Knight Errant

Summary (from the publisher): R. Garcia y Robertson is the author of a numerous of books and stories, many of them published in the SF genre. In addition, he has written two highly praised novels outside that genre, American Woman, and The Spiral Dance ("A remarkably realistic historical fantasy."--Ellen Kushner, host of Song and Spirit, NPR). Now Garcia y Robertson returns with a powerful time-travel romance that reaches new imaginative heights.

Robyn Stafford, a young American woman executive, has flown from Hollywood to England to surprise her lover on his birthday, only to find that he's married and his wife's giving the party. So she takes a few days off to recover from her outrage and dismay, traveling and hiking in England near the Welsh border. There she encounters a young man on horseback, wearing a sword, chain mail, and a surcoat, who identifies himself as Edward Plantagenet, Earl of March, and asks directions to a nearby abbey. He thinks it is the year 1459, is amazed by her working cell phone, and invites her to ride along, although at first he thought her a young boy wearing pants! Then his pursuers show up, and Edward and Robyn ride madly across the hills until he drops her off and gallops back to face his enemies. After he fights them off, he returns and invites her to come with him and be his lady. Then he rides away, into the distant past, to the age of the War of the Roses.

And so Robyn Stafford must find a way to leave the world of today for the fifteenth century, where she will fall in love with a young knight, a prince who will be king. This is the first of three books in a sweeping historical romance.

 

Review: Robyn Stafford is a young executive in Hollywood who flies to England to surprise her boyfriend on his birthday, only to discover that he is in fact married. Robyn decides to take a few days to recover before returning to America and goes for a hike on the Welsh border. During her hike, she runs into a young man on horseback who claims be Edward, Earl of March and who also claims that the year is 1459. Eventually, Robyn finds herself transported in time back to the fifteenth century, pursued by armed men who want to try her as a witch, and falling in love with the young knight Edward.

 

Although this time travel narrative has much in common with the wildly popular Outlander series, it failed to capture my interest. There is little deep characterization for any of the main characters, making it hard to believe that Robyn and Edward were truly in love. In fact, Robyn seems to have more chemistry with the married Sir Collingwood Grey than she does with Edward. There is little depth to the character's backgrounds as well. Robyn's parents are conveniently reported as dead and Edward's are all conveniently taken prisoner or also dead. The characters seemed incredibly one dimensional with little personal history. I was waiting for the great love between Robyn and Edward to emerge the whole book and was sadly disappointed when it never really revealed itself. Instead, the majority of the plot was focused on political maneuverings and Robyn constantly being captured.

 

As with any book involving such supernatural elements such as time travel, some suspension of belief is required of the reader. However, this book strained my limits and included many elements of magic. Robyn is initiated into a coven of witches, who are able to cast spells. Additionally, when Robyn goes back in time, she meets people who seem exactly like those she knew in the present day. It turns out that these are witches and warlocks who are reborn and thus can reappear "half a thousand years hence" (113). I'm not sure what this really added to the story, other than an interesting symmetry of select people Robyn knows in both the past and present.

 

Finally, many parts of this novel had an almost cartoon-ish quality to them, meaning they seemed like scenes from a comedic children's movie. For instance, Robyn and friends Joy and Jo escape from a tower by tying bed sheets together and rappelling down the side of the building: "Boots slipped on the dark stone, and she swung wildly, banging hard against the tower" (234). Perhaps the most ridiculous plot element: Jo and Joy are constantly accompanied by a pet crow named Hela that caws to warn them of danger, is constantly mocking their conversation, and even joins them for meals, "Hela stalked about the table, pecking at the food, and adding her caws to the conversation. Being witches, no one found that weird" (360).

 

Stars: 2