The Bright Sword for Restless Readers

**“The Bright Sword”** (Not a child’s book) By Lev Grossman Published Penguin Random House UK 2024

In case you don’t believe me, or dislike the book on principle, please try to read at least a bit of it to gauge the true essence of Lev Grossman’s blockbusting novel “The Bright Sword”.

It is a bit daunting to praise a book which has already received glowing recommendations from Rebecca Yarros and George R.R. Martin. Also the first mentions of King Arthur go back to ancient Welsh poetry from the sixth to the tenth centuries.

But I will plough onward lest there is a reader out there at a place called Wits End with a teenager who does not read. Worry not, this is the book for them. Or any jaded reader really. Sure it’s often a bit gruesome and a large tome but you can get it in different formats – the sheer readability, the accessibility of this tale cannot be underestimated. Parents and Medieval cognoscenti, move out from under estimated and go forth into early Britain badlands as never been scribed before.
(Please note the castle and items photographed with the book are NOT part of the package).

Snippets from my Goodreads review to further tempt non-readers:
Gretchen Bernet-Ward said: “A heavy book (weight-wise) but a highly enjoyable read ✨ Ten stars for this one!” Review posted Goodreads September 2025.

REVIEW: I received a brand new copy of this enthralling tale, or dare I say voluminous tome? “The Bright Sword”, written by author Lev Grossman over a ten year period. It could have been a series but this paperback is 5cm (2 inches) thick with 670 pages not counting the historical note. Think James A. Michener’s blockbusters but don’t despair. It is already a winner! I was keen to get started because it was guaranteed that it would be a while before I could write my review. This is a contemporary take on a very old story and is shaped into something akin to medieval social commentary or something like army bros on reconnoitre. Non-reader teenagers and adults will enjoy it. I have always been a fan of King Arthur, Sir Lancelot, Morgan le Fay, wizard Merlin and those who live in Camelot so I guess it was inevitable I would give notice of intent to read and plough on regardless.

LATER: Well, I had to concede tiredness and take off my reading glasses for awhile. An absorbing tome, male-centric (followed by the age of Guinevere) with a layer of topical subjects like social justice, war, rights, royal privilege, rich and poor, chunks of fantasy, dreams, visions, an angel fight, modern language (not too hip) and general non-glorification of what the middle ages were like to live in way back when dragons breathed fire. See chapter eleven “The Tale Of Sir Palomides” for a satirical ye-olde take on medieval Britain; or Knights in convo “Lancelot is the last of the great ones,” Constantine said gravely, “he’s not like us, he’s a hero.”

FAVES: My aunties said Mary Stewart’s Merlin Trilogy rules (I’m a Heath Ledger fan of “A Knight’s Tale“) but this twisty-turny meeting with sorcerer Merlin is well done, creepy, prophetic and offers touches of universal Monty Python humour in a live-or-die situation. Nimue, The Boss, does some nifty moves on sly Merlin, and has some good words to impart. Of course there is also sad and gruesome stuff involving battles and pitting of wits. My favourite chapter is Fourteen “The Well of Ink” a master class in creating an easily imagined scene even though it is nothing like I have ever experienced. Likeable lads, the knights Bedivere and country boy Collum are in Cornwall, one of the unconquered lands which has not fallen to the Romans so what hope have these guys got? Just the same there is some beautiful/scary written imagery as the scenes dissolve like CGI special effects.

MUST-READ: All in all, perhaps this will become my favourite King Arthur version. Galahad is mentioned and Guinevere plays it cool “Welcome to Avalon,” then comes the Saxon refugees. Later in the land of Pict, a sardonic Dinadan quote “Great, you can give us a tour of the finer coastal haystacks.” Stay with it, I really enjoyed the story and think a variety of readers will love it. If I was so inclined I would say this tale leans toward a universal awareness. A portrayal of semi-factual lifestyles, ancient battles and ongoing things readers may loosely compare to present day. The physical book is impressive but an e-book or author-read audio book is available. Read it before the movie!

💗 Gretchen Bernet-Ward 2025

Two Brilliant Books for Young Readers

Just could not go past these two new children’s books without buying them! I am sure many younger and older readers will enjoy reading them too. One is fabulous fun with fine furry friends, and the other is an exciting adventure with intrepid young orphans in the big city. Read on…

A truly delightful book from start to finish. In ‘Hazel’s Treehouse’ author Zanni Louise has created adorable characters and oh so wonderful dialogue between a young girl Hazel and her four Australian bush animal friends. The treehouse is a snug place from which stories unfold and adventures begin. There are lovely little kindness explanations from Hazel when things go awry or plans go askew. She is like the older sister with rambunctious siblings, the one who peps things up or calms things down by showing a different way of looking at situations; particularly taming the dark before bedtime. But not always, as in ‘Small Pants Friday’ the rainy-stuck-inside-day when everyone gets a bit grumbly.

Then there’s Kevin, their new neighbour who has a continent-sized smile but a troubling agenda which causes Poky echidna to turn a bothered colour of grey. I’ll let you find out how that turns out. In ‘Hazel’s Treehouse’ the creativity, seasonal indoor and outdoor fun are beautifully rendered by Judy Watson, her joyous illustrations enhance the story and my favourite character is Odette, an active pademelon wallaby. When a little burst of reading happiness is needed, it is well worth having this gem on your kidlit bookshelf. Also suitable for a little bit of inspiration on those long lazy summer holidays. GBW 2024

Totally besotted with this book! I have read and adored previous books by author/illustrator Judith Rossell, featuring intrepid Stella Montgomery, and loved the stories so much I couldn’t wait to get my hands on a hardcover copy of ‘The Midwatch’ featuring unwanted orphan Maggie Fishbone and her adventures in what I think may be a parallel universe; although disconcertingly similar to early twentieth century America.

Maggie is banished to the notorious Midwatch Institute for Orphans and everything happens from there. Immersive, detailed and beautifully illustrated this is so unlike the world I inhabit yet similar at the same time. It is a story of fearless kind brave clever young characters speaking in the vernacular of that time, ready to face airships, scary monsters and villains. What does the ritzy Tiergarten Hotel hold..? A wardrobe but no lion, something far more ferocious. Then humour pops up at unexpected times.

Chapter 14, in the city library, is one of my favourites. “Nell’s eyes were shining. ‘I never knew there were so many books,’ she whispered. ‘Imagine reading them all. You’d know just about everything in the world, wouldn’t you?” As the story evolves, Maggie and her cohort have so much to investigate, a valuable brooch, a kidnapped friend, leading the reader not only with words and deeds, tension and suspense, but through the superb visualisations, and the occasional odd tip like “How to Escape from Quicksand”. I think this book is the bees knees for middle grade school readers looking for something different featuring engaging young adventurers. Good gravy there is even a chocolate cake recipe! GBW 2024

Rich dark chocolate cake baked by Dot Bernet from ‘The Midwatch’ recipe by author/illustrator Judith Rossell 2024

About Me: Reader, Writer, Reviewer, Blogger.
My book reviews cover many genres and I don’t believe in writing one side of my reading experience.
There are chunks of praise and criticism.
Favourite books are Crime, Quirky, Mystery, History but much more.
https://www.goodreads.com/gretchenbernetward

‘The Perilous Promotion of Trilby Moffat’ by Kate Temple

Timekeeper Trilby Moffat’s highflying, hair-raising, non-stop adventures kept me glued to the pages far into the night. A brilliant story, it has exciting characters, dramatic situations and puzzling questions like What is going to happen next? Where is Time Keeper Trilby Moffat’s mother?

There are ideas, clues and cliff-hangers and Trilby has to navigate through it all. I enjoy Jasper Fforde and Jodi Taylor’s time travel books but Trilby takes it to another level of strangeness when she returns to the secret Island Between Time and investigates a time travellers festival suspiciously named Time Harvest Con. Of course, I am not the main reading audience for this book but it is easy to get hooked on the plot.

Among many inventive events, several digs at the adult world pop up e.g. Brian in a pink corporate shirt and a lanyard around his neck which reads ‘Assistant to the Assistant to the Assistant of Someone Much More Important’ a running joke. I have to add that Mr Colin, the archetypal baddie, is one of my favourites. Quote ‘Their eyes met, his grey like a dead pigeon, hers the colour of a summer cicada.’

Watch for interesting snippets e.g. ‘We made it out of shards of time treasures…the stuff that can’t be repaired or salvaged,’ added Beatie, and what about Tove, Thumbelina, Xipil, Arwen, recognise those names? Don’t miss a nod to Agatha Christie, flying prehistoric Anton, and find out what is stored in The Passage Of Time or bake cakes in a Time oven. But don’t eat cakes from strangers. Other beautifully inventive stuff kept me reading like Medical Grade Time Spray which has side effects.

I love the way ‘non-adult’ books can use squiggly writing to denote words like Time Swap, and add a chapter crossword puzzle with answers in the back of the book. Don’t worry if you haven’t read the first book in the series yet, this plot is exciting and soon sweeps you along. I do love the bookcover and when I read the related chapter and what the balloon contains I had shivers. Kate Temple is one genius author. I suggest buying this book for a classroom or young family then secretly reading it first.

❤ Gretchen Bernet-Ward

AUTHOR INFO: Kate Temple always wanted a promotion and a corner office with an assistant who wore a small dark poodle for a hat. This didn’t happen. Instead, Kate took on the perilous business of writing books for children. She has written more than twenty books with her writing partner, Jol, and The Perilous Promotion of Trilby Moffat is her second solo book. Kate lives in Sydney with her two children. When she is not writing, Kate enjoys eating cake, and so do the characters in this book.😊

Wobble Jellyfish

Wobble Jellyfish was wobbling along under the sea when
Swoosh, whoosh, splash!
A wave stranded her on a sandy beach.
It was midday and it was hot.
A seagull eyed her suspiciously.
Wobble Jellyfish hardly had time to take a breath when
Swoosh, whoosh, splash!
She was slopping along in the bottom of a plastic bucket.
Wobble slowly blubbed her way up and peeked over the side.
The water park was full of wet, squealing children.
She saw a huge swimming pool ahead and got ready to slip overboard.
With a squeeze of her tentacles, she oozed up and over the edge.
Plop! She missed the swimming pool.
This water was cold and bubbly and swirled Wobble up, up and over.
The fountain tossed her around and around like a washing machine.
Wobble waved her tentacles helplessly then plopped back into the water.
She grasped hold of a long purple ribbon dangling in the foam.
The person wearing the long purple ribbon stood up.
Aagh! The young girl swung her long plait to get rid of Wobble.
Wobble soared high and fell with a splat on the hard ground.
A water canon spray hosed Wobble off the pathway into the gutter.
The force of the water swished her straight down the stormwater drain.
It was dark and stinky and slimy in the drain.
Wobble wrapped her tentacles tightly around her body.
“Oh, ooh, oooh, I want to get out of here,” said Wobble Jellyfish.
Many empty water bottles floated past and she grabbed one.
It was a bouncy ride, up and down through the pipes.
The bottle got jammed between the bars of a stormwater grate.
Wobble sucked in her jelly belly and squeezed through.
Now the water was quieter and flowed more smoothly.
Grass lined the bank and the sun shone on a long stretch of clear water.
It made Wobble feel relaxed but the water was not salty.
She longed for the tang of the ocean, the surge and swell of the current.
A boy’s face loomed above her and another plastic bucket scooped her up.
The ride was sloppy and jerky hanging from the handlebars of his bike.
Wobble heard lots of voices talking and saw cheerful colours flash overhead.
Swoosh, whoosh, splash!
Wobble was sluiced over the side of the bucket into a square glass tank.
The first thing she saw was another jellyfish. He was very small.
“Hi,” he said. “I’m Irukandji, or Iru for short.”
Wobble thought his smile was unfriendly.
She didn’t like his long, quivering tentacles and backed away.
Something sharp poked her side and she wobbled around to look.
It was a large starfish. He said “My name is Spike.”
Wobble slubbed and blubbed “I’m not surprised.”
She introduced herself and peered closely at Spike “You’re a beautiful colour.”
Spike showed her around the glass tank.
He was proud of the rocks and the seaweed and a tiny pirate ship.
“But they are not real,” said Wobble.
“They are to me,” said Spike.
That made Wobble cry but nobody saw her tears because of the clean tap water.
“We have to get back to the sea!” she said.
Wobble saw blurry people lift the fish tank “Up ya go!” and “In ya go!”
The light dulled as a heavy canvas was pulled over the back of the ute.
Water slopped everywhere as the old ute bucked back and forth along the track.
The canvas was lifted and Wobble, Spike and Iru blinked at the bright sun.
The tank was hoisted up and carried along the beach towards tall cliffs.
At the base of the cliffs, the blurry figures stopped.
Wobble could see large rock pools and waves splashing over them.
Spike and Iru were very quiet, hardly daring to move.
Wobble rose to the top of the fish tank and blub blubbed excitedly.
The fish tank moved again, closer to the waves and the sea.
A huge sparkling wave rose up, curling and churning towards the rock pools.
The blurry figures leaned over and tipped the tank.
Swoosh, whoosh, splash!
Wobble, Spike and Iru caught the wave and rode it high into the air.
They tumbled and mingled with the fresh, cool, salty water.
Whoo hoo! shouted Wobble and Spike and Iru.
Seaspray carried them higher and higher until the wave rolled back into the sea.
Briefly they touched, careful of Iru’s stingers, then turned towards home.
Wobble Jellyfish had the tiny pirate ship wrapped in one of her tentacles.
She was going to show it to a real sunken pirate ship.