Nobody's Son

Elisabeth Anne MacDonald-Murray teaches English at the University of
Western Ontario.

This is fantasy literature with a twist. The hero, Shielder’s Mark,
completes his quest and performs his heroic act of breaking the Red
Keep’s spell all within the first chapter. In the second chapter he is
awarded his prize—the hand of the king’s youngest daughter, Gail.
Now he has to live with the consequences. This is hardly what one
expects in fantasy fiction, but then, the reader is no more surprised
than Mark himself, who discovers that the happily-ever-after is not what
he anticipated. A fatherless working-class youth, he finds himself both
wedded to a fiercely independent woman, who sees her marriage as a way
of escaping court life, and caught in the unfamiliar world of a cultured
and élite upper class that is obsessed with power and politics.

This is a tale of consequences and responsibilities. Stewart has
produced an intelligent, thoughtful, and universal tale that deals with
important issues: rejection and loss, loyalty and betrayal, the search
for identity, and, ultimately, the search for God. Shielder’s Mark
learns that the heroic feat for which he had trained and conditioned
himself for so long was not an ultimate goal, but only one of many
hurdles, and he must come to terms with both his social success and his
personal failures.

Entertaining and always surprising, magical and down-to-earth, this
delightful tale never takes the expected or the well-worn course.
Peopled with interesting and sympathetic characters, the narrative is
thought-provoking, but never didactic. Though intended for a young-adult
audience, it can be enjoyed by both young and old—even if they are not
fantasy fans. Highly recommended.