THE TABLE OF LESS VALUED KNIGHTS

Marie Phillips Random House Canada

SIR Humphrey du Val isn’t one of the knights of King Arthur’s Round Table; he isn’t even one of the lower-status knights of the Table of Errant Companions – he sits at the table of Less Valued Knights in a draughty corner with the other no-hopers and has-beens.

When he gets the chance to go on a quest, however, he grabs it, taking his giant squire Conrad (who’s on the short side for a giant) and his elephant Jemima to seek the golden-haired damsel Elaine’s kidnapped fiancé.

The picaresque plot features plenty of jousts and castles, an enchanted sword, a sex change and no fewer than three men in iron masks.

It’s the Arthurian world as it might have been written up by Douglas Adams, and is very good fun, too.

– The Independent