Fall of Knight [BARGAIN PRICE] (Hardcover)

by Peter David (Author) "There once was a great warlord who lived thousands of years ago, a master of many lands and many tribes, all of which bowed down..." (more)
Key Phrases: Spear of Destiny, Secret Service, Lady of the Lake (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
The conclusion of David's 21st-century Arthurian trilogy will please fans of the previous two books, Knight Life and One Knight Only, but those expecting humorous fantasy on the level of Terry Pratchett or Monty Python will be disappointed. King Arthur, who has served as the mayor of New York City and even as president of the United States under the name Arthur Penn, is suddenly forced to tell the world who he really is and that he possesses the Holy Grail. Attempts to go mass market with the Grail's curative properties create complications involving Nazis and assorted other menaces. Despite the author's propensity for punning titles and silly archaisms like "Ye Olde Interlude," the resultant oil-and-water mixture achieves neither comedy nor drama, much less a blending of the two as in T.H. White's The Once and Future King. The incongruity of great, mythic figures behaving (or speaking) in an entirely banal and trivial manner is, alas, only that. (June)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

From Booklist
Arthur and Gwen are hiding away on their yacht when Percival and Ziusura (aka Noah) bob up on a submersible ark to tell them pics of Gwen on the boat are all over. Since she is supposedly virtually dead, that's a big deal. Time to go back to Washington, where Arthur used to be president, and fess up that Gwen is A-OK because she supped from the recently rediscovered Holy Grail (see One Knight Only, 2003). Immediately, every sick body in the world wants a sip, and Arthur agrees to marketing Grail Ale. But the course of true healing doesn't go smoothly. Arthur's bottling-entrepreneur partner is other than he seems, the Spear of Destiny (used to kill the last unicorn, as "Ye Olde Prelude" relates) has resurfaced, and Spear and Grail combined can be used to wipe the world clean--of people, as, natch, someone wants to do. The conclusion of David's trilogy of modern-day Arthurian yarns unfolds like an ideal basis for a collaborative movie by Frank Capra and -Steven Spielberg. Ray Olson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 352 pages
• Publisher: Ace Hardcover (June 6, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 044101402X
• ASIN: B000VYVKY0
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #1,929,320 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A nice light read, witty and fun!, July 21, 2006

By	L. A. Kane (Seattle, WA USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Fall of Knight (Knight Life) (Hardcover)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Better than the second, not as good as the first, still fun!, August 17, 2007

By	C. R. Swanson "wilybadger.wordpress.com" (Phoenix) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Fall of Knight (Paperback)

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?

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars enjoyable and entertaining fantasy, June 7, 2006

By	Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews (#1 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Fall of Knight (Knight Life) (Hardcover)

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