Wednesday, November 22, 2017

Black Friday Book Sale + Pendragon's Heir Review


Hey'a, all! It's officially Thanksgiving break, and I'm happily (almost) home. This post, however, is not about Thanksgiving but rather what comes after: Indie Christian Books' Black Friday Book Sale! This annual event allows readers to grab great Christian fiction including discounted paperbacks, books with free shipping$0.99 ebooks, package deals, and, of course, every bookworms' favorite thing, freebies! In addition, to the sale, Indie Christian Authors is hosting a week-long Facebook party in which you can get to know the participating authors and have a chance to win some fun prizes! I, personally, have acquired many awesome books from this sale, and today I'm reviewing one I got in the sale's very first year: Pendragon's Heir by Suzannah Rowntree.

~~~~ 


 Let's face it: I'm almost always down for a good retelling of a legend or myth. That's especially true when the retelling focuses on King Arthur and his stories, which is just the case with Pendragon's Heir. Better still, the novel doesn't just limit itself to the most famous stories; it gets into some of the more obscure ones as well. It also takes the main focus off King Arthur himself and looks instead at Perceval, one of Knights of the Round Table, and Blanche, who . . . well, you'll find out who she is once you read the book.

Speaking of Perceval, he's a wonderful character: noble, bold, chivalrous, always doing and never content to stand by and do nothing. He has his faults, of course, and makes his share of foolish choices, but in general, he's my favorite character in the story. Blanche is less easy to like, but she and Perceval together are very sweet and highly shippable.

The book also contains very strong Christian themes. I feel like that should be a given, but the themes and messages in this book felt particularly bold and unapologetic, although they also weren't preachy. And given that message- the reminder that there can be no compromise, that battles aren't worth winning if you have to abandon that which you hold true to do so- it's a very appropriate book for our times.

My absolute favorite thing about this book, however, is the unique voice and feel. Pendragon's Heir has the flavor of a book from ages past, though not of a specific age. At points the prose and style taste of the Arthurian era; in other places, of the 1900s; still other parts, some time that can't quite be named and might be no time and all time at once. This feel does have a downside- the pacing can drag a bit at times, making the book feel as long as it is- but overall, it's a wonderful experience.

Overall, Pendragon's Heir is a unique retelling of the King Arthur legends, conveyed in a beautiful, timeless voice. Though not without its flaws, I would certainly recommend it to anyone who loves or loved the Arthurian legends and Christian historical fantasy.

~~~~

Do you think Pendragon's Heir sounds like your kind of book? Are you excited for the Black Friday sale? Please tell me in the comments!
Thanks for reading!
-Sarah (Leilani Sunblade)

A note on the Ebooks Only page. Many of the books are listed as "Sold Out." This is because we aren’t selling those directly through our site. Please click onto the product pages to find descriptions and links to discounted or free ebooks.

Acknowledgements: Thanks to Leah E. Good and Kendra E. Ardnek for their work organizing this sale, and Hannah Mills for her fantastic design work on the website graphics. Hannah can be contacted at hmills(at)omorecollege(dot)edu for more information about her design services.

15 comments:

  1. Ooo, I totally want to check out Pendragons Heir. It sounds so good!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It's very good! I hope you can check it out!
    Thanks for commenting!

    ReplyDelete
  3. This book has been on my TBR for so long, the plot sounds so interesting and I adore the cover :0

    ~ noor

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You should definitely read it! It's a bit slow in places, but very good. I think you'd enjoy it.
      Thanks for stopping by!

      Delete
  4. YES YOU READ IT!

    I shall be calm now.

    Maybe.

    It's *such* a good book. Gives me hope that not all the good writers are dead yet. And the themes, especially that of "The citizens of Heaven never have to choose between two evils" not only fit easily into the source material but are what we need to hear today.

    (By the way, I'm Nolie Alcarturiel.)

    Another thing Rowntree is really good at are the villains/antagonists. They're so human and so formidable.

    https://ofdreamsandswords.wordpress.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes I have!

      Heh. I'm absolutely certain that there are quite a few good authors still alive. That said, I get where you're coming from.

      I agree about the villains, at least as far as those in this book. I haven't read any of Rowntree's others, unfortunately.

      Delete
    2. And yes, the middle does lag a bit, but it's nothing to the rambles and rabbit-trails Malory goes on in the middle of Le Morte D'Arthur.

      And there's so much hope in it that doesn't always come through in the originals.

      In my head I know there are good writers still, but after reading too much of my classmates' work at school, sometimes it's easy to forget.

      https://ofdreamsandswords.wordpress.com

      Delete
  5. An Arthur story!!! I love Arthur. <3 I might have to check this one out.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Definitely do! Though it's a little less about Arthur and a little more about others, just so you know.
      Thanks for commenting!

      Delete
  6. Pendragon's Heir looks interesting - Arthurian stories can be a bit 'iffy', so a Christian-based retelling sounds good!
    - Jem Jones

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's definitely refreshing. I hope you can give it a try sometime. Thanks for commenting!

      Delete
  7. Hello, I was wondering if I could message you about participating in a blog tour, but, for the life of me, I could not find your contact page!
    -Nathan Lumbatis
    www.nathanlumbatis.com

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hello, Nathan!
      I'm afraid I don't currently have a contact page, so commenting- as you've done- is the best way to get my attention. As far as the book tour goes, I see you have a contact form on your site, so I'll message you and we can discuss it.
      Thanks for stopping by!
      -Sarah

      Delete

I'd love to hear your thoughts! But remember: it pays to be polite to dragons.