The Squire

[theradicalchild]

The Squire by Duncan M. Hamilton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The first entry of author Duncan M. Hamilton’s Blood of Kings trilogy opens with a man named Werner carrying contraband Telastrian steel ore, attempting to sell his goods to a bayda in the city of Raffah, only for the deal to go afoul, with the bayda killed and a mystical medallion stolen. A decade later, in the Northlands, Sigurd petitions the First Warrior Hermann, head of the village of Neuendorf, to slay cattle-killing demons known as the draugar, with his son Conrad and wife Ingrid awaiting his return with fellow soldiers in tow. Quickly afterward, Conrad’s parents die in an attack, and he begins his travels with his father’s men.

The adult warriors start to train Conrad in the art of swordsmanship and enroll him in special classes to learn other basic educational skills like reading, where he finds a rival in the form of Manfred, whose father has a monopoly on Telastrian steel. With a few squires he befriends, Conrad explores the dark palace depths to see what lies below ground, and a religious organization known as the Grey Priests shows interest in the fledgling squire. Among the main goals of Conrad’s guardians is to stop the horde of draugar from overtaking the land, with ancient magical power deemed to be at work.

Overall, this is an enjoyable and straightforward fantasy novel whose linearity and limited perspective help it avoid the common pitfalls of other stories in its genre, with the goal of the characters clear early in the book and the ending indicative of obvious continuation through the remaining entries of its respective trilogy. While it features tropes within and without its literary category, including a rival for the aspiring squire Conrad, it feels original enough to the point where it scarcely feels to be a rehash of other fantasy narratives. The story satisfied me enough, and I would gladly continue reading the series and other works from the author.

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