Hal is an ex-FBI agent attempting to drown his memories in alcohol when he meets a strange man. Arther Blessing is a ten-year-old boy who accidentally found the Holy Grail. Saladin is the millennia-old man who lost it and will kill for its return. Their three lives tangle together in a story that encompasses modern-day New York and ancient Egypt, the coming of Christ and the reign of King Arther.I'll admit I bought this because I owned the sequel and thought it might be nice to read them in the right order. I started paging through it last night while waiting for friends and quickly got hooked. The book has amazing depth, both in its history and its characters. It touches multiple periods of history, yet lends an authentic feel to each one. In fact, the sparse description of each era works perfectly; it doesn't fall into the trap of describing what the people of the time would have taken for granted. At the same time, since most of the historical segments belong to Saladin, his age gives him a lot of perspective on how the actions of one generation impact the next.It's hard to say which is my favorite character of the book, but Saladin is the best villain I've seen in a long time. He kills people because it's a habit, rather like smoking might be a habit for someone else. But he has no real malice towards anyone. He's lived so long that ordinary lives mean nothing. A very large portion of the book is dedicated to discovering his past, which in a sense is also the history of the Holy Grail.Hal, Arther, and Taliesin are also engaging characters, and though they are much more familiar than Saladin, they still pull out surprises. Hal may have a charming, simple-minded destiny, but it's never one that really worked out before. Arther is intelligent, charismatic, and has a pure soul---something I thought could never work for a character, but it does work here. Taliesin, for all his power and knowledge, can't do the one thing he wants most.But it's Yet Another Arther Story---does it work? Having read a few other Arthurian stories (including some, like Peter David's One Knight Only and Knight Life that are also modern-day), I suppose I'd concluded this Once and Future King business was a wonderful story, but had been a beaten to death. That may be true, but this book approaches the story from an entirely different angle than all the rest: it is the Holy Grail at the center of the book, not Arthur. It is Saladin who controls the point of view during much of the time with the knights, and the focus is not on the much-regurgitated legends but on the Grail.I had very few nitpicks. Historically, I generally liked how certain things differed from popular perception---and not randomly differed, but differed in a way that made sense and even explained why modern culture came up with those misconceptions. There was, however, one thing that did somewhat bother me: Jesus did eat during the Last Supper, not just start the ritual of Communion. I never saw the reason behind leaving off the meal beforehand, as that wouldn't have diminished the Grail's role in the whole thing. Christianity in general is treated very well, though the meaning of the dream with Jesus and the Grail is still something that isn't exactly clear to me.The next thing that bothered me was how quickly Emily got dumped in the end. Even if no one else knows what happened, I had expected a line or two of explanation. Also, I thought Merlin's power, both its source and its use, became another loose end. I realize he doesn't know where he got it, but I thought it could have been developed a little bit more or used once or twice near the end. My final annoyance is horribly minor: the second-to-last paragraph (at least in my edition) italicizes three phrases for no reason I can see, which throws off the rhythm of the prose. (Interestingly, I doublechecked this against another edition and the ending is indeed different. If I remember correctly, the epilogue prose may have been slightly different as well).I am trying not to spoil too much, which is why I've been speaking more in generalities. Overall this was an addiction I will be happy to repeat, and I am very, very glad I remembered the author of the second book and linked her name to this book. This is something I will come back to again and again. Highly Recommended.
I was torn between the 3 or 4 stars ratings and went with 4 on an impulse because I very much enjoyed the read. The characters are charming and flawed. I especially enjoyed the depiction of aunt Emily as a woman who is capable and intelligent and who doesn't quite know how to show her nephew that she loves him. Hal is kind of a predictable cliche as the alcoholic disgraced former FBI agent, who got too close to job, but it works for the context of this particular story. Arthur is precocious and caring and seemingly more emotionally enlightened than any of the adults in this book, which I guess you can chalk up to his chosen one status. Saladin was terrifying in the beginning and then sort of became a Disney villain later on particularly as he tries to toy with Arthur. It was a very engaging read and I read it in one go but I felt like the ending was rushed a bit and faltered which I felt was a disservice to all the work the authors put into the backstory and set-up. It almost felt as if the authors had had it in mind to keep the book as a self-contained volume while writing the majority of the book and then had changed their minds at the end and so had to write a shaky lead-in to a sequel. The book would have been better had it been a stand-alone, in my opinion, but I have yet to read the next installment so we will see if the authors have anything new to offer us in this world.
What do You think about The Forever King (1993)?
One of the very first Arthurian retellings I ever read. I got it as a mass market paperback from the library and the cover was torn off so I didn't know the book title. This didn't bother me until years later when I realized I had no way of finding it again. I didn't even have the kind of reliable internet tools available today, so the limited information I had was of no use in locating it. The details faded over the years and any time I thought of it I wasn't near a computer...until today! Whee! And there's more of them! Definitely up for a reread. The Forever King is one of the few novels that deals with the prophesied return of Arthur when the world needs him most. It's unique in that the characters are actually reincarnated, rather than resurrected. It follows the story of Hal Woczniak, a former FBI agent who deals with PSTD of some kind, and eventually realizes he's Galahad. I especially love it for the story it tells of the Holy Grail--telling a very coherent story of the cup and its journey through time. Not recommended for younger readers, due to some mature content.
—Katie Daniels
At first, I wasn't sure i was going to like this. Gritty, violent, and a little more real-world modern than i expected, i wasn't too hot on it at first. Then, I kept going, and I couldn't put it down.I love the concept, the depth of the characyers, the richness of the images of Camelot, and the details of the characters' histories. I love the thought of Saladin through the ages - who else might he have been through history? Where else did he hold influence? These characters are multi dimensional and pull you in, and by the end I was wholely absorbed in their world, and the only problem was that I wanted more. How glad I was to come on goodreads and find that there's a sequel!
—Sara
This is another book that I read years ago and recently re-read. I did this for two reasons: first, because I loved it so much the first time, I wanted to see if it still resonated and, secondly, because I discovered it is actually the first book of a trilogy and I intend to read the others (mind you, they were out of print, so hard to track down - but I did!). Ostensibly a retelling of the Arthur story for the modern age, this tale is so much more...Taking the notion that King Arthur died before he could fulfil his destiny, the young man who pulled Excalibur from the stone is reborn in... the USA (of course) in contemporary times. But wait, like a good advertisement for steak knives, there's more. Spanning eras and continents, the novel takes us back to ancient times, the period of the Pharaohs, Persia, medieval Britain and then catapults us into the modern period and into the life of a burned our former FBI agent, Hal, who can't forget the young red-headed boy he didn't rescue from a psychopathic killer in time. We also learn about a very tall man, a gruesome murderer, who is in solitary confinement in a mental institute in the UK. He has no name, no past and, it seems no future... that is, until he learns the whereabouts of a certain object he owned for a very long time, lost and which he desires very much. Parallel to these stories is that of 10 year old, Arthur Blessing. He's an orphan being raised by his brilliant young Aunt Emily. But it's not until he comes across a strange metal, cup-like object that Arthur's fairly ordinary existence becomes not only extraordinary but very, very dangerous for him and those he cares about. For the metal cup has powers that some will stop at nothing to ensure they possess - no matter how long it take or at what cost. A fast-paced, highly cinematic read (one of the authors has worked on screenplays - and it shows in a good way), this is a fun, imaginatively conceived book that leaves you breathless and wanting more. I couldn't put it down the first or second time.
—Karen Brooks
