In the darkest, least distinguished corner of the Great Hall at Camelot is a table they never speak of in the songs: the Table of Less Valued Knights. Here the retired and the also-rans live in the shadow of their glamorous peers on the famous Round Table. Sir Humphrey du Val is one of these past-it paladins, banished from the first division for an unchivalrous act and resigned to spending the rest of his life in the company of toothless has-beens. But then, one Pentecost, Fate throws Sir Humphrey an unexpected chance to distinguish himself once again. Before he knows it, he’s out on the road, riding to avenge a damsel in distress; but little does the poor knight realise that his trials are only just beginning. Cheerfully silly, like Monty Python and the Holy Grail crossed with A Knight’s Tale, this is an all-out medieval romp...

For the full review, please see my blog:
https://theidlewoman.net/2018/11/07/the-table-of-less-valued-knights-marie-phill... ( )

Don't get me wrong, there are things to like here. Martha, for example. I thoroughly enjoyed Martha and would love to hang out with her and chit-chat about court life at Puddock. In fact, most of the characters in this book are quite strong and entertaining to read about, even though they are a bit standard. We have the underappreciated knight out to save the day, the comedic squire, the feisty women, the mustache-twirling villain. But although Phillips may not be striking new ground exactly, the character work is well-executed and kept me reading.

But the plot. The pacing is off and even in a fantasy novel, I didn't buy the rapidfire twists and turns in the second half. Also, one development in particular reminded me of [b:The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake|7048800|The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake|Aimee Bender|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320541766s/7048800.jpg|7299170], which is a very bad thing for any novel to do.

It's worth your time if you like comic fantasy more than I do. Phillips's writing is solid. But not a must-read by any means. ( )

Voi forse pensate di conoscere discretamente il ciclo arturiano: io sì, compresa tutte le storie della Regina del Lago e il ciclo di Jack Whyte (occhei, quello l'ho lasciato alla terza rilettura da un altro punto di vista). Ma leggendo questo libro vi accorgerete che le cose non stanno affatto così. Camelot ha anche i cavalieri di serie B e di serie C, e uno si questi ultimi si imbarca in un'impresa per sperare di riguadagnare posizioni nella classifica delle tabole. Tutti i topoi dei romanzi cavallereschi sono stravolti, e nelle prime decine di pagine sghignazzavo come un matto alle trovate della Phillips, prima di prendere il giro e limitarmi a un bel sorriso. Magia, mistero, e un po' di burocrazia si mischiano per formare un mondo che a ben pensarci è molto più coerente di quello che di solito ci immaginiamo fosse... o forse ci sembra così perché ricorda fin troppo bene il nostro mondo. Non è un racconto per bambini, ve lo dico subito; ma gli adulti apprezzeranno certamente l'intreccio, grazie anche all'ottima traduzione di Elisa Banfi. ( )

Don't get me wrong, there are things to like here. Martha, for example. I thoroughly enjoyed Martha and would love to hang out with her and chit-chat about court life at Puddock. In fact, most of the characters in this book are quite strong and entertaining to read about, even though they are a bit standard. We have the underappreciated knight out to save the day, the comedic squire, the feisty women, the mustache-twirling villain. But although Phillips may not be striking new ground exactly, the character work is well-executed and kept me reading.

But the plot. The pacing is off and even in a fantasy novel, I didn't buy the rapidfire twists and turns in the second half. Also, one development in particular reminded me of [b:The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake|7048800|The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake|Aimee Bender|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320541766s/7048800.jpg|7299170], which is a very bad thing for any novel to do.

It's worth your time if you like comic fantasy more than I do. Phillips's writing is solid. But not a must-read by any means. ( )

.The Table of Less Valued Knights is an amusing entertainment. It’s not an idealized version of King Arthur’s Court; Marie Phillips has removed any rose-colored glasses by focusing on the highly flawed members of the Table of Less Valued Knights there at Camelot. Lancelot is still sleeping with Guinevere and Arthur is a bit pompous. But there are those less exalted entities -- like Sir Humphrey -- who still try very hard to do the right thing, even as they try to avoid addressing their own failed quests. At the feast of Pentecost, traditionally, guests arrive at court begging the services of a knight to aid in the righting of wrongs. This year, there are two such guests who arrive -- one begging aid in recovering a kidnapped wife and queen while the other is begging aid in finding an errant fiance. One petitioner gets Sir Dorian and the other gets Sir Humphrey. The novel follows both quests, with an eye slanted towards seeing who best upholds the honorable values of King Arthur.

Exaggerated humor is what moves the figures in this story from the familiar stiff painted-in-oil icons to more flexible, more humane figures. There is an early chapter where a unicorn adoringly chases after a virgin that was quite funny, but the reader is then faced with a close to that chapter rather reminiscent of George R.R. Martin. Indeed the character of Prince Edmund is strikingly reminiscent of Game of Thrones King Joffrey! There is a magic sword that serves as a directional compass, if spun by the right person, even as it seems to have its own quest to fulfill apart from that of its owner. The knight’s noble steed is an elephant (christened somewhat anachronistically as Jemima) and his trusted squire is a giant (with some "daddy" issues of his own). All this is happening while the author skewers expectations of gender and sexuality. Definitely for adult readers without being too ribald. ( )