The initial premise of The Untameables is simple enough: in the times of King Arthur, a lowly dog keeper and stable boy concocts a plan to find the Holy Grail to save his mother, curing a spreading sickness on the land, and soon discovers a whole other world beyond the confines of his cruel lord’s castle.
This debut – or rather this children’s debut – from the prolific Clare Pollard isn’t one to sugarcoat the world (Pollard’s world includes the terrors of hunts and severed unicorn heads!), but there’s a sense of thrumming, vibrant hope running through it, a potent message about protecting the environment and the power of partnership in changing an unfair, cruel system.
The characters are simply sketched yet likeable. Lead hero Roan is dealing with the triple whammy of crippling lack of self-confidence, a vile lord as his master, and an ailing mother, while his baby sister Gwen and his ally Elva are suitably spirited and engaging, supplemented with charming artwork from the talented Reena Makwama. This simplicity is a double-edged sword at times for The Untameables – the book’s scant 150-page length doesn’t leave much room for complexity or characters who stand out after the book’s end, but the themes embedded throughout add an environmentalist layer to the story that Pollard is retelling.
While it’s too slim to delve deep into its cast of characters, The Untameables is a sweet reworking of classic Arthuriana into a tale about the respect put towards the natural world and how best to honour it. This might be Pollard’s first time exploring children’s literature but The Untameables is a confident first step forward.
The Untameables is out now from The Emma Press.
