Customer Reviews

Fall of Knight (Knight Life)

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Peter David's wry sense of humor shines through once again in this latest rendition of his modern-day Arthurian saga. Former US president Arthur Penn, the Once and Future king, dropped off the face of the map after his last quest to find the Holy Grail and save his wife Gwen and revive her from the coma she had fallen into from a terrorist's bullet. Although the couple have been trying to relax in obscurity out in the middle of the ocean on his yacht, his movements are tracked by satellite and someone leaks pictures of her hearty and hale after her miraculous recovery. He is called back to the White House to explain what happened when he intervenes to save a reporter from a sudden illness in full view of the cameras. Faced with irrefutable proof that the Holy Grail does, indeed, exist, the nation understandably goes crazy. Everyone wants to a sip. Faced with sick and dying masses that he cannot in good conscious turn away, Arthur siphons water through the Grail, bottles it, and launches the most successful healthcare product in history.

It's not just the Grail that's back, however. The Spear Luin (spear of destiny) has re-appeared too. And Merlin is impaled upon it... If the mysterious shadow man has his way the two fabled objects will be brought together and used to wipe humanity off the face of the earth! It seems that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction so all the good works the Grail is performing has been building up a massive store of negative energy, perhaps a cataclysmic one if the two objects are used in conjunction... Additionally, while good people's health is improved by the so-called Grail Ale, evil people receive nightmares of eternal damnation and, quite naturally, sue for damages!

Overall it's a fun and rousing read. Nothing particularly deep, yet highly entertaining. Monty Python fans will find the Grail jokes and movie references even funnier. If you liked the first two books in this series you're sure to enjoy this one too.

I remember, back when I was a wee little shaver, reading the original version of Knight Life (Revised & Expanded Edition) back when I was in high school. It was pretty darn entertaining back then, and even the special edition of it that was released a few years back was quite good.

"One Knight Only" I didn't enjoy quite as much. I'm not sure why. It was good, but there seemed to be something missing.

With "Fall of Knight", however, Peter David proves once again that he's a very good writer. Not a great writer. Not like Terry Pratchett level. But good. Very good.

You doubtless know the plot of the novel from the summary and the other reviews. The world finds out about the Holy Grail, someone has their hands on the Spear of Longinus, and the Lady in the Lake is up to something.

All good solid stuff. We also get some explaination of the details of a water-bottling operation, a scene with two Secret Service Agents named Castor and Pollux who get the best line in the book, and a glimpse at David's version of the origin of one of the major characters in the series. We also get to see the rather darker side of Arthur Penn come out to play.

While the villain in the piece is obscure enough that I had to go to Wikipedia to look him up, he still made for a reasonably solid villain, even if his motives seemed a little iffy.

Still, despite those minor flaws, I enjoyed this novel and find myself hoping this is not the end of the knight. With luck we'll see more of Arthur Penn and friends. Well, luck and good sales. So buy the book already! After all, where else might you hear King Arthur stating that you don't vote for kings?

Retirement doesn't rest easy for the once and future king. After Merlin released him from the cave after spending a millennium there recovering from Mordred's wound, King Arthur travels to New York where he meets the reincarnated Gwen, becomes mayor of New York City and then President of the United States. When Gwen is wounded by a terrorist and falls into an irreversible coma Arthur searches for and finds the Holy Grail and gives it to her to drink where upon she was miraculously healed. He retires from office because the world can't know Gwen is alive and they sail into the sunset.

Happily even after isn't all it's cracked up to be and King Arthur is bored. When Gwen is discovered alive by spy satellites, Arthur and Gwen return to the white house and on a national TV show demonstrates the healing powers of the Grail. Everyone who is sick and ailing wants to drink from it and Arthur and Gwen, along with Sir Percival go into hiding until a businessman comes up with a way of distilling the potency of the water. Although "Grail Water" is a success, using mystical powers in such large quantities could cause a backlash that could devastate the world.

The humor and dry wit of Peter David makes FALL OF KNIGHT a very enjoyable and entertaining reading experience. The sub-plot of a necromancer who wants to steal the Grail and use it with the Spear Lurin to wipe humanity off the face of the earth adds another layer of excitement to a richly developed storyline. Arthur is seen as a mighty warrior, a loving husband, a person who needs to help mankind and a capable of making a mistake. In other words, the author humanizes the myth and in doing so makes him even more heroic.

Harriet Klausner

I've been a King Arthur addict ever since I saw Excalibur in my youth. Peter David's fantasy trilogy depicting King Arthur in the 20th and 21st century political ring has been a welcome addition to my Arthurian book shelf. This concluding volume was very preachy about organized religion, and since my views tend to coincide with those of Arthur's in the book, I enjoyed the story immensely. Devout Catholics might take issue with this book..Or they may not. The story features less Arthurian myth than the other two books, and seemed more rooted in current politics than in fantasy. There was enough magic and fish-out-of-water-situations to keep readers happy.

I also couldn't help but sing some songs from Spamalot while reading!

I found this book and the entire series very entertaining.
The whole concept is intriging.
Touches on secret societies and religion.
Action, drama, comedy all in one book.

I have been looking for this book for a while. I even spoke to the author, Peter David and he said to try E Bay. So much for my favorite author's ideas outside of fiction. I looked on Amazon.com and immediately found exactly what I was looking for. The book was in great condition. It arrived well before the due date and I am very pleased with my purchase of Fall of Knight by Peter David.

I have to admit that I am starting this review with a very serious bias - I have always felt that Peter David is one of the most underrated fantasy authors of our era, and as a big fan of the Arthurian legends, this series has captivated me. I find the characters highly witty, and subtle insertion of actual history and real-world institutions are remarkably well done. To point out a few negatives, I might add that this wit tends to run along the same lines in every character and so weakens the overall effect of it, but for me that's somewhat like nitpicking in what I consider to be a very strong novel and a worthy ending to this series.

When reading this book and the preceding two novels, I have to think that David is going for an all-or-nothing effect. There are indeed many fans of the subject matter who will not like to see their favorite stories "retconned," so to speak, and this has the effect of creating a bubble for some people in which they have no choice but to hate the story because of those revisions. In addition to that, there are some strong political views expressed in this book, generally running along the left side of the spectrum. Even as a Republican, however, I can forgive those views in favor of the story, and I happen to think that the story itself doesn't disappoint.

Since this is a spoiler-free review, I can't really write much more without brushing subjects I'd rather not touch upon. So, in conclusion, I'd definitely recommend reading this book. First, you'll want to read Knight Life and One Knight Only, but I can quite confidently assure you, as a reader with a long history of loving fantasy, you will love these books just as I have. Give them a try.

Yay. This lackluster trilogy is finally over. As far as I know David didn't write another one in the series and, honestly, where do you go after Jesus shows up as a Secret Service agent? Why did I stick with the series? Because I'm a sucker for Arthur stories. Because I'm a sucker for stories bringing legends into the real world. But at the end of the day, I should have bailed on the series midway through book one.