The Ballad Of Sir Dinadan (2005) - Plot & Excerpts
Summary:Young Dinadan has no wish to joust or quest or save damsels in distress or do any of the knightly things ex-pected of him. But he was born to be a knight, and knights, of course, have adventures. So after his father forces his knighthood upon him, he wanders toward King Arthur’s court in the company of a misguided young Welsh lad named Culloch. There Dinadan meets Sir Kai and Sir Bedivere, and the three find themselves accompanying Culloch on the worst sort of quest.Along the way, Dinadan writes his own ballads, singing of honor, bravery, loyalty, and courtly love—and learns that while minstrels sing of spectacular heroic deeds, honor is often found in simpler, quieter ways.(goodreads.com)Review:If there is anything I love more than anything, it's a good fairytale. I adore them. I've read Gerald Morris before, known for retelling medieval tales, and I wasn't to keen on reading him again. But I decided to give him another chance because lets face it, most authors have some bad books and some good ones. So I picked up The Ballad of Sir Dinadan. Sir Dinadan himself was the star of the story. At a humiliating feast, he becomes a knight, even though he wants to travel as a minstrel. Through his adventures he meets some funny characters, downright nasty people, and greedy wealthy ones. There are too many characters to get into but I loved Dinadan. He was not the best swordsman, but he used his wits. He could analyze a situation and know what had to happen. I loved his sarcasm and his character development. He grows from a knight not knowing what to do in the world to a man following his heart. Throughout the book there are silly knights fighting, magic, and quests. It was the perfect "get away book". It was something fun to read. It had me cracking up a times. Some of the stories and people were just so absurd. I absolutely loved it! I love Gerald Morris retelling's but the plot was overwhelming at times. They go from one place to another. There are a lot of characters as well. Even so, I still loved it. I recommend this to anyone looking for a fun read they can easily finish. Anyone who loves fairytales medieval tales. All in all I give The Ballad of Sir Dinadan a 3.5/5!
The first four books in The Squire’s Tales have had humour in them, but they never reached into the realm of laugh-out-loud humour. The Ballad of Sir Dinadan does because of Sir Dinadan’s attitude toward love and knights and because of the sheer craziness of some situations he gets into. This is the most cynical, irreverent take on the Arthurian legends and I absolutely love it. In some ways, it makes the first four books seem pale in comparison.This is the first time we’re actually in the point of view of a knight. The problem is, he doesn’t want to be a knight. Dinadan is no good at sword fighting, jousting or wooing ladies. He is cynical to begin with because his father knighted him while drunk, but he is also hopeful that the world outside his childhood home will be better. But after an incident with a beautiful maiden, Dinadan turns full cynic and that attitude is proven correct time and time again throughout the story. The ineptness of Culloch, the horror of discovering what his older brother Sir Tristram is actually like and the folly of Queen Isuelt…wouldn’t you be cynical too?The plot of The Ballad of Sir Dinadan moves along fairly quickly and is mostly driven by Dinadan, who seems to get himself into all kinds of trouble. He also solves a lot of problems and encounters a lot of people we now consider legendary in the Arthurian canon. To some it will seem like Gerald Morris is going out of his way to be irreverent toward beloved figures, but when you think about it, these people (if they really existed) were probably like that. I guarantee that Gerald Morris’ fifth book in The Squire’s Tales will change your view of at least one character. If you’re looking for a traditional happy ending, you won’t find it, but the ending isn’t tragic either. In the context of the story, it makes sense.I give this book 5/5 stars.
What do You think about The Ballad Of Sir Dinadan (2005)?
I want to say I really liked this, because it was really fun -- light-hearted, not too concerned about the 'spirit' of the old stories, ready enough to laugh and actually, in one respect at least, unpredictable. (view spoiler)[Dinadan and Brangienne didn't end up in some forced love story! Trope averted! (hide spoiler)]
—Nikki
What more could a knight want than great foes to defeat, honor to defend, and damsels in distress to save? Sir Dinadan could do with much less. He wants no enemies or honor or damsels. He simply wants to be free to play his rebec and retell tales of heroes past and present. However, since he was forced to become a knight, he is whisked away on knightly endeavors much to his dismay. These adventures give him the inspiration for many songs and the opportunity to help those who would otherwise be helpless. Such tales and deeds bring him fame and honor as one of the great Knights of the Round Table.
—Brandon
This entry is the weakest in the series so far, but that means it's merely "very good" instead of excellent. Despite this being titled a Ballad, the prose is actually more straightforward with less wry wit than the previous ones -- it's getting dangerously close to simple sarcasm. Many of the characters are stupid and boring (by design), so the writing matches them, but it's still not as enjoyable to read so much about these idiots. Morris' fresh take on an old Welsh story from the Mabinogion (the winning of Olwen) and the story of Tristram and Isolde is fun except for the characters involved. I could have used a little more "zany" in the characterization, like with less intelligent characters from previous books, and a little less "repetitively stultifying".It's still very much worth reading, even (once again) the author's note where Morris explains how even though medieval minstrels were, alas, not Shakespeare, both Shakespeare and the rest of English literature owe them an incalculable debt for preserving and developing a rich collection of stories. I did enjoy the author's inclusion of ballad / poetry excerpts in the story, especially now knowing they were pulled from actual medieval examples. Ironically, the one I liked least was the very last, which turns out to actually BE Shakespeare (Twelfth Night).One of the first scenes, where Dinadan receives his first quest and must liberate a castle from its evil usurper, was very well done; I wish the rest of the scenes were more like that one. I was close to rating this 3 stars, but Dinadan turning down getting the girl at the end bumped it back up (don't worry, that's not a big spoiler). I have to admit a fondness for that kind of ending, like in the great movie Big Trouble in Little China.
—Jacob
