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| A Knight's Vow | 
| Authors: Lynn Kurland, Patricia Potter, Deborah Simmons, Glynnis Campbell
Publisher: Jove
Category: Book
List Price: $7.99
Buy New: $1.95
You Save: $6.04 (76%)
New (33) from $1.95
Avg. Customer Rating:  15 reviews
Sales Rank: 79870
Media: Paperback
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 352
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.4
Dimensions (in): 6.8 x 4.2 x 1
ISBN: 0515131512
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN: 9780515131512
ASIN: 0515131512
Publication Date: September 1, 2001
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Slight bend to book from boxing.
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| Customer Reviews:
| Showing reviews 1-5 of 15 | | NEXT » |
 One was better than the others May 19, 2008
I originally bought this book because Deborah Simmons wrote one of the stories (The Bachelor Knight) but I found, much to my delight that I really liked a couple of the other stores MORE than I did hers. Not that it was a bad story, it was quite good actually, but my favorite of all of them was The Seige, by Glynnis Campbell. I enjoyed it so much that I MUST obtain her other books...My Champion, My Hero and My Warrior.
I also liked the Minstrel and The Traveller. Neither were bad stories. In fact I am a sucker for time travel stories which The Traveller is. The only contention I have with it is that it seemed a bit to rushed. I actually wanted more. I also discovered that she mentions characters from one of her other books...A Dance through Time. It might be noted that this is William De Piagets story and Juliana is a friend of Elizabeth Smith who is the central character in A Dance Through Time. Which just means I now have to hunt down Kurlands other books because not only am I a sucker for time travel books but I also love sequels.
Well Worth it for One Story in Particular February 2, 2008
2 out of 4 found this review helpful
A Knight's Vow is a collection of four romantic stories, all based on the title's theme. Four authors - Lynn Kurland, Patricia Potter, Deborah Simmons and Glynnis Campbell - each weave a tale of love and excitement. I own many short story collections - some classic, some sci-fi, some fantasy. In each case, there are stories I love and stories I'm less fond of in the collection, but the book is well worth owning because of the superb ones. The same is true here.
I want to say first that you might think it's easier to write a short story than to write a long story. The opposite is actually true. It is MUCH harder to create believable characters, get the reader engaged with them, put together an understandable plot, and resolve everything satisfactorily all in only a few words. So where an author might be excellent at a full length novel, they might have much more trouble writing a short story.
The first story is The Traveller by Lynn Kurland. This is definitely a story that seems "squished in" in short story format. The heroine is an out of work medieval researcher in New York City. She gets a letter from a friend, goes to sit on a park bench and POOF she is in medieval England. The idea that she managed in one instant to find the exact portal and the whole setup would have shone in a longer version, but here it seems forced. Her incessant hiccupping is an interesting but frustrating touch. I appreciate that the author attempts an explanation for how she can understand what they're saying. However, I'm never a fan for people who fall madly in love after looking at each other for 16 hours, so again that's a place where they story was forced to fit the guidelines. Even the end where the couple come back to modern times and the knight is obsessed with the fridge turns him into more of a "cute anomaly" rather than an intelligent, well rounded mature adult. This is definitely a story where I think it would have done well as a full length novel, but the author seems less skilled at writing a story perfectly suited for the short story format.
The second story is The Minstrel by Patricia Potter. This is a fairly typical story - knight pretends to be commoner, lady pretends to be commoner, and they fall in love with each other without the issues of greed and conniving they usually have to deal with. I do like the idea that people who are cynical about love can find their hearts opening up and able to trust. The problem is that the whole story *is* predictable. You even know the exact timeframe of how the romance will run out, thanks to a schedule set by the father. So then it's just a matter of waiting for the story to plod through. For several reasons I felt less than connected with both the hero and heroine.
The third story is The Bachelor Knight by Deborah Simmons. Every collection has to have its worst story, and this is the one here. A knight begins life as a poor waif and is taken in by a local lord. He falls in love with the lord's daughter - and she with him - but once he goes off into the real world he never returns to her. When the lord dies, she calls him back and forces him to marry her as part of a vow he's sworn. They both love each other, but both are full of pride and hurt from the separation and have to wear down their walls. Much of this story seems extremely forced, and the characters seem to act quite unnaturally. I actually found the main heroine character to be annoying and poorly developed. The annoyance level was high enough that I had to force myself to finish the story. That's pretty rare for me.
The final story is The Siege by Glynnis Campbell. This is by far the best story in this book for many reasons. First, it is EXCEPTIONAL as a well done short story, regardless of what genre you enjoy. There is superb character development, the storyline *naturally* fits into the time frame provided, and you get the full range of the story - the start, middle and end. This is definitely a story that "works" in the short story environment. Next, the characters are well drawn and quite believable. Where in other stories here the characters are a bit two dimensional in order to fit into the short format, here Glynnis has been able to describe and bring to life two individuals who have full personalities. They have flaws and strengths and backgrounds. You really believe that these characters are real people who would talk and act like this. Finally, the connection that grows between the characters is quite powerful and well done. He is a knight who is feared by the locals - she is the maid he has been forced to get engaged to by the King. They are trapped in a pitch dark, collapsed cave. The way they slowly learn to trust each other, and face their entrapment and potential death - is quite powerful. This is the type of story you can read over again several times and really relish the dialogue and the descriptions. Highly recommended.
It's always interesting to me how people enjoy different types of stories. One person can adore a simmering regency romance, while another person would rather read a swashbuckling Scottish romp. Whatever *styles* you enjoy, I think we can all agree that a well done, believable dialogue and character development is what makes any time frame story sing. I think what's great about a short story collection is that it exposes you to writers and time frames you might normally never read about, to learn about the authors who populate that world. I hope that this series exposes readers to Glynnis Campbell who might not normally have read her works, so they seek her out. There are some authors who can make any time period, and any environment, enjoyable and immersive. This is definitely the case here. Enjoy!
 4 Different Stories from 4 Different Authors September 13, 2006
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
I find it hard to rate books like these because you have to give an overall rating for four different stories. One of these stories was really quite good while the others were just okay.
1st Lynn Kurland's The Traveller-Julianna is a modern day unemployed woman with multiple degrees in ancient languages. She is sitting on a park bench reading a letter from her friend who lives in Scotland and believes in time travel when she herself is transported to a castle under siege in 1299. She is rescued by William de Piaget great grandson of Robin of Artane who made a vow to God to help all maidens in distress. William ends up losing his castle to save Julianna's life, but they fall in love and marry. They end up travelling back to the future and it is kind of comical to see how people adjust to different time eras. However, this short story loses what Lynn Kurland is a master at and that is taking the time to develop her characters so that you know how they think by the end. This story is just okay.
2nd-Patricia Potter-The Minstrel-I liked this story but once again it is just too short to really draw you in. Duncan is a wealthy lord who makes a vow to his dying mother to marry for love, so he disguises himself and travels as a minstrel to find a woman that will fall in love with him not his name and title. The only problem is his musical talents are limited. He meets Lynet in an open field and mistakenly believes she is a peasant woman. He hears her singing and asks her to meet him every day to give him music lessons. Lynet is really the daughter of a wealthy landowner who is being forced to marry. She must choose a suitable husband within a fortnight. When caught in a compromising position , Duncan is captured and Lynet threatened with being sent to a nunnery. No one realizes Duncan is a lord and would be perfect for Lynet...but then they escape together and things come together.
3rd Deborah Simmons-The Bachelor Knight-This is my least favorite of the four. Beren returns to his foster home and marries Guenivere to save her from being married to a land hungry lord. Each had secretly loved the other in their youth, but a bunch of misunderstandings lead them to believe the other has no feelings to return. I just couldn't warm up to this story and some parts never made sense.
4th Glynnis Campbell's The Siege-This was by far the best of the four short stories. Campbell comes close to delivering the perfect short story but you end up wishing for more. Hilaire is escaping through a tunnel in her family's keep to avoid a marriage by order of the King to the Black Gryphon. He is rumored to have killed his first three wives and when he comes to marry her she convinces her father to go under siege until she has time to escape. Ryance, the Black Gryphon, is misunderstood. He is not a violent, evil man, but one who suffered through a series of misfortunes and lost three wives and a daughter through no fault of his own. The king orders him to marry and produce an heir. He goes to meet his bride and when her father resists, rather than beat down the doors and risk injuring anyone, he decides to dig under the foundation. He is unaware his bride to be is in the tunnel attempting to escape him. Ryance ends up buried in a landslide and then hears a young woman crying for help. He manages to dig his way to her but realizes they are trapped and most likely will die without oxygen. Hilaire doesn't at first realize that her rescuer is her husband to be and she is amazed and charmed at how gentle he is and the pains he goes through to convince her he will get them out alive. He even digs through rocks until his nails come off to keep her calm until the end. Ryance wishes things were different and he could have ended up marrying and loving this young woman. He vows he will do everything in his power to make her final moments less terrifying. The two talk and open up to one another and fall in love within a short amount of time, when Hilaire finally realizes who Ryance is, she is remorseful and wishes she had done things differently. She knows he is not the person the rumors make them to be. I loved this story and wish it were a full novel. BTW, things work out better than you first believe.
 Stories 1 and 3 * * * Stories 2 and 4 * * * * * February 14, 2006
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
1. Lynn Kurland-* * * This story might have been better if it were more developed. It was okay, not boring but no pizazz at all. William of Artane was a pretty good hero and could have shined in a full length story. Julianna Nelson was adorable.
2. Patricia Potter- * * * * * This was a very charming, subtle story with great sentimental characters. Duncan, so handsome, and Lynet, a lovely and loyal person, were sweet together. It was a joy reading this one!
3. Deborah Simmons- * * * For the most part this story was quite boring, but it did pick up a bit - most notably with Guenivere's tearful confession of love to Beren.
4. Glynnis Campbell- * * * * * This was the other great story. Ryance was a great hero, very handsome and vulnerable in a charming sort of way, and Hilaire was very lovely. My only problem with this story was how to pronounce the names.
So-So April 28, 2005
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
This collection is worth reading solely for Lynn Kurland's story and it isn't one of her best. However, it could have been if they had been smart enough to have her write it as a full length novel. The other stories were boring as hell. I do not understand why the publisher persists in having Lynn write short stories. They are NOT her forte. She is too good an author to waste like that.
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