THE LAST KNIGHT - Hilari Bell
A Perfect 10
A Knight and Rogue Novel
EOS (Hardcover)
ISBN: 978-0-06-082503-4
September 2007
Fantasy/Mystery

A Medieval Setting

Sir Michael Sevenson, younger son of the Baron of Seven Oaks, in a desperate move to have the life he wants, single-handedly revives the trade of knight errantry, extinct some 200 years. He acquires a reluctant squire, Fisk, formerly a con man rescued from hanging by Sir Michael, who paid his fines. Fisk lives by his wits, and on the surface, could not be more different from Michael. Sir Michael is idealistic, wanting to live a life of adventure and glory, and Fisk just wants to make a big enough score to live in comfort for a while. All he thinks about is getting away from that lunatic Sir Michael, but he is indebted by law to the knight, and he can’t go anywhere until Sir Michael declares him freed.

As the story opens, we find Fisk and Sir Michael rescuing a damsel in distress. Only after she escapes do they discover that this damsel is a murderess and they have set her free. Declared an unredeemed man, Sir Michael is now outside the protection of the law. He must recapture the woman or be condemned himself. Indebted to Sir Michael, Fisk is also along for the ride. Thus begins a series of exciting adventures and escapes, as knight and squire figure out the mystery of whether this woman is truly a murderess. More important than the adventures is that the young men are learning virtues like trust, honor, and friendship. At first, Michael mentors Fisk, patiently recognizing his limits because of his background, but Fisk also has a lot to teach Michael about flexibility and how to get things done.

THE LAST KNIGHT, a young adult mystery set within a world where magic, in the form of magica, exists and allows Fisk and Michael to make some extraordinary escapes from the dangers into which they fall. Ms. Bell wrote the story in a narrative form, with each main character dominating alternately by chapter. In this way, readers experience adventures from each character's viewpoint. Magica creates an interesting framework for their world, but a clear message is delivered, stay true to yourself, be good to your friends, be honorable in your actions. Michael and Fisk are very likeable young men, and a group of well-drawn secondary characters supports them. THE LAST KNIGHT is a book I would highly recommend to the young adult reader because of its fast and clever pace and the lessons it so enjoyably teaches. THE LAST KNIGHT is, I hope, the first of several stories for these characters, and rates a Perfect 10 from this reader.

Lisa Baca