ChivalryThe Quest for a Personal Code of Honor in an Unjust World

Zach Hunter          Tyndale Momentum, 2013.

 2.5 / 5.0 

Drawing not so much from his interesting and varied experiences as from the teachings and works of others, this unique young author puts out a book that will be lost in the noise of Christian publishing.

This is an admittedly weak review of Zach Hunter's book. My electronic review copy of the book expired so I cannot access it or the notes I stored in my Nook. Today is the last day of the review period, so I was caught by surprise when the .epub offering went into self-destruct mode.

If I had known the author was a college student I would not have started the book. This fact will probably tell you where the review is headed. Most (not all) of the struggles Hunter highlights need not be slain by an ancient warrior code, but will lie down quietly in the next few years as he naturally matures. The author seems relatively insightful and selfless for a college-aged man, so his book might be a good influence on his peer group. As someone only half a generation ahead, I found it to be awkward reading.


My main problem in reading Chivalry was following the track of the author's positions and proposals. The chapters seemed like catch-all bins for anything he wanted to say on a particular subject. Reading Chivalry was like listening to a conversation between people that disagree with each other, but don't see it because neither is listening to the other. "Thundercats was the best TV show ever."  "Yeah, yeah. I like the ones from the 90's with Patrick Stewart." "I know, right? Star Wars and Thundercats were pretty much the same story told with different characters." "Exactly. British TV is pretty much all I watch."

Another irritating aspect of the book was the tension between its purported form and its published form. In the forward Hunter disses* books that include lists of dos and don'ts. He or his editors or his publishers recognize that it is much more en vogue to call the reader to a journey. Hunter does this repeatedly in Chivalry, although every chapter basically introduces a concept that you are to swear to or swear off.

From the title, to the grandiose subtitle, to the introduction there appears to be something larger than one book building here. Chivalry as a theme seems like a centerpiece to build a ministry or writing career around like John Eldredge with Sacred Romance/Wild at Heart or John Piper with Desiring God. After reading Chivalry the book, however, it feels like Zach Hunter just did a one-off and will go a different direction with future books.

The author is at his best when he sticks close the medieval concept in his parables or when he speaks from his own experiences as an organizer and speaker. Unfortunately, these aren't the methods used to fill most of the pages. That he has to stretch so much to round out the book makes me think this is a topic he would be better able to tackle in a couple of decades.

*If you find the word "disses" bracing in writing, you won't like Chivalry. I was giving a sample of the writing style found in the book.