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The knights of the round table are alive in Vancouver, but when one winds up dead, it’s clear the familiar stories have taken a left turn. Hildie, a Valkyrie and the investigator assigned to the case, wants to find the killer ― and maybe figure her life out while she’s at it. On her short list of suspects is Wayne, an autistic college student and the reincarnation of Sir Gawain, who these days is just trying to survive in a world that wasn’t made for him. After finding himself at the scene of the crime, Wayne is pulled deeper into his medieval family history while trying to navigate a new relationship with the dean’s charming assistant, Burt ― who also happens to be a prime murder suspect. To figure out the truth, Wayne and Hildie have to connect with dangerous forces: fallen knights, tricky runesmiths, the Wyrd Sisters of Gastown. And a hungry beast that stalks Wayne’s dreams.
The Winter Knight is a propulsive urban fairy tale and detective story with queer and trans heroes that asks what it means to be a myth, who gets to star in these tales, and ultimately, how we make our stories our own.
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Creators
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Publisher
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Release date
April 4, 2023 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780593787472
- File size: 373103 KB
- Duration: 12:57:17
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Languages
- English
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Reviews
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February 13, 2023
The knights of the round table are reincarnated in modern-day Vancouver in this playful murder mystery take on the Arthurian mythos. Battis (Bleeding Out) puts a queer and neurodivergent spin on familiar characters to explore a theme of moving past others’ expectations to control one’s own narrative. University provost Mo Penley (a reincarnation of Mordred) is decapitated at a party hosted by university dean Morgan Arcand (aka Morgana). Wayne (Gawain), a young autistic man dragged to the party by his professor aunt Vera (Guinevere), finds the body during a flirtatious moment with Morgan’s assistant Bert (the Green Knight), catapulting him to the top of the suspect list for Valkyrie investigator Hildie. To clear his name, Wayne must lean into his knightly heritage and engage the possibility that the questing beast haunting his dreams has a presence in the real world. Meanwhile, Hildie navigates an overbearing mother and a budding relationship with the youngest of the Wyrd Sisters. Battis handles the psychology of the reincarnated characters well, balancing their awareness of past lives with their present-day agendas. Weaving endearing queer coming-of-age threads throughout the mythically grounded mystery, this satisfying reimagining delivers. -
This queer fantasy, primarily narrated by Gail Shalan and Dylan Kiedman, features the Knights of the Round Table reborn in present-day Vancouver. Hildie, voiced gently by Shalan, is a Valkyrie who is assigned to investigate the murder of a knight. Shalan's reserved tone and breathy timbre complement the slow pace of the narrative as clues to the killer unfold. Kiedman portrays the reincarnation of the knight Sir Gawain, now a college student on the autism spectrum who is believed to have committed the murder. His chapters are narrated with passion, but sometimes the story's high action flattens its emotional content. Nicky Endres, Lee Osorio, and Gabra Zackman join the ensemble toward the end with perspectives and stories that help listeners keep everything straight. A.K.R. © AudioFile 2023, Portland, Maine
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