One Knight Only (Paperback)

In this novel, Arthur has moved up the political ladder to become President of the United States. Now he has gained another mortal enemy in a powerful terrorist, Merlin is transformed into a statue of stone (never irritate a basilisk), and an assassin has shot Gwen in the head. She is dying slowly and Arthur is far beyond distraught. Then Percival brings news of a possible way to cure Gwen.

Hidden in the Skeleton Keys offshore of Peru is a fabulous place ruled by an immortal High King. Percy suspects that the island is one of the forms of the Holy Grail. If they can get Gwen to the island so that she can drink from the Grail, she will be cured of her wound.

This novel brings together the famous king of the Britons with someone even more legendary: Gilgamesh, the original knight errant. It is a tale of immortality, loyalty, power, and compassion. In a way, it addresses the problems of terrorism and sworn enemies.

Arthur finds it hard to adapt his ancient principles to the demands of the presidency, almost running afoul of the Peter Principle, but pulling through with a little help from his friends. As usual, his very much out of date viewpoint shows some attributes of modern society in an unusual way, but he manages to adapt and learn and the country is the better for it.

In some respects, this novel is not as good as his first novel (in either the original or revised form). Some of the freshness and glamour has worn off the plot, but there are still some very funny one-liners and situations as Arthur confronts the illogical and irrational in current affairs.

Highly recommended for David fans and anyone else who would enjoy a story combining tales of the country bumpkin coming to town with elements of the return of the king.

"One Knight Only" is the recently published sequel to "Knight Life", Peter David's very first novel. In "Knight Life" Peter constructed a tale in which Arthur, having returned to life to run for mayor of modern-day New York City, must not only deal with modern politics in order to reclaim his mantle as a leader, but with a beautiful woman named Gwen who looks impossibly like the queen he loved 1500 years ago, a backwards-aged Merlin, and old enemies from his past that will do anything to destroy his political future. In "One Knight Only", we see Arthur as President of the United States, dealing with terrorism, assassination attempts, the loss of loved ones, conniving journalists looking for a scoop, and a mysterious, powerful King who holds a powerful weapon that Arthur desperately needs.

I will say that I found it jarring that Peter suddenly jumped ahead to the middle of Arthur's Presidency without making this material into a novel of its own to tell us how Arthur did this, instead relying on flashbacks and exposition, but I suppose he felt he covered that type of election story with the first novel, and didn't want to rehash himself. We find out that the U.S., having recently signed a treaty with a country named Trans-Sabal (which will be familiar to readers of Peter David's stint on Marvel Comics' "X-Factor"), has been dealing with the terrorism of a man named Arnim Sandoval, and after a vicious assassination attempt strikes home at Arthur's White House, Arthur, without Merlin or Percival at his side to advise him, must not only deal with the tragedy of the act, but with a country convinced that Trans-Sabal was behind the act, and clamoring for blood.

It is here that Peter uses Arthur's response as the President to terrorism on U.S. soil as a way of exploring what should be done when a President has a personal stake in going after a dangerous terrorist, and one wonders just how much of what he puts in here he put because it just made a good story, and how much of it is his own commentary on what he thinks about the terrorism policy of the current real-life occupant of the Oval Office. Arthur does seem to take a greater back seat to other characters in the story compared with the first novel, not necessarily because he got less page time, but more because he seems more reactive than pro-active in the story, with most of his actions being responses to attacks, bargains, or blackmails by other characters. Nonetheless, the story is entertaining and faithful to not only the source material as the last novel was, but also to other stories in ancient mythology, which those familiar with such stories will enjoy. Miss Basil is given an expanded role in this novel, as is Percival, and Percival's own quest, which leads him into a confrontation with an arrogant and terrifyingly powerful enemy, is brought together with the Arthur storyline in a gigantic climax that will send shockwaves ...literally.

At 373 pages, it's only 30 pages longer than "Knight Life", and Peter expertly weaves drama, ancient fantasy, political philosophy and his trademark humor (which only rarely becomes annoyingly contrived in the book) into a very entertaining fantasy tale. I did find the ending a tad bit abrupt, leaving an important question unanswered about one of the main characters, and Peter David's statement that a third book is not a definite thing made me wonder if this point slipped his mind, but it was still an entertaining read, and hopefully there will be a third book that answers it. Bottom line, if you like Peter David, and you liked "Knight Life," go pick up "One Knight Only."