The Knight’s Enemies

Travel back in time with brothers Arthur and Finn to help stop the castle of Sir William Malory falling and prevent the death of his daughter Eleanor. The brothers arrive just as John the Withered attacks Wroxley Castle. With the castle under attack, Arthur and Finn must help defend the castle walls. When it becomes clear that Wroxley Castle will fall into enemy hands, the brothers must find a way to save Eleanor’s life by sneaking her out of the castle. But then Arthur and Finn are accused of being spies and thrown into a medieval dungeon. Will the boys escape after being imprisoned, save Eleanor, and succeed in changing the course of history?  

The Knight’s Enemies is told from the third-person point of view, allowing the story to switch between the two brothers’ perspectives. Including both brothers’ experiences gives a broader view of castle life. When called upon, the brothers show bravery by helping defend the castle. Between battles, Arthur and Finn try to figure out how to find and save Eleanor. The action-packed scenes create a gripping adventure that highlights the brothers’ bravery and shows the importance of friendship and loyalty.  

When Arthur and Finn travel to medieval times, the brothers land at different places. This helps build background knowledge of the castle and introduces various characters. At the beginning of the book, so many characters are introduced that readers will have to pay close attention to keep track of all of them. Even though one of the story’s villains is obvious from the start, readers will be surprised when the spy is revealed.  

Short sections are interspersed throughout the book, giving more historical information, such as how to defend a castle, steps to becoming a knight, and medical weapons. The information is detailed and includes how soldiers “poured boiling water over the enemy’s heads.” Another section describes the way an enemy tried to enter the castle, including “shooting dead animal corpses over the walls to spread disease [and] shoot the heads of dead enemy soldiers over the walls to terrify the poor souls inside the castle.” Defending a castle can be brutal, and the book doesn’t shy away from describing the battles, which may upset younger readers. 

Readers will hold their breath in anticipation, wondering how Arthur and Finn will fulfill Sir William Malory’s dying wish to save his daughter. The Knight’s Enemies weaves a compelling story with a typical damsel in distress trope. However, Eleanor is not a weak woman who needs to be saved. Although her appearance is short, Eleanor helps the wounded, cares deeply for her father, and bravely escapes certain death. The exciting battle scenes and the drama surrounding Eleanor perfectly blend to create a gripping adventure. But be advised, at 160 pages The Knight’s Enemies is a quick read that will leave readers excited to read the second book in the series, The Viking’s Revenge.  

Sexual Content  

• None 

Violence  

• The ghost of Sir William describes the siege of Wroxley Castle. John the Withered attacked the castle and kidnapped Sir William’s daughter, Eleanor. “They sent Eleanor’s head back to me the following morning.” 

• When Finn travels back in time, he appears along the road to Wroxley Castle. He meets Thomas Shipton. Finn saves Thomas’ life by warning him about archers hiding in the forest. “Romas hunched down into the horse’s mane as an arrow hissed between the two boys and thudded into a tree.” 

• Finn jumps onto the horse and “Thomas kicked the horse’s side to speed them away, but as he did so, the horse screamed and reared up.” Finn falls off the horse “while Thomas shouted in alarm as his horse staggered sideways on its hind legs and then toppled heavily to the ground, an arrow protruding from its flank. . .” The horse pins Thomas to the ground. 

• Two men run towards the boys. To save his life, “Finn drew the string back, took aim at the bigger of the two men, and released. The man collapsed to the floor, gurgling horribly as he clutched at the arrow lodged in his throat.” The man presumably dies.  

• The remaining man shoots more arrows at Finn and Thomas. Finn shoots another arrow. “The archer gave a shout of pain.” When Finn stands up, he sees “his enemy lay[ing] motionless on his back, an arrow buried deep in his chest.” The scene is described over four pages. 

• Sir Ralph bullies Thomas. When Arthur defends Thomas, “Sir Ralph’s eyes widened in shock. . . He sprang forward and grabbed Arthur roughly by the throat. Arthur struggled, coughing and choking, pulling at Ralph’s hands in a desperate bid to free himself.” Another man breaks up the fight. 

• John the Withered’s men use a catapult to attack the castle. “Something shot up from the catapult, and sailed high through the air across the divide between attackers and defenders. Finn noted with a sick feeling in his stomach that whatever it was appeared to have arms and legs. . . the first missile from the attacking army had been a horribly misshapen corpse.” 

• Pots full of burning tar are catapulted over the castle wall. “One poor soul was running around in bigger and bigger circles, wrapped from head to toe in the flickering fire. Eventually someone managed to wrestle him to the ground with a blanket and extinguished the fire.” 

• The castle archers release arrows. “Some men dropped to the ground, but their comrades did not falter and stepped across the bodies, marching inexorably on.” The soldier next to Arthur “screamed in pain and toppled backwards off the wall spouting blood from an arrow wound to the neck.”  

• The castle soldiers began pouring boiling water “to burn any who tried to place ladders against the outer wall.”  

• During the battle, Finn is hit with an arrow. “He lost his footing and with a cry for help he tumbled off the wall, his helmet knocked off his head as he fell. He landed on something soft, hit his head on something hard, and lost consciousness.” 

• As the soldiers battled, the enemy used a battering ram to break the castle’s door. “The archers above kept up a relentless shower of arrows” and flung pots filled with burning tar at the enemy. 

• Sir Ralph accused Arthur and Finn of being spies. When Arthur tries to defend himself, Ralph yells at him, “striking Arthur savagely across the face with the back of his hand and knocking Arthur’s helmet off as he did so. Arthur stumbled backwards, clutching his stinging face. . . “ 

• When Arthur is thrown in the dungeon, he thinks about oubliettes. “An oubliette was a deep shaft in the ground with a lid on the top. The shaft was often so narrow that there was only room to stand and breathe . . . If they really wanted someone to suffer, they would lower the poor wretch into the oubliette, stick the lid on, leave them in total darkness, and forget about them.”  

• During the battle, Sir William Malory receives a killing blow. As he lay dying, “he broke off and coughed more blood onto his chin.”  

Drugs and Alcohol  

• A spy plans to give Eleanor a potion to make her “sleep like the dead.” 

Language  

• Several times a character calls someone a name, including calling people devils, insolent dogs, little rats, and smug fools. 

• Sir Godfrey, receives a message that John the Withered wants the castle surrendered to him. Sir Godfrey says, “John has no claim to this castle save that he is a thieving, shriveled up rogue who bullies the weak. Leave now, scoundrel or I will have you killed.”  

• During the battle, “all hell broke loose.” 

• Several times, the characters “curse.” No profanity is used. 

Supernatural 

• Arthur and Finn’s grandfather created a museum about warriors throughout history. The museum is haunted and when the grandfather died, “he started haunting the place too. He felt guilty about the trapped ghost warriors and vowed he would not rest in peace until all the other ghosts were laid to rest first.” 

• When one of the ghost warriors touches the boys, “we get transported to the time and place where the ghost lived and died. And we can’t get back until we’ve fixed whatever it is that keeps the ghost from resting in peace.” 

• The ghost of Sir William appears in the museum. “His scar face was smeared with blood that seeped down from under his chain mail hood, and the expression he wore as he cast his stare around the room was one of pure anguish.” A picture of the knight shows blood dripping down his face. 

• Sir William wants Arthur and Finn to travel back in time to save his daughter. “A ghostly hand gripped each boy by the neck. The air filled with mist so thick that nothing of the room could be seen, the handle flickered and died, and the boys saw only darkness.” The boys travel back to Sir William’s time. 

• When Eleanor is safe, a “mist enveloped [Arthur and Finn], growing thicker and thicker. . . the castle and their friends vanished completely.” When they see the mist, the boys know they are going home. 

Spiritual Content  

• As Finn climbs down the castle wall using a ladder, he must jump into a river. He was “praying that he would clear the river bank and land in the water.”