Knight Life
Encyclopedia
Peter David
Peter Allen David , often abbreviated PAD, is an American writer of comic books, novels, television, movies and video games...
. The book was first published in 1987, and an expanded, updated edition of the book was published by Ace Books
Ace Books
Ace Books is the oldest active specialty publisher of science fiction and fantasy books. The company was founded in New York City in 1952 by Aaron A. Wyn, and began as a genre publisher of mysteries and westerns...
in 2002.
Plot summary
- (The following summary is based on the 2002 rewrite.)
In a rundown apartment in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, Morgan Le Fay
Morgan le Fay
Morgan le Fay , alternatively known as Morgane, Morgaine, Morgana and other variants, is a powerful sorceress in the Arthurian legend. Early works featuring Morgan do not elaborate her character beyond her role as a fay or magician...
has finally decided to end her own life
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. Although kept immortal by magic, she has become apathetic
Apathy
Apathy is a state of indifference, or the suppression of emotions such as concern, excitement, motivation and passion. An apathetic individual has an absence of interest in or concern about emotional, social, spiritual, philosophical or physical life.They may lack a sense of purpose or meaning in...
, elderly, and corpulent, and sees no point in continuing with her life. Before cutting her wrist with a steak knife, she decides to look in on her old nemesis, Merlin
Merlin
Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
's prison, one last time, and is surprised to see that he has escaped. Given a reason to live again, she laughs triumphantly.
In Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, King Arthur
King Arthur
King Arthur is a legendary British leader of the late 5th and early 6th centuries, who, according to Medieval histories and romances, led the defence of Britain against Saxon invaders in the early 6th century. The details of Arthur's story are mainly composed of folklore and literary invention, and...
appears on the streets in full medieval armor, which he quickly divests in favor of a tailored suit (thanks to an American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
card that appears in his pocket by magic). He then walks into Central Park
Central Park
Central Park is a public park in the center of Manhattan in New York City, United States. The park initially opened in 1857, on of city-owned land. In 1858, Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Vaux won a design competition to improve and expand the park with a plan they entitled the Greensward Plan...
, where the Lady of the Lake
Lady of the Lake
The Lady of the Lake is the name of several related characters who play parts in the Arthurian legend. These characters' roles include giving King Arthur his sword Excalibur, enchanting Merlin, and raising Lancelot after the death of his father...
rises from the pond and gives him Excalibur
Excalibur
Excalibur is the legendary sword of King Arthur, sometimes attributed with magical powers or associated with the rightful sovereignty of Great Britain. Sometimes Excalibur and the Sword in the Stone are said to be the same weapon, but in most versions they are considered separate. The sword was...
.
Setting up an office under the name "Arthur Penn" (short for Pendragon
Pendragon
Pendragon or Pen Draig, meaning "head dragon" or "chief dragon" , is the name of several traditional Kings of the Britons:...
), Arthur reunites with Merlin
Merlin
Merlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
, who advises him that the world needs a leader like him, so Arthur decides to enter politics
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...
, beginning with announcing his candidacy for Mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of New York City.
Two versions
The original version of the book sold decently, but was not a runaway best seller. During his efforts to bring the book to the big screen, Peter David grew more and more dissatisfied with what he considered to be an amateur novel. He was also concerned with how dated the story seemed, with anachronisms such as an office filled with clattering typewriters and an almost non-existent RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
presence in New York City mayoral politics. Because he had updated and expanded the story when writing a screenplay version of it during one of the numerous times it was optioned to be adapted into a film, he decided to rewrite the novel, incorporating aspects from the screenplay version, and bringing it more into line with how his writing style developed over the years. Whereas the original edition contained 65,000 words, the 2002 edition contains 95,000.
Characters
- Arthur Pendragon/Arthur Penn
- MerlinMerlinMerlin is a legendary figure best known as the wizard featured in the Arthurian legend. The standard depiction of the character first appears in Geoffrey of Monmouth's Historia Regum Britanniae, written c. 1136, and is based on an amalgamation of previous historical and legendary figures...
- PercivalPercivalPercival or Perceval is one of King Arthur's legendary Knights of the Round Table. In Welsh literature his story is allotted to the historical Peredur...
- Gwen DeVere QueenGuinevereGuinevere was the legendary queen consort of King Arthur. In tales and folklore, she was said to have had a love affair with Arthur's chief knight Sir Lancelot...
- Morgan Le FayMorgan le FayMorgan le Fay , alternatively known as Morgane, Morgaine, Morgana and other variants, is a powerful sorceress in the Arthurian legend. Early works featuring Morgan do not elaborate her character beyond her role as a fay or magician...
- Modred/Moe Dreskin
- Lance BensonLancelotSir Lancelot du Lac is one of the Knights of the Round Table in the Arthurian legend. He is the most trusted of King Arthur's knights and plays a part in many of Arthur's victories...
- Miss BasilBasiliskIn European bestiaries and legends, a basilisk is a legendary reptile reputed to be king of serpents and said to have the power to cause death with a single glance...
- Buddy
- Elvis
- Bernard "Bernie" Keating
- Kent Taylor
- Ronnie Cordoba
Influences
Knight Life is influenced by numerous Arthurian literary works, including the following:- Le Morte d'ArthurLe Morte d'ArthurLe Morte d'Arthur is a compilation by Sir Thomas Malory of Romance tales about the legendary King Arthur, Guinevere, Lancelot, and the Knights of the Round Table...
by Sir Thomas Mallory - The Once and Future KingThe Once and Future KingThe Once and Future King is an Arthurian fantasy novel written by T. H. White. It was first published in 1958 and is mostly a composite of earlier works written in a period between 1938 and 1941....
by T.H. White - The Book of Merlin by T.H. White
- The Last EnchantmentThe Last EnchantmentThe Last Enchantment is a 1979 fantasy novel by Mary Stewart. It is the third in a quintet of novels covering the Arthurian legend, preceded by The Hollow Hills and succeeded by The Wicked Day.-Plot introduction:...
(and other assorted titles) by Mary StewartMary StewartMary Florence Elinor Stewart is a popular English novelist, best known for her Merlin series, which straddles the boundary between the historical novel and the fantasy genre.-Career:... - Tales of King Arthur by John SteinbeckJohn SteinbeckJohn Ernst Steinbeck, Jr. was an American writer. He is widely known for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden and the novella Of Mice and Men...
- Arthur Rex by Thomas Berger