- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Del Rey Books; paperback / softback edition (July 2004)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0345466969
- ISBN-13: 978-0345466969
- Product Dimensions: 13.9 x 1.8 x 20.8 cm
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 3,135,664 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Product Description
Product Description
The story says that one day a Fisher King will rise to heal the land.
In the 1950s, they’re still waiting. . . .
At the turn of the twentieth century, a baseball player named George Gibson embarks upon a mystical journey to the Congo. His mission: to shepherd a powerful relic to its home in Abyssinia. But poet—turned—grail seeker Arthur Rimbaud is after what Gibson possesses–as others before him have been for millennia.
A half-century later, after receiving an honorable discharge from the Korean War, twenty-year-old Lance Porter vows to put his civilian life back together–which means heading to commie-infested Berkeley to see his high school sweetheart, Ellie. But after Lance gets cold feet, he encounters instead a drunk, gay poet named Jack Spicer, who spews crazy stories about Lance being the Fisher King.
It appears that the bearing of the grail has been bequeathed to young Lance, much to his shock and disbelief. Can a legacy born in the deserts of Ethiopia truly be reemerging in the bohemian bars of New York City and San Francisco? And is a vet with a lost soul really worthy of its care?
ALEXANDER C. IRVINE has breathed a refreshing burst of air into the Arthurian legend. In One King, One Soldier, ancient characters and Irvine’s pitch-perfect historical accuracy merge with a gritty, dark portrait of America in the Cold-war ‘50s. Here, three stories come brilliantly together in an edgy mix of baseball, imperialism, poetry, and grail mythology.
In the 1950s, they’re still waiting. . . .
At the turn of the twentieth century, a baseball player named George Gibson embarks upon a mystical journey to the Congo. His mission: to shepherd a powerful relic to its home in Abyssinia. But poet—turned—grail seeker Arthur Rimbaud is after what Gibson possesses–as others before him have been for millennia.
A half-century later, after receiving an honorable discharge from the Korean War, twenty-year-old Lance Porter vows to put his civilian life back together–which means heading to commie-infested Berkeley to see his high school sweetheart, Ellie. But after Lance gets cold feet, he encounters instead a drunk, gay poet named Jack Spicer, who spews crazy stories about Lance being the Fisher King.
It appears that the bearing of the grail has been bequeathed to young Lance, much to his shock and disbelief. Can a legacy born in the deserts of Ethiopia truly be reemerging in the bohemian bars of New York City and San Francisco? And is a vet with a lost soul really worthy of its care?
ALEXANDER C. IRVINE has breathed a refreshing burst of air into the Arthurian legend. In One King, One Soldier, ancient characters and Irvine’s pitch-perfect historical accuracy merge with a gritty, dark portrait of America in the Cold-war ‘50s. Here, three stories come brilliantly together in an edgy mix of baseball, imperialism, poetry, and grail mythology.
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First Sentence
THE FIRST THING the doctor said to Lance Porter was, "March fifth, is that right?" Read the first page
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt
THE FIRST THING the doctor said to Lance Porter was, "March fifth, is that right?" Read the first page
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3 reviews
3 of 6 people found the following review helpful
cutting edge urban fantasy
28 July 2004
Format:Paperback
After his knee shattered in the Korean War, Lance Porter goes to San Francisco to recover from his wounds. While in the hospital, he receives a letter from his girlfriend Ellie who tells him to wait for her to come to him because she has something important to tell him. Thinking that she is coming west because she has become a communist, he explores the Bay Area looking to see if there really are communists in Berkley where Ellie will be staying.
He meets Jack a gay poet who seems to believe that Lance is the Fisher King, the man destined to find the Holy Grail, the missing piece of the Ark of the Covenant. He learns from Jack that his twin brother Dewy, who disappeared when he was twelve years old, resides in a small Canadian town. He travels to see Dewy, who tells him that he was chosen by their father to carry out the family heritage but is abdicating in favor of Lance since death surround those who have the Holy Grail. Lance and Elle search for the Holy Grail and evade the people who are searching for it, intent on having it or kill his enemies in a holy war.
Readers who want something different in their fantasy reading will enjoy ONE KING, ONE SOLDIER. It is cutting edge urban fantasy and the protagonist must discover the truth about himself and his family if he is to fulfill his quest. This is a different archetype on the Arthurian legend, one that is keeping with modern day society. Alexander C. Irvine has written a fantastic work of speculative fiction that will change the way readers think of urban fantasy.
Harriet Klausner
He meets Jack a gay poet who seems to believe that Lance is the Fisher King, the man destined to find the Holy Grail, the missing piece of the Ark of the Covenant. He learns from Jack that his twin brother Dewy, who disappeared when he was twelve years old, resides in a small Canadian town. He travels to see Dewy, who tells him that he was chosen by their father to carry out the family heritage but is abdicating in favor of Lance since death surround those who have the Holy Grail. Lance and Elle search for the Holy Grail and evade the people who are searching for it, intent on having it or kill his enemies in a holy war.
Readers who want something different in their fantasy reading will enjoy ONE KING, ONE SOLDIER. It is cutting edge urban fantasy and the protagonist must discover the truth about himself and his family if he is to fulfill his quest. This is a different archetype on the Arthurian legend, one that is keeping with modern day society. Alexander C. Irvine has written a fantastic work of speculative fiction that will change the way readers think of urban fantasy.
Harriet Klausner
3 of 6 people found the following review helpful
3rd rate Tim Powers
24 July 2005
Format:Paperback
I might have liked this book a LOT more if I hadn't stumbled over one, maybe two factual errors in the beginning-- that set the stage for me to wonder how accurate the rest of the book's 'facts' were:
The author refers to an "MRE box" in the Korean War, 1953 to be exact. According to my sources, MREs weren't even in development until 1966, and not deployed until the 70's at the earliest. Korean soldiers still used C-rations. Definite big-time miss.
Secondly, and not so surely, he refers to a baseball game between the S.F. Seals and the Seattle Pilots. Now, I know the Pilots had a couple of instantiations, but I BELIEVE (but am not sure) that in 1953 the Seattle minor-league club was the "Rainiers".
If you're going to do the Tim Powers "Conflate modern history with ancient myth" schtick, you have to be rigorous in your research.
Other than that, the plot seemed jumbled, the motivations poorly delineated, and the characters' actions random. Too bad, I enjoy this type of thing, but "Last Call" did it far better.
The author refers to an "MRE box" in the Korean War, 1953 to be exact. According to my sources, MREs weren't even in development until 1966, and not deployed until the 70's at the earliest. Korean soldiers still used C-rations. Definite big-time miss.
Secondly, and not so surely, he refers to a baseball game between the S.F. Seals and the Seattle Pilots. Now, I know the Pilots had a couple of instantiations, but I BELIEVE (but am not sure) that in 1953 the Seattle minor-league club was the "Rainiers".
If you're going to do the Tim Powers "Conflate modern history with ancient myth" schtick, you have to be rigorous in your research.
Other than that, the plot seemed jumbled, the motivations poorly delineated, and the characters' actions random. Too bad, I enjoy this type of thing, but "Last Call" did it far better.
1 of 5 people found the following review helpful
Very strange book
22 May 2005
Format:Paperback
This book is really very strange, with combinaions of history, fantasy, Arthurian legends, and the myth of the Holy Grail. It goes from Korea to the United States, to Canada, Europe and Africa. There are historical characters mixed in with the fictional ones, and it's very difficult to tell when the historical folks are acting as they would have in reality. The story is quite convoluted, and keeps skipping back and forth in time, and also in place, so that your head begins to spin at times. I can't fault the writing, because it is good, but there's just too much oddity going on to rate it any higher than I have.
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