science fiction

Sword of the Rightful King - Jane Yolen Book Review

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Review Summaries
"The evil Queen of the North is out to get King Arthur and to steal his throne. To do this she instructs her sons to spy on Arthur and then she sends her sons to Camelot. Also, Merlinnus, the mage, thinks that one of her sons might even be sent tot try to kill Arthur. Another problem is that the people are wondering about Arthur's legitimacy as a King because his parents were not royalty. To deal with this problem and to stop the Queen of the North from stealing the throne, Merlinnus and his assistant Gawan create a stone with a sword in it and an inscription that says that only the rightful king can pull the sword out of the stone. Merlinnus has set the sword up so that it will only come out when he says an incantation. Merlinnus tells Arthur his plan and then allows a farmer to find the stone and tell everybody about it. He then builds up the legend that he inscribed on the stone and tells everyone that each and every person could try to pull the sword out of the stone. His plan was to say the incantation only when Arthur tried to pull the sword out of the stone but what he does not consider is that another witch could have their chosen person pull the sword out instead. The Queen of the North decides to try to do this and then have her son pull out the sword and become the King. She goes out at night and casts a spell which hurts her but gets the job done. Gawan sees this and runs to tell Merlinnus. Now its up to Merlinnus to stop the witch and if he doesn't the whole kingdom will be taken from Arthur and given to the evil Queen of the North‘s family. "
cloud city, Resident Jane Yolen Scholar


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Overall Review
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot

Composition of Book
Descript. of chases or violence - 20%
planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives - 50%
Feelings, relationships, character bio/development - 20%
Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places - 10%




Tone of book - very upbeat
FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION? - fantasy world/fantasy past
Political power play Yes
Political plotlets - saving govt/kingdom from external overthrow
Is this an adult or child's book? - Kid's book (ages 7-14)

Main Character
Identity: - Male
Age: - a teen
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events? Yes
How sensitive is this character? - middling sensitive to others' feelings
Sense of humor - Strong but gentle sense of humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Main Adversary
Identity: - Female
Age: - 40's-50's
Profession/status: - mage/magician
Has magical powers? Yes
Magical/mental powers of main antagonist: - can cast all sorts of spells
Eccentric: Yes - obsessed - emotionally unstable
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in: - an average amount
How sensitive is this character? - mean, arrogant
Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence - Average intelligence
Physique - average physique

Setting
Earth setting: - general past
Takes place on Earth? Yes

Style
Person? - rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death? - generic/vague references to death/punishment
scientific jargon? (SF only) - none/very little science jargon needed
How much dialogue? - significantly more descript than dialog
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Westmark by Lloyd Alexander
Rinkitink in Oz by L. Frank Baum




Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
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