The Red Knight

Campaign Inspiration
Drawing from history and legend Miles Cameron has written one of the most engaging fantasy novels I have read this year. The Red Knight is a tale of a siege which at times reminds me of the history of medieval England, at times of the Legends of King Arthur, at times of classic fairy tales and the works of J.R.R. Tolkien and at times James Fenimore Cooper. The world of Alba includes a kingdom much like King Arthur's Camelot surrounded by The Wild, the areas beyond the wall, north and west of civilization, where elfin irks, bug-like boglins, winged fairies, stone trolls and demons lurk. The Christian abbey on "the rock" is an ancient place of magic and the demons want it back. The old abbess, a magic caster herself, hires a young captain, anonymously known as The Red Knight, and his mercenary band to defend the abbey. Thus the stage is set.
The Red Knight reminds me of so many books I have enjoyed over the years, yet provides a fresh tale that seems ready-made to use in an adventure game campaign. The author notes in his afterword that Alba started as a role-playing campaign world he and his college mates explored years ago. Whether the characters in the novel started as role-playing characters or not hardly matters. They come to life in the novel and are believable and interesting in a grim-dark way that appeals to me. Many of the most interesting are users of magic who draw upon either the sun or the wild (or both) for their source of power.
The interplay of Christian faith and sorcery, nobility, chivalry and roguish behavior, civilization and the wilderness, old scores to settle and new romance, Mr. Cameron combines it all seamlessly. The author's ability to effectively blend so many influences in The Red Knight is one of the things I admire in this first book of The Traitor Son Cycle (there are currently three more in print). Miles Cameron, whose real name I believe is Christian Cameron, also writes historical fiction as Christian Cameron and under the pen name Gordon Kent.
Some novels, The Hobbit and The Lord of The Rings for example, can seem to be written as novels to inspire the hobbyist (even though they obviously predate the hobby). The idea of a band of mercenaries who specialize in slaying monsters could easily be used as the basis for a White Box campaign. Even if I don't borrow a thing from The Red Knight, reading it got me thinking about gaming.