Weasel's Luck is a fantasy novel by Michael Williams. It is the first of the two novels starring Galen "Weasel" Pathwarden and Sir Bayard Brightblade.
Setting[]
Weasel's Luck takes place in Solamnia about one century before the adventures of the original trilogy. The action starts in the western Solamnic province of Coastlund, continues to Castle di Caela in Central Solamnia and ends in the mountains on the far side of Central Estwilde (a map of all Solamnia and Estwilde is included in the book).
Blurb[]
The Sign of the Weasel is tunnel on tunnel,
Enchantment on enchantment,
He digs beneath himself, and in digging
Discovers all roads into nothing.
The Calantina IX:IX
Weasel's luck was not always good.
Galen Pathwarden, known unaffectionately as 'the Weasel', would give anything to stay clear of adventure, danger, or heroism.
But that is before young Galen is pitch-forked into the centre of a centuries-old curse, one family blood-feud too many, and a knightly tournament unto death.
Together, Galen, the great Solamnic Knight, Sir Bayard Brightblade, and a none-to bright centaur named Agion must overcome the schemes and traps of a sinister illusionist known only as the Scorpion.
Plot summary[]
This is the story of Sir Bayard Brightblade, ancestor of Sturm Brightblade, an epic quest of valorous knights against an ancient evil. Nevertheless, the story is told from the point of view of Galen Pathwarden, nicknamed Weasel, his cowardly and reluctant squire.
Sir Bayard Brightblade is a knight of Solamnia bound by a prophecy to win the hand of Enid Di Caela, last heir to the Di Caela family. Before he can properly ask her, though, he needs a new squire. For this reason, he traveled to the remote province of Coastlund and paid a visit to Sir Andrew Pathwarden, father of three boys.
A black-robed mage, known only as the Scorpion, is plotting against Sir Bayard. He bribes Galen with half a dozen opals from Estwilde (they will become important in the sequel) and steals the knight's armour. Then, he stirs mayhem in the Pathwarden estate, turning the villagers hostile and pushing the swamp centaurs into a war against newcoming satyrs. Sir Bayard manages to overcome these obstacles and gets on the road to Castle di Caela, but he is delayed again by an ogre knight blocking a pass on the Vingaard Mountains.
Meanwhile, at Castle di Caela, Sir Robert declares a tournament to find the most suitable husband for his daughter Enid. Knowing the prophecy, he is waiting for Sir Bayard Brihtblade, who is supposed to lift the curse on the Di Caela family. That knight being late, he starts the tournament, that is won by a creepy black-hooded knight who goes by the name of Sir Gabriel Androctus.
At last, Sir Bayard arrives at the castle, where he discovers the true identity and motivation of Sir Gabriel, alias the Scorpion. The hooded knight kidnaps Lady Enid and flees from the castle to the East, all the way across Solamnia and Central Estwilde. He is pursued by Sir Bayard, Sir Robert di Caela, Sir Ramiro of the Maw, and the three Pathwarden brothers: Galen, Brithelm, and Alfric.
After an epic battle in the Scorpion's stronghold, the villain is killed, the curse is lifted, the damsel in distress is rescued, she gladly marries Sir Bayard, and they lived happily ever after... until the sequel, "Galen Beknighted".
Characters[]
Instead of the ambiguous "good" and "evil", this section uses the more explicit "altruistic" and its opposite "selfish".
Main characters[]
- Galen "Weasel" Pathwarden, third son of Sir Andrew Pathwarden. He is an undisciplined and cowardly teenager who gets involved in the greater quest of Sir Bayard Brightblade (class: teenager/rogue, alignment: chaotic-selfish, shifting towards lawful-neutral).
- Sir Bayard Brightblade of Vingaard, last heir of the Brightblade family, ancestor of Sturm Brightblade (class: knight, alignment: lawful-altruistic).
Opponents[]
- The Scorpion, a mysterious character with great magic powers and an obscure goal (black-robed mage, neutral-selfish) (for a major spoiler, click on the note[1]).
- Alfric Pathwarden, first son of Sir Andrew Pathwarden, a dim-witted bully who repeatedly failed to be accepted as a squire (class: teenager/rogue, alignment: chaotic-selfish).
Supporting characters[]
- Enid di Caela, daughter of Sir Robert di Caela and last heir to the di Caela family. Sir Bayard Brightblade wants to claim her hand, but the Scorpion wants to prevent said union.
- Sir Robert di Caela, one of the richest knights of Solamnia, father of Enid di Caela. He proclaimed a jousting tournament to find a suitable husband for his daughter.
- Sir Andrew Pathwarden, lord of the Pathwarden estate and the surrounding Warden Swamp, father of Alfric, Brithelm and Galen. A war hero in his youth.
- Brithelm Pathwarden, second son of Sir Andrew Pathwarden. He is focused on theology and meditation only, but he is considered absent-minded by the people around him (class: red-robed monk/cleric, alignment: lawful-altruistic).
- Agion, a centaur living in Warden Swamp, he joins Galen and Sir Bayard on their journey towards Castle di Caela (class: fighter, alignment: lawful-neutral).
Secondary characters[]
- Gileandos, tutor of the three sons of Sir Andrew Pathwarden.
- Quivalen Sath, a legendary elven bard who once visited the Pathwarden estate and suffered a prank by Galen.
- Archala, leader of the centaurs in Warden Swamp.
- Dannelle di Caela, cousin to Enid di Caela.
- The most unusual knights claiming the hand of Enid di Caela:
- The Blue Knight of Balifor[2], a knight wearing an unusual blue armour adorned with yellow plumes.
- Sir Orban of Kern, who looks like a pirate, but who is actually very kind and honest.
- Sir Prosper Inverno of Zeriak, who wears a translucent armor reminiscent of the glaciers near his lands. One of the favourites at the tournament.
- Sir Ledyard of Southlund, who is always thinking about the sea and who wears a helmet engraved with conch shells.
- Sir Ramiro of the Maw, a knight weighting about 400 pounds (almost 200 kg), always in a good mood.
- Sir Lyndon of Rocklin, who withdraws from the tournament when assigned to a scary opponent.
Legacy[]
The novel received a sequel, "Galen Beknighted", written by the same author, Michael Williams, and published three years later.
Reception[]
- This section is a stub.
Readers who enjoyed this book were disappointed by the sequel, and vice versa. The average rating of this book and the sequel are very close: 4.5/5 and 4.3/5, respectively.
Trivia[]
- For a Dragonlance novel, there are no dragons, but plenty of lances! Jousting lances, actually.
- In the novel, Castle di Caela is located West of the Vingaard river. It is only later (Weasel's Luck was published in 1988) that Dragonlance canon established that Castle di Caela is East of the Vingaard river.
- In the novel, the Vingaard river flows southwards. Actually, according to any map of Ansalon (the one in the book, too), it flows northwards.
- "Weasel's Luck" was published in Italy as "La leggenda di Weasel" (literally, "The Legend of Weasel", despite the fact that "weasel" can be translated in Italian).