Peter Last

THOUGHTS…

     The Archer’s Son is a work of historical fiction set in the early 1400’s and chronicling one of the many attempts of England to invade and hold lands in France. The story follows Hedyn, a young boy eager to go with the fighting men but who quickly learns real war is not the romanticized version of his young mind.

     The plot of this book is event driven, a style typical for historical fiction, and because history overarchingly dictated what happened in the story, the plot twists will not surprise anyone with knowledge of the time period the story encompasses. Coincidence is used to draw connections between characters a few too many times and detracts from the story’s believability. Conversely, great attention is given to the historic details and accuracy which, coupled with effective descriptions, helps the story come alive in a way many stories never do.

     The writing mechanics and style of the novel are good, including excellent metaphors and analogies. Unfortunately, the nearly perfect adherence to grammatical rules and conventions sometimes creates stilted conversations when considering the plot focused on a lowly peasant’s son. Paradoxically, dialect is utilized so heavily in some cases it is occasionally difficult to decipher what is being said. Despite these few shortcomings, the writing contributes favorably to the novel.

     Character development suffers because events drive the story rather than characters driving the events. This is a weakness of the architype the novel follows more than a lack of effort. Most characters are caricatures of well-known stereotypes (i.e. the pompous noble, the mysterious stranger) and even the main character suffers from this ailment. He is a new soldier, green behind the ears, and is given all the undesirable jobs you would expect and makes all the mistakes as per usual. By contrast, one very unusual aspect is employed here with regards to Hedyn. Rather than forcing him into a warrior role sooner than is realistic, Mr. Hubbs seems content to leave him in an untested status the entire book which creates two effects. First, there is no miraculously unrealistic transformation from unskilled to proficient warrior which helps to sell the idea that the story could have been real. Also, it allows the reader to stay outside most of the action, seeing it mostly as an observer, similarly to how history is studied.

     This G. A. Henty-esque novel is ultimately an engrossing and enjoyable ride through a lesser-known part of European history. Though the plot is historically driven, it utilizes a part of history not well known to the average person, allowing a few twists to still be utilized. Additionally, historically accurate detail allows the story to take on a realistic light. The writing is easy to read with no discernable errors which detracted from the reading. Dialogue is sometimes either too stilted or vice versa, but in the end, it doesn’t detract from the reading. Finally, the characters are the weakest part of the story relying too much on caricatures; however, the main character is effectively written and utilized. In conclusion, The Archer’s Son is a solid effort to introduce history to children, perfect for the reading list of young teens.