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A review by debraeve
Blood Lance by Jeri Westerson
5.0
Blood Lance represents the fifth outing of Crispin Guest, disgraced medieval knight. He was stripped of his title and lands for his part in a plot to overthrow the king so his mentor, John of Gaunt, could rule.
Crispin now roams the mean streets of 14th century London, eking out a living as the “Tracker” – finding goods and people who’ve gone missing. Sometimes, the odd murder and holy relic come his way.
This time he witnesses a body plummet from London Bridge. Crispin fishes the man from the river, but he’s already suspiciously dead. The rest of the plot involves a knight from Crispin’s past, a beautiful armorer’s daughter, the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, and the legendary Spear of Longinus (said to have pierced the side of Jesus).
The action culminates in a cinematic joust on London Bridge.
Rather than give away too much, here’s what I love about Blood Lance and all the Crispin Guest novels (beyond Crispin himself, who's the classic man's man and woman's man):
1. The creative melding of detective noir and medieval lore.
This may not seem like an obvious pairing at first, but consider the elements of a noir tale like Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon – the scrupulous, down-on-his luck detective, the lady in trouble, the search for a murderer and/or missing item.
Where did these come from? On some level, the Arthurian cycle and the quest for the Holy Grail – knight, damsel in distress, search for a person and/or a sacred object. Jeri Westerson has just put them back where they began.
2. The descriptions of medieval London.
I feel I’m right there, walking those urchin and offal-strewn streets with Crispin. The journey's half the fun.
3. The damsel in distress.
She’s not always blond, but I always think, “Crispin, not again. You know she’ll break your heart or your thick skull.” He never learns (once a knight, always a knight) and the damsels are never what you think.
Jeri Westerson knows Los Angeles and its detective noir tradition well. She cleverly ports the genre to medieval London and takes you on a rare adventure. If you like knights in shining armor, mysticism, mayhem, and the occasional dead body, you’ll love Blood Lance and the whole series.
(Disclosure: I won an advanced reading copy of Blood Lance by entering a contest on Jeri Westerson's blog. I'm desperately hoping for the same good fortune on Crispin's next outing!)
Crispin now roams the mean streets of 14th century London, eking out a living as the “Tracker” – finding goods and people who’ve gone missing. Sometimes, the odd murder and holy relic come his way.
This time he witnesses a body plummet from London Bridge. Crispin fishes the man from the river, but he’s already suspiciously dead. The rest of the plot involves a knight from Crispin’s past, a beautiful armorer’s daughter, the poet Geoffrey Chaucer, and the legendary Spear of Longinus (said to have pierced the side of Jesus).
The action culminates in a cinematic joust on London Bridge.
Rather than give away too much, here’s what I love about Blood Lance and all the Crispin Guest novels (beyond Crispin himself, who's the classic man's man and woman's man):
1. The creative melding of detective noir and medieval lore.
This may not seem like an obvious pairing at first, but consider the elements of a noir tale like Dashiell Hammett’s The Maltese Falcon – the scrupulous, down-on-his luck detective, the lady in trouble, the search for a murderer and/or missing item.
Where did these come from? On some level, the Arthurian cycle and the quest for the Holy Grail – knight, damsel in distress, search for a person and/or a sacred object. Jeri Westerson has just put them back where they began.
2. The descriptions of medieval London.
I feel I’m right there, walking those urchin and offal-strewn streets with Crispin. The journey's half the fun.
3. The damsel in distress.
She’s not always blond, but I always think, “Crispin, not again. You know she’ll break your heart or your thick skull.” He never learns (once a knight, always a knight) and the damsels are never what you think.
Jeri Westerson knows Los Angeles and its detective noir tradition well. She cleverly ports the genre to medieval London and takes you on a rare adventure. If you like knights in shining armor, mysticism, mayhem, and the occasional dead body, you’ll love Blood Lance and the whole series.
(Disclosure: I won an advanced reading copy of Blood Lance by entering a contest on Jeri Westerson's blog. I'm desperately hoping for the same good fortune on Crispin's next outing!)