海角大神

First things first: You鈥檒l want to know the full title of The Accidental Highwayman, Ben Tripp鈥檚 glorious foray into young adult literature:

鈥淭he Accidental Highwayman, Being the Tale of Kit Bristol, His Horse Midnight, a Mysterious Princess, and Sundry Magical Persons Besides.鈥� It鈥檚 such a tidy introduction to a book鈥檚 style, humor, and characters, laid out before you even crack the cover.

Second things second: I adored it.

On the face of it, the concept is ridiculous. We begin with a young servant lad, and end with a lovesick hero contractually locked in a multidimensional fantasy battle to save his girl and his country from a power-hungry fairy king.

Cue record scratch, right? You鈥檙e thinking, 鈥淚t can鈥檛 be done!鈥� But that鈥檚 where you鈥檙e wrong and Tripp is oh-so-right. His finesse turns an audacious idea into a balanced, delightful tale that I can鈥檛 recommend highly enough.

Christopher 鈥淜it鈥� Bristol is the sole servant to a shabby if respectable country gentleman in 18th-century England. Unbeknownst to Kit, his master masquerades by night as notorious highwayman Whistlin鈥� Jack. One night Kit finds him mortally wounded and pursued by an angry redcoat army, and he attempts to run for help.

In so doing, Kit assumes the persona of Whistlin鈥� Jack, unwittingly signing himself up to complete his master鈥檚 last mission. Little does he realize, he just jumped feet first into a world of magic, danger, and revolution.

His task is to rescue the fairy princess Morgana from her corrupt father. The king, dreaming of global domination, plans to merge the human and fairy realms by marrying Morgana off to a human. His scheme ignites a bitter civil war with Morgana at the heart.

Morgana is a nuanced and intriguing character, torn between waning respect for her father and devotion to her people. As a fairy princess, she has the requisite beauty (long hair, enchanting eyes), but that鈥檚 as far as the trope extends.

Tripp鈥檚 vision of Morgana was clear. He said, 鈥淚 wanted to give the young people a proper princess to get to know 鈥� not one of those sparkling ball gown debutantes waiting for Mr. Right, not a tangle-haired tomboy rejecting her femininity.... I wanted to meet somebody with spirit and independence, but meshed in on every side by customs and tradition. A girl who doesn鈥檛 necessarily know what she wants or how to get it, but who knows she must shake things up if she鈥檚 going to find out.鈥�

Kit and Morgana鈥檚 relationship is my favorite part. Poor Kit 鈥� he鈥檚 a down-to-earth boy in love with a magical creature, bungling every conversation and missing every opportunity. I couldn鈥檛 stop laughing at their missed signals, thinking of my own experiences at that age.

You see, teenage girls parse every blink, nod, and stutter for deeper meaning, hoping to draw great romantic conclusions from something as trivial as a loaned pen. Teenage boys just blindly hand over the pen with no concept of the Petrarchan sonnet it has become. Both sides are lashed to the prow of raging hormones, discovering the opposite sex for the first time with no clue how to communicate. It鈥檚 what Kit and Morgana are going through, only with supernatural complications.

Tripp (who is also the author of adult horror novels "Rise Again" and Rise Again: Below Zero") achieves a beautiful balance throughout the whole of "The Accidental Highwayman," conquering two tough plot concerns with poise: 1) the introduction of many characters to create a hodgepodge traveling party, and 2) the explanation of lore through fantasy lingo. If done poorly, the reader ends up feeling awash in unnecessary characters and adrift in a sea of vocabulary.

鈥淭he Accidental Highwayman鈥� is free of such baggage, and it makes for a snug, streamlined read. Tripp鈥檚 skillful writing gives readers a sense of logic in a seemingly preposterous blend of fantasy elements.

This is a book for fans of William Goldman鈥檚 鈥淭he Princess Bride鈥� or L.A. Meyer鈥檚 鈥淛acky Faber鈥� series, readers who enjoy fantasy hijinks, and anyone looking for a buoyant good tale. It's a rip-roaring, adorable read!