Charlemagne vs. Marsilion
September 5, 2008, filed under: Characters, by LexI doubt there’s another king who transcends history and mythology the way Charlemagne does. Historically, he was a unique ruler who emphasized education, tolerated different religions and encouraged cultural expansion. In some mythologies he is the perfect king, betrayed by those closest to him. In other stories he appears strangely cranky and unreasonable. In The Song Of Roland, Charlemagne is a two-hundred-year old paragon of virtue and God’s strongest vassal–he miraculously holds back the sun, so the day will linger while he slaughters Saracens!
In my story, Charlemagne is a powerful presence who succumbs to the treachery of Ganelon. His country is falling apart around him and the only thing that can beat back an invading Saracen horde are France’s exiled heroes!
That Saracen horde is led by Marsilion, King of Zaragoza. In league with the traitorous Ganelon, Marsilion will do whatever he can to claim France for the Crescent. In the original Song of Roland, Marsilion doesn’t do much beyond connive and scheme behind his throne. He leaves the dirty work to his commanders and in the final fight against Charlemagne he enlists the aid of the King of Babylon, Baligant, who actually fights the French King. My version of Marsilion merges the original with Baligant, to give us a deadly man of action!
Write-up in School Library Journal
September 2, 2008, filed under: News, by Lex
My publisher recently informed me that Kid Beowulf and the Blood-Bound Oath got a good write-up in the September issue of School Library Journal! I’ve been told this is a pretty big deal for a small press book like KidB so hopefully it will lead to some more goodness down the road. Among other things, SLJ called the book: “A lively blend of humor and soap-opera plot twists.†You can read the rest of the review at the link above. Whoo-hoo!