Give me one knight and One Knight Only

Well it’s that time again. My list of books has shifted by one and the work One Knight Only by Peter David, sequel to Knight Life, has been added to the done list. It took me a little longer to read this one, because school was starting back and things were busier. However, I went out of town for a friend’s wedding this weekend, so I had free time to get some good reading done. Ramble along with me for my review.

Being a sequel, we pick up some time after Knight Life left off. If you read my linked review above, you will already know I liked the book as a fun little romp. Therefore I had decent hopes for this one. If you haven’t read the first book, this review might have spoilers.

One Knight Only takes place several years after the end of Knight Life. Our hero, Arthur Penn; formerly Arthur Pendragon, Son of Uther, King of the Britons; has graduated from Mayor of New York and is now President of the United States taking along his First Lady Gwen. He was actually elected as an Independent candidate; probably no one else could do that. Arthur inherited, from two previous administrations, a war on terrorism that centered on a leader named Arnim Sandoval. Sandoval orchestrated many precision strikes against the US, one that nearly killed the former President had Mayor Arthur not intervened. Merlin is frozen in the form of a statue, and no longer there to counsel Arthur. Percival, The Grail Knight, is off doing whatever and hasn’t been heard from recently. Then after the State of the Union address where Arthur announces that they may have gotten Sandoval, the first lady is shot in the head and enters a coma. Arthur is left truly alone and to his own devices for the first time in forever. There is no hope of Gwen recovering, well except one, but that involves one of the most dangerous quests of Arthurian legend. And besides, Percival might be the only one capable of finding the Grail at all.

I said before that I liked the first book because it was a fun little romp. This one takes on a more serious tone. It’s kind of like saying that getting elected was the fun part. Doing the job every day is what’s hard. The first book hit the hard stuff near the end. This one sees it through from the beginning.

I like the characterization in Peter David’s books. He fills in more personal information about touches, glances, reading emotion on others’ faces, body language, and other things that give you information about both characters at once. You get to know them better and like them more. I also like the funny things he does as well; the quips, stifled smiles, giggles, gasps, jokes to lighten the mood, expressions of bewilderment, or looks of confusion. It all brings the characters and their interaction to life. I think he does an even better job of that in this book than he did in the first. I especially liked he portrayal of child size Merlin (He ages backward you know.) and his unabashed, cold, cruel, smart assed, cynicism.

On of the other things I really like is seeing these people of legend interacting with the modern world. I like hearing Arthur equate science and magic as the same things. To hear him complain about how much more difficult it is to work a republic like ours than to run a monarchy. How technology makes some feats of magic immensely easier, and how some people refuse to change with the times. In the book an object was flying through the sky towards The High King and The Aged One.

THK asked, “What…is that?”
TAO promptly responded, “It’s an Osprey.”
“That’s no bird…”
“It’s a Bell Boeing V-22 Osprey,” responded TAO. “It’s a type of VTOL…a Vertical Takeoff and Landing vehicle.”
“You know of such things?” THK asked in amazement.
“Of course, why don’t you?” asked TAO.
“That is not the point. How can you know of it? Do the gods visit dreams upon you? Do you study auguries? Do you upon occasion wander the earth seeking knowledge that you can…”
“I have an Internet connection you great lummox. How else?”
“A what?” asked THK.
Pfffffffttttt responded TAO.

That right there is one of the little gems of the work. There are many others.

I have one suggestion. Be prepared to read up a little on Babylonian and Sumerian mythology for the book. It may be helpful if you do not remember much of it.

In all I think this is a better book that the first one. It definitely is longer. It still has some of the political aspect, but it also has a lot of fun and adventure. I recommend it to anyone who likes fantasy and mythology, with a little political humor mixed in.

Now I’m off to my next book, If Chins Could Kill: Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell. I bought this a while back and just hadn’t gotten to reading it. I really like Bruce Campbell though (Yes I am a geek), so I have some pretty good hopes.