Sir Thomas the Hesitant and the Table of Less Valued Knights by Liam Perrin

Whimsical and poignant, Sir Thomas the Hesitant and the Table of Less Valued Knights tells the story of Thomas Farmer who dreams of becoming a knight, sets out to save his brother from the hands of an evil Baron, and uncovers a plot that threatens Camelot itself. Along the way, he befriends a series of misfits including an allegedly reformed evil wizard, a shrinking giantess with a latent gift, a veteran knight with a dark secret, and his best friend Philip the Exceptionally Unlucky.

In the end, his friends must all join forces and Thomas must come to grips with what it means to be a true hero if they are to outwit the evil Baron. At its heart, Sir Thomas’s tale is the story of a young man growing up and learning what it means to be a hero in a world that doesn’t always make sense.

Sir Thomas the Hesitant and the Table of Less Valued Knights was, quite simply, fun. Set in Arthurian times, this is the story of Thomas Farmer of Fogbottom as he adventures outside of home on his quest to become a knight.

Setting

Sir Thomas meets and interacts with a lot of legendary figures from Arthurian England. The characters are parodied which participates to the humour in the book. The whole book is spaced over the course of a week or two while King Arthur and Guinevere are marrying each other.

Other Thoughts

I’m scraping my normal sections because I really don’t know what to put in them. My enjoyment of this book derives strongly from the light, comedic tone; and more than anything else, that’s what makes it a great read. It started off a little bit slow, but after a few chapters it really hit its stride. So much so that I read 80% of the book in one night, only stopping because dinner was required.

Sir Thomas is one of the more endearing protagonists I’ve recently read about. He may not be a typical knight, but he wants to help everyone and he takes his duties very seriously. He might be a Less Valued Knight, but he’s still a Knight.

Situational humour is also used by Perrin, as characters often find themselves in ridiculous positions. For example, the freshly-knighted have their skills tested in a LARP scenario where they’re role-playing themselves.

Secondary characters are easily very interesting, and can be a bit ridiculous too. Pyralis, for example, is a former evil wizard and baker turned healer, and often has some very unusual/wacky magical gadgets which would fail most workplace health and safety tests.

All in all, Sir Thomas the Hesitant and the Table of Less Valued Knights is a very enjoyable read that I would recommend to anyone looking for a more lighthearted tale.

Audience

This book is probably best for people who like:

• Comedy
• Ridiculous situations
• Arthurian Legends
• Parodies