Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor

Sir Quinlan and the Swords of Valor by Chuck Black

My boys love books with swords and men fighting. I like a book to have a good moral lesson. In this book we both win. This is the 5th book in The Knights of Arrethtrae series but each book in the series seems to stand alone. We have not read any of the other books in the series and yet have not been 'lost' in the story or feel like we are missing something.

This book is an allegory where characters represent figures in the bible. The two main characters are Tav and Twitch. Both characters have 'real' names but Tav and Twitch are their nicknames. When Twitch starts to follow what God is calling him to do, his name switches to his real name. It kind of reminded me of Paul / Saul - when Paul was doing God's work he was called Paul but when he was not following God's will for his life he was called Saul.

The names of many of the characters are significant and mean something beyond just being a name. Bli is short for blindness and is a character that causes Tav and Twitch to be blind toward their purpose in life. Bli is leading them astray but they are too blind to realize it.

This book has wonderful discussion questions found in the back at the book. It would actually make a great book for a middle school level book discussion. Great for the homeschooling crowd. Currently, I am using this book as a read aloud with my 11 and 7 year old. My 11 year old could easily read this book himself but we are enjoying reading it together - and then going through the questions at the end of each chapter. There are many scripture references listed and we take the time to look them up and read them aloud. My kids love the book. I highly recommend this book.

It is just so wonderful to find a great book for middle school aged boys that also is Christ-centered. That is so rare in today's world and so appreciated. My family loves this book so much we are looking to buy the rest in the series. I am just thrilled to find a series that is intriguing to boys - it has chivalry, knights, weapons, sword fighting, a code of honor --- what wonderful appealing things for boys! Yet, it is also seeking to lead the reader to the bible and Christ.

I received this book from WaterBrook Maltnomah Publishers for the sole purpose of reading and doing this review.