Matt Ryan > Recent Status Updates

Bad sign: On page 52, the High King is arguing with his wife, who wants something from the reining monarch. He likens her to Queen Maeve, "who jealous that her husband's herd of cattle had a larger bull than her own herd possessed, sent the hero of legend, the great warrior Cuchulainn, to capture the Brown Bull of Cuailnge . . ." What?!?! Cuchulainn DEFENDED the Brown Bull from Meave!

Just picked this up.

Done. While I appreciate the effort involved in writing, I would not recommend this book. Plodding, dreary. Most of the action happens offstage and is recounted later between characters. The climactic scene between the narrator and the villain is too long in coming, and proves to be anticlimactic after all. The historic research is sound enough, but hardly inspiring.

Just picked it up from the library. Looking at the table of contents, seems I've read half the stories already.

Oh no, an error! Jofre runs away, and Rodrigo, Camelot, and Cygnus go after him and find him in the bathhouse. Rodrigo and Cygnus go to get Jofre's clothes, but Rodrigo and OSMOND return. Ouch.

Still confused as to why I continue this, when there are newly acquired Flashman books on the shelf.

Reviewers compare this to Chaucer's Canterbury Tales, but the only similarity I see is a group of people moving cross country. Chaucer's characters tell each other stories. These characters refuse to tell each other anything. Every one has some dark and mysterious secret lurking in their background, but none of them have been revealed yet. None of nine!

This is beginning to bog down. It could use a murder or something. Wait, it just had a murder. Off-stage. It could use some on-stage action. Listening to characters walk through the rain and fear the plague is okay for a few pages, but 185 . . .

This is beginning to bog down. It could use a murder or something. Wait, it just had a murder. Off-stage. It could use some on-stage action. Listening to characters walk through the rain and fear the plague is okay for a few pages, but 185 . . .