Mr. Pendragon goes to New York

I’m making supper right now, so I’m making good use of the wireless Ethernet connection at the house. I’m making hotdogs with chili by the way. I’m not going to say “World Famous,” because it isn’t, but I like it. I like a lean ground beef with chili powder and a little cayenne paper just so that you start to sweat and your nose starts running.

Anyway, as the column at the bottom right indicates I have just finished reading Knight Life by Peter David. For those of you who haven’t heard of him Peter David is a rather prolific writer. He’s well known for having penned some of the best Star Trek novels, 12 years on The Incredible Hulk comic graphic novel, television, and film. In other words he’s been around, has an impressive resume, and is good at what he does.

Oo Hot dogs are done. I’ll ramble on in a few minutes at the link below. Right now hunger calls.

Mmmm, good hotdogs. Now I have to decide if I want peaches, a promising looking cantaloupe, or desert crack known as a blackberry cobbler of the Mrs. Smith variety. I’ll have to study on that.

And now back to the book.

It’s basically the story of King Arthur coming back to near present day New York City. Once there he begins to meet up with previous acquaintances and family. He has to work hard to make himself known to the people and avoid the pitfalls that politics bring. All of this must be done while fending off the traps being laid by opponents and old enemies, and while trying to keep his identity hidden.

All in all it’s what I expect of Peter David. It is a wonderful, well written, entertaining romp. I could sit down and read the 343 page paperback in a day, and I read slowly. Accomplished readers should be able to read it in hours. Chapters are broken into sections that never extend more than about 8 pages. It’s really easy to read in the spare minutes that often occur. Just be careful, because there are parts that made me have to laugh out loud. It’s interesting to think that this is the same man who wrote Q-Squared, a book I liked for its intricately woven story.

I’m going to recommend this book to anyone who likes history, fantasy, humor and a little politics. It’s a great diversion from weightier reading material too. I’m planning on getting the sequel One Knight Only. For right now I’m off to reading my latest book, How the Irish Saved Civilization.

P.S. This was the second publication of the book. Apparently the first pub met with some problems and it never saw a second printing, and is almost impossible to find. For this publication Peter David took the opportunity to fix some problems he had with the original book. He described it as basically fixing some out he gave himself originally by using some literary tools that he didn't have at the original writing. A library may have the original, but bookstores should have the new edition.