The Table of Less Valued Knights

.The Table of Less Valued Knights is an amusing entertainment. It’s not an idealized version of King Arthur’s Court; Marie Phillips has removed any rose-colored glasses by focusing on the highly flawed members of the Table of Less Valued Knights there at Camelot. Lancelot is still sleeping with Guinevere and Arthur is a bit pompous. But there are those less exalted entities -- like Sir Humphrey -- who still try very hard to do the right thing, even as they try to avoid addressing their own failed quests. At the feast of Pentecost, traditionally, guests arrive at court begging the services of a knight to aid in the righting of wrongs. This year, there are two such guests who arrive -- one begging aid in recovering a kidnapped wife show more and queen while the other is begging aid in finding an errant fiance. One petitioner gets Sir Dorian and the other gets Sir Humphrey. The novel follows both quests, with an eye slanted towards seeing who best upholds the honorable values of King Arthur.

Exaggerated humor is what moves the figures in this story from the familiar stiff painted-in-oil icons to more flexible, more humane figures. There is an early chapter where a unicorn adoringly chases after a virgin that was quite funny, but the reader is then faced with a close to that chapter rather reminiscent of George R.R. Martin. Indeed the character of Prince Edmund is strikingly reminiscent of Game of Thrones King Joffrey! There is a magic sword that serves as a directional compass, if spun by the right person, even as it seems to have its own quest to fulfill apart from that of its owner. The knight’s noble steed is an elephant (christened somewhat anachronistically as Jemima) and his trusted squire is a giant (with some "daddy" issues of his own). All this is happening while the author skewers expectations of gender and sexuality. Definitely for adult readers without being too ribald. show less

2.5-stars, i guess. i didn't like all of it, but i also didn't dislike the whole thing. likely i would have settled on 3-stars, had i not read this while considering the novel as part of the women's prize for fiction longlist. i'm not totally sure why it made the cut, when a novel like [b:All My Puny Sorrows|18339630|All My Puny Sorrows|Miriam Toews|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1416181263s/18339630.jpg|25892986] did not.

anyway...

phillips seems to have fun playing with arthurian legend, through the lens of monty python. (and i am sure i am not the first person to make this observation.) at moments i was certainly entertained, but i had trouble sustaining my suspension of disbelief. phillips' writing is fine... this is a light, quick show more read. but as with [b:Gods Behaving Badly|2790537|Gods Behaving Badly|Marie Phillips|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320448873s/2790537.jpg|2637508], the concept was solid, the execution a bit too unfulfilling and the whole is not one i feel will be memorable in the longterm. but, if you need a bit of an easy, fun read - give this book a try. show less

Oh my goodness - Marie Phillips's new book - The Table of Less Valued Knights - was soooo much fun to read!

You know the story of King Arthur and his brave, valiant Knights of the Roundtable right? But have you heard the tales of those demoted to the (rectangular) table of less valued knights - the elderly, the infirm, the cowardly, the incompetent and the disgraced.

One member of that lesser table is Sir Humphrey. Lagging behind to leave after one gathering, he is the only witness to a young woman looking for a Knight to accept her quest. And against all the rules - he accepts the maiden's mission to find her kidnapped fiance.

And that's the beginning of a rollicking romp of a tale featuring a small giant, a magical sword, an show more elephant, dwarfs, an evil King and his oafish brother, a crone's apprentice, a lady of the lake, a beautiful maiden, a runaway Queen, a castle or two, more than a few duels and.....

What sets this book apart is Phillip's clever, clever writing. The dialogue had me in stitches the entire time. Phillips weaves modern day situations such as customs forbidding transport of food products across borders into her tale to great effect. The absurdity of some of it reminded me of Monty Python skits. And I have to say The Princess Bride as well. (Quite frankly, I think The Table of Less Valued Knights would make a great film as well!) Of course being a fairy tale type of story, there is a happy ending, but I'm wondering Marie, if perhaps there are further adventures in store?

This was such a delightfully fun read, absolutely guaranteed to put a smile on your face. It's one of my fave summer 2014 reads. show less

Hilarious and entertaining, this is a quick and satirical story featuring the common tropes of the classic quest formula and chivalry.

A half-sized giant, a deformed horse, a knight of The Table of Less Valued Knights, a damsel in distress and a missing fiancée. Throw in the Pentecost Quest, a King Prince Consort with a brother complex, men in iron masks, a stand-in for the Lady of the Lake, a customs official dwarf, delicate Knights, a she-magical-sword with a penchant for Spin the Bottle, a bearded Queen....did I mention a maiden-thirsty unicorn?

What could possibly go wrong?

This book was a pleasant surprise indeed, the misadventures of the mismatched group of heroes and the intertwining quests are comical, but also clever. The plot is show more well-structured, not banal, and offers many homages to classic Arthurian stories, a clear monty python-esque atmosphere, steady rhythm and unpredictability. The ending was a bit abrupt, but apt.

Truly a jaunty ribald romp. show less

Sir Humphrey Du Val was demoted to the table of less valued knights (rectangular, in case you were wondering) after an unfortunate incident involving his less than faithful wife. Although the knights still dine with the Knights of the Round Table, they are definitely “less valued” – served last, often ridiculed and NEVER given any quests. Now really, what is a knight without a quest to go on? Just another man who owns a suit of armor he cannot put to good use. One night, after having one too many cups of mead and after all the other knight have long gone to bed, Sir Humphrey is sitting at the table feeling sorry for himself when what should appear but a damsel in distress. Not wanting to appear foolish in front of this winsome show more young lady, and most definitely wanting to redeem himself in the king’s eyes, our hero does not inform her that his is no longer, technically, a Knight of the Round Table.

However, all quests are not created equally and we soon discover that neither are all knights, nor all damsels in distress.

If you are looking for historical fiction that truly represents what we have come to know as Camelot don’t even bother to pick up this book. If you are looking for an amusing story populated with a giant, an elephant, The Lady of the Lake, The Crone of the Castle and of course, the enchanted sword then pick up this book and be prepared to chuckle to yourself as you read. show less

Such a truly fun and witty story that will appeal to fans of Monty Python type humour. So everyone who was raised like me on a diet of British sitcoms, you will truly appreciate the dry wit of this one. Jen L and I agreed that this should also be done in audio format only by either John Cleese or Eric Idle. You will fall in love with each and everyone of these unique and odd characters. Also the scene with the unicorn is worth the price of the book alone. Just a light and fun read that has a bit of heart to pull at your heart strings. Do yourself a favor, pick this one up and lose yourself in a fun Arthurian setting filled with quirky characters.

"People think with their eyes, not with their minds, that's the problem."

"As far as Martha show more was concerned, it was pretty easy to tell the difference between here and Jasper, for reasons quite aside from him being male and dead."

Read this one for our Non Girly Book Club show less

Don't get me wrong, there are things to like here. Martha, for example. I thoroughly enjoyed Martha and would love to hang out with her and chit-chat about court life at Puddock. In fact, most of the characters in this book are quite strong and entertaining to read about, even though they are a bit standard. We have the underappreciated knight out to save the day, the comedic squire, the feisty women, the mustache-twirling villain. But although Phillips may not be striking new ground exactly, the character work is well-executed and kept me reading.

But the plot. The pacing is off and even in a fantasy novel, I didn't buy the rapidfire twists and turns in the second half. Also, one development in particular reminded me of [b:The show more Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake|7048800|The Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake|Aimee Bender|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320541766s/7048800.jpg|7299170], which is a very bad thing for any novel to do.

It's worth your time if you like comic fantasy more than I do. Phillips's writing is solid. But not a must-read by any means. show less