The White Knight (The Dark Horse, #2) in Q&A with Josh Lanyon

Apr 23, 2011 John rated it really liked it

Shelves: gay, fiction, mystery, mm-romance

This book I found delightful. I think somewhere I had read that it was a prequel to The Dark Horse, and while some of the story involves things that occurred before the beginning of The Dark Horse, it's not really a prequel to it. The White Knight can certainly stand on it's own, but I read it shortly after The Dark Horse, and I think to pick up on some of the subtleties of the novel, I'd recommend that.

Subtlety, is, in fact the books great strength. That our hero has suffered a head injury as t ...more

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Jun 29, 2011 Paola rated it it was amazing

A wonderful and moving sequel/prequel to The Dark Horse. What I loved the most was Lanyon’s respectful and sensitive way to portray beautifully flawed characters, who care for each other deeply and – in very different ways – present strengths and vulnerabilities that define who they are and their relationship’s potential to grow stronger or suffer setbacks, depending on the circumstances.
The alternating 1st and 3rd person POVs were not jarring to me, but they reinforced the idea of Sean trying A wonderful and moving sequel/prequel to The Dark Horse. What I loved the most was Lanyon’s respectful and sensitive way to portray beautifully flawed characters, who care for each other deeply and – in very different ways – present strengths and vulnerabilities that define who they are and their relationship’s potential to grow stronger or suffer setbacks, depending on the circumstances.
The alternating 1st and 3rd person POVs were not jarring to me, but they reinforced the idea of Sean trying – in the 3rd person sections - to distance himself and make sense of an important phase of his life, in connection with the present, and come to terms with his temporary memory loss and confusion over what might have happened between him and Dan before he’d left for Wales to start working on the film adaptation of The Charioteer, which could explain present-day Dan’s apparent coldness towards him. The three narrative storylines that make up the book are beautifully and seamlessly woven together, and make the story even more dynamic and richer.
As with other books by JL, the characterisation was one of the strongest points, without forgetting the dialogues, which conveyed the believable and palpable tension and conflict between Sean and Dan, brought on mostly by Sean’s decision to work on the movie overseas for twelve weeks without break without consulting Dan, and more in general by the two MC’s coming to know each other better, and developing certain expectations and conflicts along the way.
Sean often struggles with his insecurities, and yet his vulnerability and ‘neediness’ do not totally overwhelm his personality and behaviour. As Dan recognises, Sean has a lot of hidden strength in the way he’s overcome some very painful and life-threatening situations, the damage to his sense of self-worth inflicted both in his teenage years and early adulthood (mostly to do with his parents’ homophobia and bullying from some of his schoolmates), and in his more recent past (especially dealing with (view spoiler)).
It’s also clear from Sean’s history with medical problems that his mistrust of doctors and medical diagnoses is well-founded, and that it’s only natural he’d come to trust someone like Dan almost completely, as the only person in the world who can make him feel safe, and loved, who can cope with virtually any crisis, without patronising Sean, his fears and insecurities. Dan may occasionally appear exasperated with Sean’s often childish or selfish behaviour, and may appear more mature, stronger and more in control, but he undergoes his own character growth too; and because he knows how hard he’s fallen for Sean, and is aware of the precarious balance their relationship stands on, especially with Sean’s mood swings and knee-jerk reactions, and his inexperience with long-term relationships and the compromises it entails, Dan confesses to suffering from conflicting emotions in his effort to support Sean and build a long-lasting relationship with him. This means he often behaves as if in self-protect mode, and admits so to Sean.
Dan may have a slightly controlling and domineering side of his character, but he seems to use it mostly to decide the best course of action in a difficult situation, and not to patronise Sean and make him feel inadequate. Sean sometimes resents Dan’s interference this way, but he’s also sensitive and smart enough to know Dan would never purposely hurt or prevaricate him.
Sean is a wonderful character creation: despite his flaws, he’s such a endearingly honest and genuinely good person that one can’t help but empathise with his struggles and fears, and understand that part of his ambition to become a respected actor stems from his self-confessed desire to “be someone else”, even for a little while. It becomes apparent that his talent as an actor also comes from his internalised struggles, and his ability to channel some of his deep-rooted feelings into portraying characters and stories he feels a certain empathy with.
I also enjoyed Sean’s exchanges with his friend and fellow actor Peter, their easy camaraderie and chemistry beautifully conveyed by sparkling dialogue.

There’s a feeling of ‘innocence’ and ‘purity’ even in the sex scenes in this book, as in The Dark Horse. They’re never gratuitous and, irrespective of how graphic they are, they’re incredibly intense and eloquent in what they reveal about the characters’ emotions. They’re never ‘tacked on’ to increase the hotness factor, but they’re integral part of the story and character development.

Once again, JL has created characters I fell in love with and rooted for. The journey they go through is beautifully and sensitively evoked, and the gentle humour infused in the story was a nice counterbalance to the serious issues (such as homophobia, mental illness, attempted suicide) that underline the MC’s conflict and struggles. There is a universality to Sean’s longing for someone like Dan, how much he craves the companionship and friendship the older man can offer, and how terrified he is that Dan might leave him, or “write him off” as a bad relationship risk. At the same time, it’s clear why Dan has fallen for Sean and how empty his life would be without Sean.

Highly recommended read.

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Jul 26, 2011 Ari rated it really liked it

Shelves: mm-romance

Did I ever say that I love all Josh Lanyon's work?
Yes, I love all Josh Lanyon's work. ^^

The White Knight is sequel and prequel of The Dark Horse. Confuse? Don't be!
If you haven't read The Dark Horse, you better read The White Knight first. That's will help you to get into the story.

In this book, I like Mr. Lanyon's story-telling, kinda challenging.
With back and forth plot, different POV each time line, might get you confuse but then again Josh Lanyon is a story telling Master!
That's how chemistr ...more

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Apr 18, 2011 Lee Brazil rated it really liked it

I think The Dark Horse required a sequel/prequel. I just didn't really expect them to be one and the same. There were some confusing moments, I am not really sure why parts of the story were in third person, but it was a very nice beginning to and continuation of The Dark Horse. ...more

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