Man, where to start? I’ve just reread my summary of Book II, and I’ve got to say, the takeway lessons are Malory is an awful writer and Merlin is a jackass. There’s this whole tantalizing backstory that’s only hinted about, … Continue reading →
The next morning, of course, Merlin shows up. Did you think we were going to get through the end of this chapter without Merlin being a jackass one more time? He’s apparently concerned with setting all the pieces into place … Continue reading →
So okay there’s Balin, he’s all geared up and ready to fight, and out comes his designated opponent, another knight all in red, likewise with a face-concealing helmet. Spoiler: it’s Balan, Balin’s brother, last seen wandering off to no particular … Continue reading →
So, as you probably saw coming, Garnish takes one look at the couple sleeping under the tree and completely loses it. He starts bleeding from the nose and mouth, that’s how intense his sobs are. “Balin, man, what the hell?” … Continue reading →
So that’s the great adventure of the dolorous stroke and how Sir Balin screwed everything up. Everything in this book after this is just denouement, because our story isn’t well and truly told until Balin is dead. Because yeah, he survives having … Continue reading →
Nir asked a while back whether Balin’s madcap rampage against common sense was ever going to go anywhere, whether there was some big-deal climax that was coming, or whether the story of the Idiot Knight is just a series of … Continue reading →
Balin and Susie ride together for a long weekend without incident, and on the fourth night they stay at a nice hotel, the home of a wealthy man who takes in travelers. They’re down in the hotel bar, relaxing after … Continue reading →
It’s my birthday today! But that’s neither here nor there. Balin and Susie ride through the woods. Susie knows where they’re going, but she’s not giving Balin any more information than she needs to, on the grounds that he’s as … Continue reading →
Next day Arthur has a bad hangover, and goes off into a meadow with a tent and a cot to have a quiet lie-down and recover. It doesn’t work, though, because as soon as he’s finished setting up, a knight … Continue reading →
As I said yesterday, Lot and the eleven kings on his side in the battle against Arthur, which group of kings overlaps with but is not identical to the kings in Team Lot & Mister 100 from Book I, they … Continue reading →
