Men of Iron written by Howard Pyle develops the story of a young boy and his path to knighthood. Myles Falworth, a young squire under the service of the house of Beaumont learns. Under the watch of Sir James an old knight in the castle Myles learns how to fight in the way of knights and how to conduct himself in the age old life of knights.

In the group of squires Myles developes rivalries and and competition with the older group of boys. Not one to back down from an unjust situation Myles first problem occurs in the tradition that younger squires fetch water for the older squires.

Myles rebels against the older squires led by rival Walter Blunt. As push leads to shove and shove leads to punches, Myles ends up fighting Blunt in a “gentlemanly” fight with swords.

Blunt being the older and more experienced fighter gets in more advanced moves and ends up controlling the fight. Myles however keeps on fighting and eventually lands a huge blow ending the fight for both of them.

After the problems with Blunt end, Myles works harder than ever to become the best knight in his potential. After “graduating” from the house of Beaumont, Myles strives to right his family name.  His father is unjustly condemned with treason by the king and Myles looks to change the opinion of the king.

This book offered a great read and was a short book so it could be finished quickly. One thing readers might not enjoy is the old english used throughout the book. 

It presented a challenge for me through the first few chapters, but once the reader begins reading this type of language consistently  it starts to blend in. They start to think briefly in that type of way while reading the book. 

This book was a great book to relax while reading. It was comfortable with language after a while and I didn’t stress while reading so I would recommend this book to anybody. It is a knight story so it has a fairytale feel entertaining audiences both male and female audiences.

This book was one of ten books lended to me by my uncle. All of them being classics the competition was tight and hard to decide. However, I can say with confidence that this book was one of the top three.

The other books in the top three were Tarzan of the Apes, by Edgar Rice Burroughs and The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson.

This book is similar to King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Other books the reader might enjoy include The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson and other works by Howard Pyle which include The Merry Adventures of Robin Hood.

For more reviews read: Book Review: Once an Arafat Man and Book Review: Son Of Hamas

Andrew Rieker can be reached via email.