THE BEAST, THE QUEEN, AND THE LOST KNIGHT

Knights-in-training Caedmon Tuggle and Ellie Bettlebump return in this follow-up to 2022’s The Witch, the Sword, and the Cursed Knights.

Good friends Caedmon, 13, and Ellie, nearly 13, have been given their first quest: to protect a royal wedding. But when banished monsters break through the protective spells and Princess Lorelei, another friend and knight-in-training, erupts in unregistered witch magic, Ellie takes the fall. At her trial, a frustrated Ellie is fitted with a permanent collar that mutes her magic. She later discovers she has dangerous Chaos magic inside her. Ellie meets with the sorcerer Malgwyn, to whom she owes a blood debt, and he tells her to steal the sword Excalibur, which he can use to obtain “the jewel from the belly of the beast.” Meanwhile, Caedmon is charged by the wizard Merlin to bring Lancelot back into the Knights of the Round Table, while Lancelot himself is after the same jewel. So begins the setup of this ambitious fantasy, which strives to pit the two friends against each other. There is imagination galore here, not to mention an abundance of mythical and legendary characters and a meaningful theme of loyalty to one’s friends. However, the story needs a stronger foundation to support and strengthen the fundamentals of the plot, which include a dizzying number of ideas, tenuous connections, and conveniently timed appearances.

An undeniably imaginative story in need of more cohesive execution.