Peregrine: Secundus

One has to imagine a Myles Na Gopeleen column, already prone to shaggy dogginess, grew doggier and shaggier and dressed in the splendid robes of Rome after the Fall, and Europe awash with a million Christian sects and flavours of Pagansim, but also dragons, sphinxes, Little People, petty kingdoms, small barbarian hordes and those leftover rags of the splendours of Rome vaguely trying to hold it all together. Into this wanders Peregrine, cast-out bastard son of a king, transfromed of late into his namesake, the bird, that is, and just as suddenly and unexpectedly re-transformed and tagging along in a search for some dragon-stolen treasure. The whole thing meanders near and far and wide until it finally meanders to a conclusion, leaving show more everyone involved even more perplexed than when it all began. Magnificent. show less

The continuing adventures of Peregrine.

Very enjoyable. I don't think I'd ever got around to reading this one in paper copy, although I recall the ending of the first. These, and the Vergil Magus series, and possibly Ursus of Ultima Thule seem to be set in the Dark Ages history of The Triune Monarchy of the Dr Ezsterhazy stories.

Very picaresque and somewhat whimsical in tone, I see parallels with Lord Dunsany (but not as much forsoothery).

Recommended.

I enjoyed my visits to the Middle Roman Empire, a ramshackle construction rapidly going to pieces. Sadly this sequel doesn't have any comic inventions comparable to Hun Horde Number Thirteen, but the tying up of the adventures of our second son of a moderately royal house, still holds at least my attention appropriately.

I don't remember anything about this book so, from the back cover: "Peregrine, bastard son of King Paladrine, thought he had trouble when he was transformed by a sorcerer into a falcon. In fact, his real troubles began when the prepubescent Princess Ruby changed him back into...well, almost a prince. A bastard."