & NOBLES PAPERBACK GOODREADS

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EXCERPT

Prince Gavin

Gavin’s gaze was drawn back to the castle’s battle-scarred walls and the heavily armed guards. The evil emanating from the structure surrounded and held him captive, like a lone deer surrounded by hungry wolves in the dead of winter, unable to move, its eyes glassy with fear, its limbs frozen by the hypnotic gleam of the wolves’ yellow eyes. Even knowing its life was ending, the deer wouldn’t break and run. So Gavin sat frozen in front of the castle. 

The enormity of his quest enveloped Gavin and he sighed. Continuing on meant he might save the Wild Man, but he might put himself in danger as well. King Edward was his father’s enemy and possibly responsible for Aldred’s murder. If Gavin were caught, Edward wouldn’t treat him kindly. The young prince summoned his courage and focused on the Wild Man. It had seemed so simple last night in the company of Bryan and Philip.

Philip

“I’ll be lucky if I ever get to the top. I need another lightning strike,” he muttered. He pushed himself upward. It took several more minutes and more backward progress before his wish for lightning was fulfilled. With the few seconds of illumination it provided, P

hilip spied a trail to the left leading to the top. He made his way over and was rewarded with firmer footing provided by the rocks imbedded in the dirt. He made it to the top in half the time it had taken him to get to the trail. 

At the peak, the relentless wind nearly toppled him. But Philip had too much at stake to be defeated. He hauled himself into the full brunt of the storm. Out to sea, the whitecaps rose and fell like his chest. His breathing, like the waves, was choppy and erratic. Philip stepped back from the cliff’s edge and looked around. A blast of white light flashed across the sky, revealing a small cave to the right. There was no sign of Dunham. For a moment, Philip gave into panic. Maybe the murderer had already been here, contacted the ship, and gone.

Bryan

He rode hard, not sparing his horse. It was in his hands now. His failure would mean the Wild Man would die along with his dream of becoming a knight. After crossing the Western Cleddan River twice and using the main roads, he avoided the mayhem left by the storm, and rode into the quiet village of Fishguard early that evening. The fishermen were likely already asleep. They would be up before dawn and the work of hauling in loaded nets was grueling. Only the tavern where he stopped to purchase cheese and bread showed any activity. On his way to Strumble Head, he ate and washed it down with the water he had packed. 

He reached the Head at around eleven o’clock as the night was at its darkest. Only a sliver of moonlight forced its way through the clouds. It provided minimal light, but it was enough. He tied the grey in a stand of scrub well away from the trail, grabbed his sword, and walked to the point of the Head. The beach was deserted. His gaze swept the sea. Nothing.

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AUTHOR BIO

I am a retired high school English teacher. A devourer of books growing up, my profession introduced me to writings and authors from times long past. Through my studies and teaching, I fell in love with the Ancient and Medieval Worlds. Now, I hope to inspire young readers and those young-at-heart to read more through my Quest Books set in these worlds.

Also please visit my other sites: Carpinello’s Writing Pages where I interview Childrens/Tween/MG/YA authors; and The Quest Books where I’ve teamed up with Fiona Ingram from South Africa and Wendy Leighton-Porter of Abu Dhabi to enable readers to find our Ancient and Medieval quest books in one place.

AUTHOR FOLLOW LINKS

AMAZON AUTHOR PAGE – BEYOND TODAY EDUCATOR – ADVENTURE QUEST BOOKS BLOG – FACEBOOK – TWITTER – GOOGLE+ – PINTEREST – GOODREADS LINKEDIN PAGE - FREADO

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Monday's Welsh legend - King Arthur in Wales

Although all corners of the British Isles, lay claim to King Arthur and his knights, they regularly appear in Welsh mythology and folklore and I, for one, believe him to have been Welsh. (Naturally :) ) Sites throughout Wales are connected with the mighty king and Merlyn his magician - Myrddin ab Morfryn as he is know  in the Principality. (and who features in my Welsh historical fantasy 'Dancing With Fate')

The County Library at Mold is home to the world’s largest collection of books on Arthur, comprising nearly 2,000 volumes.

Arthur’s fame lives on in everyday place names. Caerfyrddin, (Carmarthen) a town in mid west Wales, is believed to  be Merlin’s birthplace, and is named after him. (The name means The fortress of Merlin) There’s Maes-y-Camlan or Camlan Field; Bryn y Cleifion (Hill of the Wounded) which marks the area where the casualties may have been laid and Nant-y-Saeson (Stream of the Saxons) is reputed to be where Arthur's enemies pitched camp. These place are centuries old. The name Arthur comes from the same root as the Welsh word ‘arth’, meaning bear.

He is also supposed to have fought his last battle at Bwlch y Saethau - the Pass of Arrows - which is below the summit of Snowdon and the lake into which Arthur’s sword Excalibur was thrown after his death, according to legends, is called Llyn Llydaw.


Arthur’s Stone stands on the Gowar Peninsular and is said to be a ‘pebble’ that he removed from his boot on his way to the battle of Camlan in AD 539. He threw the stone over his shoulder and it landed seven miles away on Cefn Bryn Common near Reynoldston.

Arthur is said to be buried in the Preseli Mountains, in Pembrokeshire and it is rumoured that if you listen long enough, you can hear him groaning.

Merlin’s Oak stood in the centre of Carmarthen,  and according to legend, the  famous wizard placed a protective curse on it – until it was poisoned, leaving only a stump. The legend said Carmarthen would 'drown' if the oak was ever removed, and some folk even said a curious, pointed notch in the tree was the face of Merlin himself. Sadly, the tree was poisoned in the 1850s by a local parson, who objected to young lovers meeting beneath it, and to the noise made by people holding meetings there, but its trunk was preserved within iron railings.

 Giving my age away,  I am glad to be able to say that I actually saw that stump, all that was left of the magnificent oak, shortly before it was removed, when someone set it on fire at the end of the 1970s.

Carmarthen then suffered its worst floods for many years. It was later replaced by a young tree on the site of the old one, and there is also a wooden statue of Merlin in one of the Carmarthen streets.


These are just some of the connections King Arthur and Merlin have with Wales, and the Holy Grail, (sometimes known as the Nanteos Cup, which his knights went in search of, is said to have been taken to  the monastory at Strata Florida,where it was guarded by the monks before being taken to Nanteos, a mansion just outside Aberystwyth.  I've seen the grail myself too (or what was left of it) but that's another story.


What do you think?  Is there enough evidence that Arthur and Merlin were Welsh, or do you have another theory?