Brian and Tertius set out on a quest to find a wizard and save a kingdom from an evil knight
All his life, Brian has craved a grand adventure. On his sixteenth birthday, he meets the young traveler Tertius and knows it’s a sign that his adventure is about to begin. Tertius is on a mission to find a wizard to teach him magic, and Brian promises to help him. But before they can begin, the two must pass through Meliot, a small kingdom with a terrible problem: every year, it must pay tribute to the wicked Black Knight, or else he will cut off the king’s head. When Brian falls in love with one of the king’s twin daughters, he’s ready to do whatever it takes to win her hand in marriage, even if it means finding the one knight prophesied by Merlin to destroy the Black Knight and rid Meliot of his evil forever.
With the help of a mysterious old woman, Brian and Tertius set out from Meliot, both swearing to help the other with his mission. But they know their journey will be far from easy. If the two boys can persevere, they may discover that sometimes, what you seek is right in front of you all along.
Born in New York City, Robert Newman (1909–1988) was among the pioneers of early radio and was chief writer for the Inner Sanctum Mysteries and Murder at Midnight—forerunners of The Twilight Zone that remain cult favorites to this day. In 1944 Newman was put in charge of the radio campaign to reelect Franklin D. Roosevelt. He was also one of the founding members of the Radio Writers Guild, which became the Writers Guild of America.
In 1973 Newman began writing books for children, most notably the Andrew Tillet, Sara Wiggins & Inspector Wyatt mysteries. The series takes place in Victorian London and follows the adventures of two teenage amateur detectives who begin as Baker Street Irregulars. Newman has also written books of fantasy, among them Merlin’s Mistake and The Testing of Tertius. His books based on myths and folklore include Grettirthe Strong, and he has published two adult novels.
Newman was married to the writer Dorothy Crayder. Their daughter, Hila Feil, has also published novels for children and young adults. Newman lived his last days in Stonington, Connecticut.