The Gift-Knights Quest

SYNOPSIS:

Welcome to Kensrik, a world vividly imagined by Dylan Madeley, in which his debut fantasy novel The Gift-Knight’s
Quest is set. His book follows the youngest descendants of two families that have traditionally been enemies: the
Kenderleys, who now rule the world’s largest empire, and the Wancyeks, who have been reduced to common status.

“Chandra had yet to fathom why Jonnecht could not have lived and ruled for many long years, or why it was so urgent that she ascend immediately.”

Chandra never asked to rule Kensrik, but fate took a strange course. Known as a usurper and sorceress by most and traumatised by all that has transpired, she is forced to make use of the few loyal allies she has in order to hold together her restless empire. In an attempt to identify and defeat the conspirators who inadvertently landed her in power, Chandra risks putting the lives of many in mortal danger, as well as her own.

Derek is an aimless wanderer – the youngest in a lineage that has long fallen from nobility. He finds himself summoned by tradition to serve a family historically considered his bitter enemy. As he journeys down the same path a fateful ancestor once travelled, he struggles with personal demons and begins to reconsider his loyalty to the mission.

Duke Lenn found one true cause in love and it cost him everything. His legacy shaped the present in which Chandra and Derek find themselves. Now their choice will shape the future of Kensrik...

REVIEW:

I was given this book in place of an honest review. Upon reading this book, I noticed quite a few things. First, the author writing and use of words and descriptions was impeccable. It was a very vivid world of imagination in this book. Second, it had the tendency to bounce around a lot and it had no indication of it until you were already in a paragraph or two, which was really distracting and made the book hard to get through. If it was separated by italics or any indication that it was in a different time in the story, would have made it so much easier to get through. So needless to say, for most of the book I was wholly confused on what was really going on; however, the last quarter of the book when it stopped jumping all over the place did the book become really intriguing and I enjoyed it immensely. It is just saddening that it was only the last quarter that held my attention the most.

I'm not saying it was a bad book by any means, because the writing was great and the character build up was pretty amazing, the plot itself had some definite potential. However be it as it may I can only rate this book three out of five stars because of the constant bouncing around it did, and the confusion it had caused.

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This was an entertaining fantasy novel with a rich cast of characters. It moved along at a good pace and I think Derek in particular was an interesting read. It kept my interest and unlike some fantasy stories, it didn't get bogged down with descriptions. There was a clear story and goals for the main characters. I would recommend it to fantasy readers. ( )

Dylan Madeley’s epic fantasy novel, The Gift Knight’s Quest, focuses around two primary protagonists: Derek and Chandra. Derek is a young man serving in the military of his small country and whose family are descended from former nobles. His father is bitter and focused only on what the family has lost and believes that Derek should seek retribution for their losses. Chandra, is the illegitimate daughter of the King of Kensrik. She has been raised within the palace, yet is completely overlooked by most of the people around her, including her father. However, through a quirk of fate she winds up monarch of this kingdom. Both characters have to contend with the complex political scheming going on around them, which aims to destabilise the kingdom and end Chandra’s reign.

The world building of this novel is detailed and one of its strongest assets. Madeley has taken the time to include numerous intricate details regarding daily life, politics, legends and rituals - all of which serve to create a believable world. For the most part I found the novel to be primarily focused around the political machinations of the characters secretly opposing Chandra, some of whom are members of her own government, rather than an action packed adventure story. However, the latter third of the novel does introduce some fine action sequences and the pace picks up.

Unfortunately, I found pacing up until this point a little slow. Part of the problem was that the author introduced a second time stream to the story. One timeline acts within the time of Chandra and Derek, while another timeline follows the fate of Derek’s ancestor, Duke Lenn. When this section began I found myself confused as to whether this really was taking place in the past and I had to reread the scene introduction to clarify this. I can see the point of following Derek and Lenn’s journey, since part of the way their route traverses the same country and they are both subject to political scheming beyond their ken and control and what happens to Lenn helps define the future that Derek and Chandra are grappling with.

However, in a couple of scenes with Chandra the pertinent history of Duke Lenn was revealed. I found in light of this that this past history arc was superfluous. As such it served to slow the pace of the current timeline and to always “take me out of the story” and distance me from the arcs revolving around Chandra and Derek. Thus, I never fully empathised with either of the main characters or became deeply engaged with the story. Judging from other reviews, though, this was not the case for all readers.

Three stars
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Fantasy novel which takes a while to get going

At the end of this fantasy novel, you realise that this is only the first in a series. The story concerns two characters who are destined to meet and interact but it takes over two-thirds of the book for this to happen – which is a bit frustrating. In fact, there is not a lot of action until that point when suddenly a lot happens.

Derek is a young soldier sent to Chandra’s court as a gift-knight: he is one of the sole descendants of a rival dynasty and is torn between his revenge and his honour. Chandra is the Crown princess of a powerful kingdom, previously neglected at court and suddenly put in a leading and unexpected position. The plot includes a great deal of political machinations.

Not too impressed, I cannot really recommend this although many fantasy fans may see wonders which I have missed.
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