The Red Knight (The Traitor Son Cycle, 1) Paperback – January 22, 2013

I actually came across this book while perusing the forums of the Armour Archive. Miles Cameron is a forum member and had created a thread about this book- I even got a signed copy! That was very cool; and I promised Miles a review so here it is.One of the things that struck me about the book in general, is not only how well written it is, but how interesting the characters are, specifically the main character (known as the Red Knight in the book), the 'Traitor Son' if you will. On the outside, he appears to be everything a hard-bitten professional leader of fighting men is supposed to be- but what drew me in to the character was that privately, he was every bit as apprehensive, in some cases even fearful of the events transpiring and moreso of what was to come. I can't tell you much more than that without giving away a few major spoilers. Suffice it to say there's more to meet the eye than what you're initially given as far as this mercenary captain goes- it is well worth the read to find out what makes this man tick.Something else that stuck with me was how realistic the dialog is- and, to be delicate, urbane. These warriors do not speak or interact as the highborn puissant knights one becomes used to when reading medieval fiction- it seems the paragon of knighthood, the stoic warrior who meets whatever may come with unblinking eyes and steady hands- that sort has no real place here, other than as a topic of derision. Real men, real fighters know different.The main character is not without his faults and he experiences personnel issues as does any commander- sometimes his ability to hold onto his forces hangs by a thread as one or another sees something that causes them to lose faith, or even contemplate more heinous acts. There is an element of magic that was new to this reader, it was not like anything I'd read before and I must confess it held my interest almost as much as the medieval mayhem that ensues. It is interesting to note that the author is an aficionado of medieval weapons and armor, like me he is also a student of the sword- this is evident in the action set pieces of the story, which read a little bit different from the usual Hollywood fare. The techniques may seem somewhat abrupt, the swordplay is fast and visceral- but in truth, as I've participated in blade on blade duelling, the research indicates that swordplay was exactly that- fast and brutal. The repeated clash of blade on blade is a Hollywood construct- in a real duel, the idea is to hit your opponent, not his sword, as the sword is not indestructible and is not built for that sort of repeated contact with a similar object, but to injure, maim and kill your opponent. To do that you must hit him, not his sword. The author understands this being a practictioner himself and it only serves to make the battles feel more authentic, if you will. I don't know that anyone not interested in the sword arts would be able to tell the difference, but for those of us who are- it is evident, and appreciated.Set in a medievalesque period in a fictional world, there are still many parallels to be drawn from that world to this; still, the author's world is at times vibrant and colorful, but a lot of times dark and very grim- with the most engaging suite of characters that I've ever encountered outside of high fantasy, this book makes for a very compelling read. As with all books I truly appreciate, I've read this more than once. My only complaint, if you could call it that, is that it'll be some time before the next installment comes out- this from the author's own words so you have it on authority. Would that he could hurry it up, but I wouldn't want him to sacrifice artifice for time constraints so- take your time Miles, we'll be waiting!

I enjoyed this book quite a bit. The story is immensely entertaining and keeps your mind working to try to figure out what is going on. I must say that it took me a while to settle into the setting of the book. This is the first fantasy book that keeps close to christian religion. It kinda threw me for a bit. I wasn’t expecting God and Saints to be mentioned and thought I had stumbled into a historical fiction book. But then magic came and I got lost. So, when you read this, I’d suggest going into it with that tidbit in mind. Once I got over it and stopped trying to tie it into what I know of religion, I read much faster and enjoyed it way more.The magic in The Red Knight was interesting and I enjoyed how Cameron presented it when the characters were using it (there’s a format change that helps the reader know). It was explained well enough, but has plenty of room to grow, and as the book progresses we continue to learn more. Loved that.There were several POV’s in this book. I’ve said it before: I enjoy multiple POV’s. However, The Red Knight had one too many for my taste. I can understand why Cameron added them. Everything comes together in the end and if you didn’t have those POVs the story wouldn’t be as engaging. They are needed, but I must admit I grew rather bored during some of them.The Red Knight, or Captain, was my favorite character. Cameron did a incredible job giving the reader tidbits of delightful information about the Captain throughout the book. By the end, I think I figured it out, but there is obviously room for more clarification and to prove me wrong. Furthermore, there is enough left open that the next book is sure to have the same delightful hints sprinkled throughout. This was my favorite part about the book, thus why the Red Knight is my favorite character. It was like watching condensation evaporate on a window. Sauce and Bad Tom were also entertaining and I enjoyed their POVs. I was indifferent to the rest.I very much enjoyed the cast of creatures used in this book. And we even got a POV from a handful of them to show how the opposite side thinks and feels.There were some odd sentences and some typos, which normally I don’t notice in a book. Also, there was a hefty amount of description sometimes, but it’s easy to skim those parts and not lose any valuable information.About the only thing I didn’t like was the lengthy siege and some defense/offense strategies that didn’t snag hold of my attention. I had a hard time visualizing stuff sometimes, battles and scenery included.Now, I’d go out right now and buy book two, but I’ve got another read to do for a book club and I don’t have time to tackle another monster of a book. This one was long, and because of my lack of imagery, it took me a while to read it. So I must forgo book 2 for a bit until I catch up on some of my reading. But I won’t be waiting long. I must know more about the Red Knight!Overall, if you enjoy a more military type fantasy, you’d probably love The Red Knight. If you don’t, but you love a good character, you’d probably do just fine with this book. I did.

The only con I can think of is that this had lots of typos, to the point where I checked to see if it was self-published. Anything a spellcheck would catch was okay, but there were lots of dropped end quotes, missing and extra words, and a consistent universal possessive apostrophe on its, which seems really weird for this veteran author and his professional publisher both not to catch.That said, the story, characters, and fights themselves are great. Maybe you could say the plot isn't the twistiest as you know going in this is about a siege and it sure is, but there are lots of characters who all seem different and to interact realistically, so it doesn't seem repetitive, and the author clearly knows a LOT more than most fantasy authors do about how medieval battle went. A lot of the time in fantasy novels you'll get swords swinging vaguely and heads falling, but here you'll hear about every piece of armour and sword stance and military tactic, really making you feel like you're there and it's really happening. It helps to have this on Kindle so you can look up what a vambrace or hauberk is by just touching the word. LOTS of small fights within the overall fight of the siege, not just one big battle at the end. Almost constant really. There are also lots of different LEVELS of characters, from teenaged boys who don't stop eating to powerful warriors to wizards to demigods, and they all feel like they interact plausibly. Highly recommended.

I enjoyed this book but often the points of view confused me, they keep swithcing, and somethimes, there is nothing that forewarn you about the change, so you need to stop and look back to who says what or who is thinking or doing whatever, and that is immersion breaking, in my opinion.

There are complaints about editing that at times are valid. This and subsequent books can at times lack the polish of big publishing. Also at first the avalanche of information and minutiae can feel suffocating. This style of writing is a hill, that for me, is a hill many authors have died on. However after about half this book the minutiae formed a foundation of incredible strength that allowed the events to feel so real and so immediate, every battle felt so crucial, and slowly the ethical questions take you by suprise, the characters feel like old friends, their quests so urgent and yet so ethereal. Lives spent by the thousands, yet never cheaply. I am now about to start the fourth book and haven't felt this surprised nor this drawn in by a story since the Ender series. So if, like me, you feel overwhelmed at first by the endless stream of knowledge, details, names and changing tactics; push on and this amazing author will reward your efforts greatly. And the occasional lack of polish (which is less apparent in the future books) ceases to matter. A very, very definite 5 stars for the series.

This is a BEAST.It was awesome.Monsters abound, good men are actually the bad ones, heroes cry, nuns kick many asses and kiss very well.All of this taken very seriously, but not in an arrogant way. Even among knights, feelings matter more than swords.

Overall a very well crafted story that was a pleasure to take my time reading. I did not waste or rush a single page.Let down only buy some seemingly obvious typos ;)