“Coated in dirt, sweat, and the thrill of combat, Gage kicked his horse into a gallop down the tilt. He tightened his armored fingers below his lance’s vamplate and lowered the shaft across his mount’s neck. Focusing on his opponent, he confirmed his aim. The crowd surrounding them went silent.”
The Tournament’s Price by Given Hoffman is a medieval suspense novel. Set in the fictional land of Edelmar, the story revolves around Prince Gage, second in line to the crown. A young champion in the line of jousting, Gage seemingly has a life of success and opulence panning out before him. Beset by worries about whether he is worthy of his position, Gage pushes down his doubts and tries to convince himself of what everyone else believes about him. Until the accident.
After a tragic accident in which he lost men he had promised to protect, Gage leaves everything behind, burns bridges, and begins to live as a commoner, selling horses to provide for himself.
Simply because he ran from the grief, the pain, and the doubts that were ripping him apart, doesn’t mean that they would stay away. Given Hoffman has done a phenomenal job with The Tournament’s Price in that she tackled complex and tricky problems of the heart, and yet wrote one of the most engaging books I’ve read in a long time. When I first read this book, I was in the car at night. When the light was gone, I rigged up a flashlight and kept on reading. A page-turner in the best sense of the word. The sequel, The Rebel’s Mark, is just as good. Hoffman’s books are clean and romance-free, but it doesn’t change the fact that they are the definition of an engaging and suspenseful book.
Moral Value: 5
Artistic Value: 5
Overall Value: 5
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