Deck the halls with steak and T-bone, fa-la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la!

What? Did I leave something out? That nice, juicy cheeseburger just sitting there on Mom’s plate? Well. Somebody had to eat it.  But I think Mom’s forgotten about that. So let’s not remind her, okay? 

Anywho, we’re ramping up on our holiday spirit with another Christmas book-ish review. It’s called The Bishop’s Knight. It’s kinda unsual-ish. (New word I just made up.) I’ll let Her Royal Momness fill ya in:

The Bishop’s Knight: A Christmas Story

By Mark Ready, Indie Author (November 2023)

Pages: 84

Genre: Fantasy/Christmas

Note: We received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

You won’t find a miniature sleigh or eight tiny reindeer in Mark Ready’s fantasy novella, The Bishop’s Knight. But this nimble ‘Christmas story’ is a quick and compelling read.

The Action

The action spans several hundred years, between 400 C.E. and Christmas Eve 2022. It begins in the south coast of Asia Minor when fifteen year-old Kynthia Sengul steals a loaf of bread in order to feed her starving and sickly little brother, Zeki. She heads to their “home” amid the tombs of the necropolis but is accosted by a ruthless street gang. Knifed, abused, and left for dead, Kynthia is barely clinging to life when she is found by Nicholas. (Yes. That Nicholas.)

Nicholas brings Kynthia to his home where his sister nurses Kynthia back to health. Nicholas’s prayers save Kynthia’s life but do “not erase her disfigurement or restore her ability to be a mother.” Smart and resourceful, Kynthia becomes something else in Purgatory City. Here, Kynthia works for Saint Nicholas, best known as the patron saint of children and the precursor to Santa Claus. (He’s also the patron saint of fishermen, sailors, the falsely accused, and repentant thieves.)

Coal

Kynthia carries out her assignment as Nicholas’ assistant, or “the bishop’s knight,” aboard a black Dodge Charger named Coal. She searches for justice for those who have been wronged.

Fast forward to 1970 and the United States. On assignment, Kynthia rescues Elizabeth Bell and her four-year-old daughter, Ornament, from the unspeakable horrors of a basement prison. She moves the duo to Smith City, Kansas. They’re taken in by a lonely widow, Rose Barton, just before Thanksgiving.

Second Thoughts

But Rose has second thoughts when her lowdown and sneaking skunk of a nephew, Scott Barton, sabotages the budding friendship with false accusations against Elizabeth. Then Rose falls and breaks her hip. There’s a murder, and… we’re whisked away to another Christmas Eve. This time it’s 2005. An adult Ornament and her terminally ill daughter face another Christmas Eve of loss, when “death is the only expected caller.”

After seeing so much evil and loss around Christmas Eve, Kynthia is desperate to save Ornament’s little girl. Can she? Will another dismal Christmas Eve ensue? Will Kynthia finally find what she’s looking for?

Scene stealer: Peanut the geriatric cat.

Skillful

Bolstered by strong writing and a clever plot, The Bishop’s Knight is a skillful weft of history, tradition, and agile storytelling. It includes a content warning for mild explicit content and violence. But these are not excessive nor gratuitous and serve to advance the plot.

Marinated & Garnished

Marinated in mercy and garnished with grace, The Bishop’s Knight revolves around Christmas. (Think The Matrix and Knight Rider meet A Christmas Carol.) But it also touches on some of life’s most difficult questions, such as why do the innocent suffer? Thus, it can be read and enjoyed any time of year.

Oceans of ink have been spilled on the subjects of Christmas and Saint Nicholas. But there’s something in Ready’s gentle prose and surprise ending that makes the telling fresh, new, and incandescent. I read it cover-to-cover in one sitting. Looking forward to a sequel!

Our Rating: 4.0