White Rose of Night

Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite Mel Keegan books...
Review: I stumbled unto this book by accident and have to note I enjoyed it immensely. Some of the historical accuracy is a bit off, and don't read it if you're looking for looks of battle scenes - The story focuses mostly on the relationship between a saxon knight and his squire (told from the squire's point of view). The plot isn't very original in some regards but it's still a nice romance.

Only real problem- Mel Keegan needs a better editor. His books always have misprints and grammar errors. But gay romance novels are hard to find and if you have a chance to purchase this one it's worth the money....

Rating:
Summary: A rose by any other name
Review: Think THE PERSIAN BOY meets THE PRINCE AND THE PAGE. A couple of things keep WHITE ROSE OF NIGHT from being one of Mel Keegan's better books, and it grieves me to point them out, but then it grieved me to read them too.

Fifteen year-old Paul Delgado, our narrator, signs on as squire to Sir Edward of Aethelstan, a Saxon knight "who likes a comely youth," bound for the Holy Land and the Crusades. So far so good.

Now ask yourself why anyone would want to read a novel set in the time of the Crusades? Could it be the adventure, romance and pageantry with which knights in shining armor and their mortal combats are traditionally (and--alas--mistakenly, we now know with the perspicacity of modern sensibility) viewed? Well of course! We want IVANHOE from a gay perspective. Idylls of the Queen. We want action heroes chock full of chivalry and honor and sacrifice and all that pomp and glory stuff so sadly out of fashion. But WHITE ROSE OF NIGHT isn't that book, and the politically correct (or at least indulged) viewpoints of its central characters grate like fingernails on a buckler.

Zounds! Central characters. We've got the single-minded (one might say fixated) Paul, the boy who cain't say no, a lad with a penchant for getting lost in sandstorms. Paul becomes annoying early on--to the point where one wishes the same fate might befall him that befell young Richard, the saintly hero of THE PRINCE AND THE PAGE. Then we've got Sir Edward, who at best is vacillating and weak. Sir Edward spends a lot of time brooding over his second-class citizen status (Boo hoo, Sir Saxon Wolf. Now you know how the Britons felt) and pouring over maps. He is a noble knight who hates bloodshed, hates the Crown and hates the Church. Sir Edward doesn't believe in the Crusade; he's only there to impress his dying father-in-law-to-be (Don't ask). The big tension between Paul and Edward (since they share the same 20th Century worldview) is that Edward refuses to sleep with Paul through a quarter of the book for fear of being caught and castrated, etc.

Not that this wouldn't give pause for thought, but it is apparently the ONLY thought these gentle knights have. Sex. That's it. That's the book. Everything else is so much ermine trim. I could go on and on picking at the seams, but that would not be constructive. I respect the research and enthusiasm that went into this novel. One of the promotional blurbs reads something like, "the book Mel Keegan fans have been waiting for." Suffice it to say, it's not.

Rating:
Summary: Rip roaring adventure!
Review: Very sexy story set in the Crusades. Gorgeous characters, sweet love and hot sex.

If you're looking for a gay novel that doesn't have anything to do with modern problems or AIDS then buy this book. If you want pure escapism then this is the read for you.

A sexy romp and a darn good story too!

Rating:
Summary: Rip roaring adventure!
Review: Very sexy story set in the Crusades. Gorgeous characters, sweet love and hot sex.

If you're looking for a gay novel that doesn't have anything to do with modern problems or AIDS then buy this book. If you want pure escapism then this is the read for you.

A sexy romp and a darn good story too!