Back when I was actively doing book reviews on YouTube, this was actually the first book I reviewed! However, having lost my script for that review (if there was any to begin with, I'm pretty sure my early reviews may just have been unscripted), and with me being now 3 years down the line, I feel like I should just re-read the book for the review for this blog. Is it any good? Let's find out! Spoilers ahead.
In a fictional medieval kingdom, a squire named Tiuri is unexpectedly sent on a dangerous quest to deliver a letter of utmost importance to the king of the neighboring kingdom, Unauwen. He's constantly being pursued by enemy knights, spies and assassins along the way, and time is of the essence. Will Tiuri succeed in his quest?
This is pretty much a medieval story for younger readers. Maybe it'd be shoved into the YA category these days, but I remember it being a book for (older) kids, kind of like Harry Potter, I guess, though a different genre. Also, if you came here from the Netflix series, you'll be surprised how many liberties they took for that adaptation. The Netflix series is a fantasy, whereas there is 0 fantastical elements such as magic to be found in this book (unless you count a glowing gemstone in a ring, but that's it). The series also just...didn't really follow the story at all. But that's a review for a different day on my film/series review blog. How does the book hold up?
Honestly, pretty well! It's not perfect, it's got its flaws, but it definitely is a good story for younger readers who want an exciting medieval tale. Its main characters are pretty good, we have a really exciting and dangerous mission Tiuri embarks on, and the journey to get to his destination continuously is interesting as he traverses both his own and Unauwen's kingdom.
I'm usually not a big fan of massive traveling stories (you can blame the Warriors series for that), but Tiuri's journey is continuously engaging and varying. From climbing the mountains to escaping assassins, it's all there and it's all perilous.
Now for the characters, they are kind of mixed. We really only have two major characters in the book, our protagonist Tiuri and his best friend Piak. All other characters mostly come and go for brief instances. And honestly, the aspect that we briefly come across so many characters is fine for me, it's realistic. They're going on a journey, so of course they see many faces come and go. They just don't all leave an impression.
For the protagonists, however, I do have some minor nitpicks. Do I like Tiuri and Piak? Absolutely, they really make the book even better and their bond is so well-developed. They are continuously loyal to one another and I just really like their friendship. However, I feel like Tiuri and Piak as characters themselves could've been a tiny bit more interesting. They definitely do have basic personalities and traits, but it feels like they're not fully realized in some aspects, like they're just kind of basic.
Maybe this really is just me, but I feel like with a little bit more finishing touches these could've been some of my favorite book characters ever. They already have a great bond that they share, but outside of this their personalities are rather basic and not as engaging as I'd hoped. They're still good, just not great when there definitely was potential for them to be.
The rest of the book is just fairly standard but still good. It's a traveling journey, and like I said before, it's a great journey that's well-written. I liked all the side conflicts, landscapes, towns and people they came across.
I guess nowadays people would look down on there only being one slightly major female character (and only she is only there for like...two chapters), but this book was written quite a while ago so I guess you can't have everything. It doesn't particularly bother me, but do keep in mind that the story is very much a sausage-fest with pretty much every other character Tiuri and Piak come across being either a boy or a man.
So overall this is a strong medieval story for younger/teen readers, but I feel like older readers can obviously enjoy it as well! Just keep in mind that it's not a fantasy like the Netflix series made it seem (for what reason is beyond me) and it's not overly diverse, but the journey is great and it's very lovely to see the main characters form such a strong bond over the tale.
Rating: 3.5/5
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