Review: The Accidental Highwayman by Ben Tripp

The Accidental Highwayman: Being the Tale of Kit Bristol, His Horse Midnight, a Mysterious Princess, and Sundry Magical Persons Besides by Ben Tripp

Published October 14th 2014

“In eighteenth-century England, young Christopher “Kit” Bristol is the unwitting servant of notorious highwayman Whistling Jack. One dark night, Kit finds his master bleeding from a mortal wound, dons the man’s riding cloak to seek help, and changes the course of his life forever. Mistaken for Whistling Jack and on the run from redcoats, Kit is catapulted into a world of magic and wonders he thought the stuff of fairy tales.

Bound by magical law, Kit takes up his master’s quest to rescue a rebellious fairy princess from an arranged marriage to King George III of England. But his task is not an easy one, for Kit must contend with the feisty Princess Morgana, gobling attacks, and a magical map that portends his destiny: as a hanged man upon the gallows…”

I’d seen this book in a little indie book store sometime last year and I thought the cover (mine is black not red) was so beautiful. I loved the font and the title. I loved everything about it. So I had to get it right away. And even though it sat on my shelf for months, I never really forgot about it.

A few months ago I read Rise Again by Ben Tripp and I really enjoyed so I had fairly high hopes for this book. I assumed the writing style was going to be the same because why wouldn’t I. However, I was extremely surprised to find that The Accidental Highwayman and Rise Again are nothing alike. Both books have vastly different styles. But, because of that, Ben Tripp is now one of my favorite authors. Each book had a writing style that fit perfectly with the main character. I’m not going to go into Rise Again but style of The Accidental Highwayman fit the main character really well and that’s something that I never noticed or thought about until now. But Ben Tripp really showcases how each main character of a book needs their own writing style.
I don’t know how Tripp did it, but he’s such an amazing writer.

The concept of this book is really original and fun. I really liked how different it was. I did find it a little boring at times and I felt like if I had read this book in one sitting, I could have gotten into a lot more. I’ve seen that this book is compared to The Princess Bride but I’ve never seen that movie so I can’t say if the comparison is accurate or not.

I felt like the world building could have been spread out a little more. At times I felt like as the reader, I was getting a lot of info all at once. This book is only 304 pages so maybe if it was a little longer, there could have been more times to spread out all the world building.

Overall, I really enjoyed The Accidental Highwayman. It was a fun, quick read. There were a few flaws for me but nothing major. I wish I could have sat down and read this book in one sitting because I think I would have liked it a lot more.
If you’re looking for a quick fantasy read and that’s different and original, I’d recommend The Accidental Highwayman.