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aggressive_nostalgia's review against another edition
4.0
The first element of Knight's Fee I want to commend Sutcliff for is her vivid, atmospheric imagery and lovely, consistent, flowing prose. There's not a lot of magic in the narrative, but it can certainly be found breathing through the writing on every page. Secondly, it's a poignant and exciting story. If you were to read a detached synopsis of Randal's journey, it might sound a little contrived – yet it feels perfectly natural in the novel. Luck manages to coexist perfectly with Hard Things That Happen and the result is a story I've seen a lot of YA authors try to write, but few succeed with as much care, poignancy, honesty, and straight-up readability as Sutcliff does here.
I didn't have as much foreknowledge of the historical events and political milieu as I often prefer when reading historical fiction, but that did not detract much at all from my ability to follow the story and enjoy it. The worldbuilding is just detailed enough to give you a clear portrait of the setting and insight into the characters without ever being either overwhelming or patronizing. I've been meaning to read Rosemary Sutcliff for a few years now, and my first foray into her work did not disappoint.
I didn't have as much foreknowledge of the historical events and political milieu as I often prefer when reading historical fiction, but that did not detract much at all from my ability to follow the story and enjoy it. The worldbuilding is just detailed enough to give you a clear portrait of the setting and insight into the characters without ever being either overwhelming or patronizing. I've been meaning to read Rosemary Sutcliff for a few years now, and my first foray into her work did not disappoint.
sonofthunder's review against another edition
4.0
This book was superb. I've read one of Sutcliff's books before, but this one amazed me with how much I loved it. This book tells the story of a boy growing to be a man in late 11th century England. The period is fascinating to me, being the mingling of the Anglo-Saxon culture with the newly ascendant Norman. But was this a neat and ordered process? Of course not. I know not all the history of this period, so it is challenging for me to know how accurate the author's details are here, but it has the feeling and richness of truth. I breathed ancient England air while I read this and was simply delighted by the story that Sutcliff told here. Her writing style is sublime and I could read pages and pages and pages of her descriptive passages. I wish I could have walked the fields of long ago Sussex and laid my eyes upon the pasturelands and rolling green country. Alas that I cannot. But...this book was almost as good? At first I felt the characterization was a touch weak and artificial but in actuality? It just took a while for me to understand the characters and understood their world as they did and see through their eyes. I wish I could read this book again for the first time, but I suppose I will have to settle for re-reading it again often. As I surely will. This book is not just happy and joyous and peaceful. There is treachery and war and sorrow and pain. But there is also beauty. There is also joy. There are moments of wonder and bliss. And so when reading, my heart sang.
kahale's review against another edition
3.0
A good young adult book for boys that shows the friendship between two boys of the Middle Ages/
readbyashleyd's review
5.0
This book was such a pleasant surprise to me, I wasn’t expecting to enjoy it as much as I did! I was hooked right from the first page and absolutely loved the main character Randal. I couldn’t help but root for him the whole way through and it was so satisfying to see such a great ending for him! This is my favourite kind of book, the kind where you laugh and cheer for the characters and even shed a couple tears.
scaifea's review
4.0
Randal has lived among the castle hounds for most of his young life when the lord of the castle loses him to a traveling bard in a game of chess. He then is handed off to another knight to be a varlet and then a squire in the chance for a better life. Here he becomes fast friends with the lord's grandson and destined to be squire for his companion as they grow. A good tale of two boys coming of age together, knights and wars, and the strong love for one's home. Very well researched and beautifully told, as it seems Sutcliff's stories tend to be.
singinglight's review
5.0
A young boy, Randal, is won in a chess game and given to a knight who raises him with his own grandson. Set against the backdrop of the struggle after William the Conqueror’s death, Knight’s Fee is an evocative, bitter-sweet, and ultimately rewarding story.
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