Review: Knights of the Square Table by Teri Kanefield

Published: October 2015

Synopsis: "Meet the Knights of the Square Table, San Francisco’s all-star chess team. On their way home from a tournament in Europe, their plane makes a forced landing on a remote island in the North Atlantic. Part survival story, part crime novel with a twist, here’s what happens when six teenagers act on their optimism and attempt the impossible."

Rating: **

Knights of the Square Table launched straight into the action without much build up or immediate backstory, which initially was a positive but there didn't seem to be very much backstory which soon became a negative. I assumed the story was set in the present, but there was indicators that something monumental had shifted in the world. I didn't feel there was enough backstory.

When the plane crashed in Iceland there were definitely tones of Lord of the Flies, although there were adults involved in Knights of the Square Table, it was the students who took centre stage and took control of the situation. I am unsure how realistic this would be, even if you did have a group of highly intelligent teenagers, would they really have taken control of such a dramatic situation?

This felt like quite a basic writing style and you could tell it was aimed at younger readers. Personally it felt as though the book was comprised of random events that had been put together into a timeline with the same characters running through.

A bit of backstory to the war with Asia and what was going on in the world would have been useful. Overall I was disappointed and don't think I will read the next book in the series.