February Read: Sir Knight of the Splendid Way

Hello everyone! I’m back with my review of my February read, Sir Knight of the Splendid Way by W.E Cule! I hope you all enjoy it!

The Synopsis (Taken from Goodreads)

Sir Knight of the Splendid Way is a captivating allegory-a rich literary masterpiece that will encourage any weary traveler. This beautifully bound work depicts life as a journey, reaching toward a beacon of hope in the City of the Great King. Beckoned by the King to travel the Splendid Way, the young knight must keep his armor on at all cost. All along the way he is challenged and tempted to take his armor off. Many try to convince him that the battle is not worth the fight. Only those who keep their armor on are able to see the real battle that rages before them, and only those with a pure heart will keep their armor on.

Content Review:

Positive Messages: This book was a strong allegory, very similar to Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. The main character, Sir Constant, honors and respects those older and wiser than him, and followed their warnings. He is also a very realistic character, having his share of battles (usually literal battles, but they represent the inward struggles of man), and failures, as well as temptations he must overcome.

There are also stories of other characters whom Sir Constant meets. There is the story of Sir Ardent, who has good motives, but he doesn’t do anything to act on them. There is also the story of the Nameless Knight, which especially affected me. He wanted to do all these great things for Christ, but instead got stuck being being a well-keeper his entire life. Yet he learns that his faithfulness in little has made him great in the eyes of the King. And finally there is the story of the poor lady who helps a beggar man, and who’s good deed outweighed all the riches a nobleman in the same city had.

The main message of the book is the most important: as a Christian, we must constantly keep our eyes on the Lord. We cannot do it by ourselves, and if we take our eyes off of Him, we will stray from His path. It teaches a very important lesson for all Christians to take to heart.

Rating: 5/5

Spiritual Content: Obviously, as a deeply Christian book, this has much spiritual content. Multiple characters represent Christ, such as a Shepherd and a Gardener. The main symbol of Christ in the book, however, is called “the Vision of the Face” which the main character experiences at the beginning of his journey.

There is also characters who symbolize the devil and his angels, such as the Black Knight, the Grey Questioner, and the false Sir Joyous.

Other characters represent angels and other Christians in the Christian walk. Heaven is referred to as “City Splendid” and “City of the Great King”, the “Great King” being God.

And then, obviously, there are characters who pray and experience visions. There are Scriptures written out before each chapter, so they’re not in the story, but they’re there.

Some people who aren’t used to reading Christian books might think this story is a little “preachy”, but in my opinion, it is an excellent Christian read that isn’t pushy, but convicting, making me look at my own life as a “knight” of Christ and seeing how I can and should improve in my Christian life.

Rating: 5/5

Romantic Content: There was no romance at all in this book, so I will not be adding a rating for this category this time.

Violent Content: As I mentioned before, there are knightly battles in this book. None are graphic, nor are any wounds mentioned in details. There is a mention of someone bleeding to death, and someone getting “cleaved through the head”, but references such as these are the extent of the details.

Other minor moments consist of a nobleman hitting a beggar with a lance, harming him, and a character goes through a place thickly covered in brambles, cutting his feet, hands, and forehead.

Rating: 4.5/5

Language: There was no crude or bad language in this book that I can recall!

Rating: 5/5

Other Negative Content: There is a character who drinks wine. However, it is later shown that the wine is a something to confuse the character’s mind and make him vulnerable. It also represents the addictiveness of gossip.

Like my last book, this book is also written in Old English, though some of the words have been simplified. There is also a glossary in the back of the book for those who may be confused by some of the words. However, if you just want to read for enjoyment and are not accustomed to the Old English terms, this may be a harder book for you to enjoy.

The allegorical part of the book was hard to understand at first. It took me a couple chapters of reading to actually begin to understand that there were multiple characters who were representing Christ, instead of just one, as well as what some of the allegorical symbols represented.

The transitions between the chapters were also a little… bumpy. It would go from one scene and hop to the character being back on the road somewhere, a little ways further ahead on his journey (or so I’m assuming). I wish the author would have picked up the chapter right after the other chapter ended, or connected the chapters a little better, as often I was trying to picture the world in my head and I had to adjust from being in a forest one chapter to suddenly being in a valley, for example. So it was a little confusing for me.

A small thing that also confused me was the timing of the story. I didn’t think that much time passed from the beginning to the end. The beginning of the book opened with Sir Constant, the main character, being a young esquire and becoming a knight. However, towards the end of the book, there was suddenly a reference to wrinkles, as if he was old. It… kinda surprised me and made me go, “oh, okay then.”

Finally, the ending. I really loved the ending, it was very emotional, and that’s saying a lot for someone like me who’s not really emotionally affected by books very much. In fact, the story of Sir Nameless and the ending were the only two places I actually felt super emotionally impacted. However, one major thing disappointed me about the ending, which is why I’m mentioning it here. Sir Constant met a lot of people on his journey, and if, as I mentioned above, he was an old man at the end when he *spoilers* reaches the King’s City, then most of the people he met in his journey would also probably be there. Yet we didn’t get so much as a single reunion with ONE of them! It really disappointed me, but hey, maybe I’ll just write my own reunion chapter for the book! Just kidding, but really, it would have made the ending that much more satisfying had there been a reunion between him and all these old characters.

Rating: 3/5

Total Content Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Personal Review:

For the most part, I enjoyed this book! I love books about knights and adventure, and this one had both, with a really clear Christian message to boot! I also was glad there was no romance in this book, as I’m very picky with romance, and it’s seldom I find a book without romance in it. So that was also a plus for me personally. The commitment of the main character to Christ was also a major plus to me, and it has encouraged me personally to evaluate my own life and see if I can’t work on becoming a better Christian myself.

As I mentioned before, the beginning was a little confusing for me, trying to figure out what all the allegorical symbols meant, but as I read along, they gradually came to me. The confusing timing and uneven transitions were the main issue I had with this book, but I’m hoping when I listen to the corresponding dramatic audio CDs, it will smooth out those spots! However, because of the confusion they caused me, it has made me rate this book at four stars.

Would I recommend this book? For anyone who enjoys reading allegorical books set in a medieval time, written in Old English, and with a strong Christian message, a resounding yes!

Personal Rating: 4/5 stars

Thanks for reading my review! Do you think you will read this book? Have you read this book? Let me know in the comments below! May you have a God blessed rest of the month! ~ Kay Leigh