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Date Posted: 16:59:40 01/31/04 Sat
Author: Syl
Subject: The Black Knave

The latest review from Anja G. Sounds like a good one! Thanks, Anja!


TITLES IN SERIES: The Black Knave, The Heart Queen, The Diamond King

AUTHOR: Patricia Potter

GENRE: Historical fiction, based on fact


These books are a pretty good read. They deal with the after-math of Culloden--it's kinda like the "filler" that we don't get to hear about while Jamie is hiding in the cave and Claire has gone back to the future.

The Black Knave tells the story of an unlikely hero who becomes a legend in his own time. The legend he creates carries on throughout The Heart Queen and a bit of The Diamond King.

The sex scenes are "OK". Potter seemed to follow a pattern; two kissing scenes, a sex scene, rebuff, another sex scene, and finally the culmination of the relationship. The accents are a little flaky, too. She does, however, make a distinction between the Highlands accent and the Lowlands accent; perhaps that is why they seem unnatural to me.

The reading is not quite so "dense" as the Outlander Series; Potter does not go into some of the historical detail that Gabaldon does, but she does a fair job of describing people, fashions, and housing. There is discussion of English-loyal Scots clans, and their perception by Jacobite Scots; therefore many discussions of loyalty to one party or another, with examples and explanations of political intrigue.

I did really like the books, though. There were several times when I didn't want to put the book I was reading down, because I was getting to an exciting part. Sometimes it was easy to guess what was going to happen, other times she threw a twist into the story, just to make things interesting.

If I were to grade these books, I would give them a "B". I liked the fact that Potter wrote books about a difficult time period, without making either the Jacobites or the Loyalists seem like monsters. She portrayed Lord Cumberland accurately, as well as other real historical figures of the time.

If you want an easy read (I read all three books in about 5 days) I would recommend the Black Knave Series.

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Replies:

[> Thanks, Anja. Great review. -- Judie, 14:33:58 02/01/04 Sun


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[> Sounds like my kind of thing, Anja. Thanks! I'll check them out next time I'm at the library. -- Kylie McA, 18:50:48 02/01/04 Sun


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[> Thanks, Anja, I have not read these books but they do sound like 'my cup of tea' *G* so as soon as I finish the Master and Commander series I will check them out! -- Samantha, 18:38:01 02/05/04 Thu


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[> These books are definitely Outlander Lite, but they're all good reads. They go fast, keep your interest, and you find yourself caring about the characters. I enjoyed this series and read more of her backlist because of them Thanks for the review. -- Valerie L., 21:11:39 02/05/04 Thu


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[> Thanks Anja, I am struggling to find time to read at the moment but I'm noting all these down and when my college work is over I'll be having a reading fest. Cant wait. -- Gwen, 09:29:18 02/06/04 Fri


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