Erik Mortensen

This exceedingly short book (fewer than 100 pages) is a quirky, fun read. The author, Erik Mortensen, has considerable talent and his approach to telling a story is no doubt influenced by his work with his theater group.

The story takes place in several kingdoms, at a time where there are knights and dragons and mysteries. The protagonists are an unlikely pair; a cook and a conman; Higgins and Randall. They cross paths in difficult times -- Higgin's has lost his job and someone is attempting to kill Randall because he is such a lousy poet-- and the cook certainly doesn't want anything to do with the conman Randall, but after Randall saves his life, there just doesn't seem to be any way to avoid becoming entangled in his schemes.

The writing, as you would expect in such a short book, is spare. The plot is well devised and thought out for the most part, and is driven by a Monty Python-esque humor.

I would have given the book a higher rating excepting that I thought the ending was a bit rushed. This impression was unfortunately driven home, to me, by one or two errors that occurred at the end. In one place, I am quite sure that the author meant to say 'enchanted sword' and not just 'enchanted' -- as in 'he was adorned in his armour of cookery supplies and he held the enchanted'. And in a couple of other places the sentences were just a bit garbled. Very unfortunate as it marred an otherwise well done piece.

If you are looking for something light and swift with a chipper, tongue-in-cheek tone, do consider "Sir Cook, the Knight?"… (más)

A Quick, Fun, Enjoyable Ride

Sir Cook, The Knight? By Erik Mortensen*
Publication Date:
4 out of 5 stars
PG - Profanity and Some Gruesome Violence

Higgins loves his job as a chef at the Blue Boar Inn. Everything is perfect in his life until the Inn burns down and leaves him unemployed. With his wits about him and his cookery strapped on himself for portability, Higgins sets off in search of a new cooking job. To his great disbelief, he is mistaken for a knight by the gullible, uneducated townsfolk. Growing more and more exasperated by the minute, Higgins crosses paths with Randall, a conman posing as a poet, at the local bar and it all goes down hill from there for our hero. Unforeseen events force Higgins to compile to Randall’s outrageous and ridiculous schemes for money. And the laugh inducing, silly pair’s adventures begin…

Sir Cook, The Knight was a silly, good book for someone who needs reading material for a short trip and doesn’t mind smiling (or smirking) or laughing (or giggling).

This book is categorized as a children’s book, but I see no reason why older readers won’t get a kick out of it. Many young adult readers may be wary of such a book, but this is not a wishy-washy tale of a couple kids enjoying an adventure. No, Higgins (the main character) is a intelligent, sometimes gruff, grown man who’s unemployment begins his greatest misadventure. The only reason this book would be considered a children’s book is because of its simplicity and its lower reading level (by which I mean to say, includes very few big words).

If you dig deep enough into this short book you can also begin to see a little moral. The man who keeps his wits about him is more likely to succeed than the man who relies on his own psychical strength.

Sir Cook, The Knight was a fun, quick read that didn’t create deep belly laughs by any means, but was still an extremely enjoyable ride.

Date Reviewed: November 5th, 2008… (más)