Children of the Knight

Children of the Knight

by Michael J. Bowler

published by Harmony Ink

June 2013

ISBN 978-1-62380-656-9

Why Read?: Review

Challenges: YA Mythology, 100 Books in a Year

In Children of the Knight, Michael J. Bowler explores what it would be like if King Arthur came back to today's Los Angeles, and who he might choose as his round table if he did.  This is a highly imaginative yet realistic novel that will appeal to teens and adults alike.

A mysterious tagger has been painting a weird symbol all over LA.  Police are baffled.  So is Lance, a homeless skater kid, when he first meets the strange man who rides and horse and lives in the sewer.  Soon, though, Lance comes to believe this man - the first to ever really care about him - is the King Arthur, returned as prophesied.  The adults are not so sure, but the downtrodden kids who look to Arthur to lead them, know it is real.  He has come to help the children reclaim their rightful place in society, but how has he returned and why now?

The publisher of this novel is Harmony Ink, and that is really what Children of the Knight is all about.  Whether Arthur really is the King Arthur of legend, he teaches the kids how to work together, no matter what their background, gender, race, or sexual orientation.  Bowler does an amazing job getting this message across with some very in-depth and complex main and supporting characters.  There are quite a few characters, though, and some of the bit players do get lost in the shuffle.  However, that is to be accept in a book where the main character is building an army. 

Children of the Knight is a wonderful contemporary read with fantastic elements thrown in.  Michael J. Bowler has a message and gets it across, while still keeping the novel an engaging read for a variety of ages.

Rating 4/5