The Forever King
A ten-year-old boy holds the Holy Grail.
The Forever King is a fantasy novel by Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy, authors of Grandmaster, which reached #3 on The New York Times bestseller list. It is the first book in the Forever King Trilogy, followed by The Broken Sword: King Arthur Returns and The Third Magic. Robert Jordan, author of The Wheel of Time, called it a fresh and exciting view of the Arthur legend.
Quick Facts
- Author
- Molly Cochran and Warren Murphy
- Cover artist
- Joe DeVito, jacket design by Joe Curcio
- Illustrator
- Mel Green
- Language
- English
- Genre
- Fantasy
- Published
- June 1992 Tor Books
- Format
- Print (hardback and paperback)
- Pages
- 402
Facts from the source article.
Summary
In a darkened house near where Camelot may once have stood, a madman schemes. The Holy Grail was once his, and he plans to reclaim it. The Grail's protectors are few: an alcohol-soaked ex-FBI agent, a courtly old gentleman who once held awesome power, and a ten-year-old boy named Arthur Blessing. Arthur is no ordinary boy; the Grail is his by chance, but the power to keep it is his by right. He needs a defender, and fate gives him Hal Woczniak, a broken-down drifter plagued by nightmares of a dead child. Hal quit the FBI and the human race, but now he is offered a chance to redeem himself.
Main characters
A ten-year-old Chicago boy named Arthur Blessing, who is the reincarnated King Arthur, discovers the Holy Grail. Protecting him is Hal Woczniak, a former FBI agent and alcoholic who is the reincarnated Sir Galahad, also called the Siege Perilous. Arthur’s mentor is Merlin, the wizard of Camelot, who goes by Mr. Goldberg or Bertram Taliesin and seeks to give the boy the Cup. The ancient antagonist, Saladin, also known as Mr. X, King Saladin, or the Saracen Knight, has lived for millennia and will do anything to reclaim the Grail.
Secondary characters
The knights of the Round Table include Bohort, Gaheris, Gawain the green knight, Launcelot, Lionel, Lucan, Perceval, and Tristam. At Scotland Yard, lab agents Chastain and Higgins work with Inspector Brian Candy on the case. Candy is the inspector sent from Scotland Yard to help Hal and Emily locate Arthur. Dr. Mark Coles serves as Saladin’s physician at the Maplebrook asylum. Emily Blessing, Arthur’s aunt, is brilliant but easily upset, and she raised him. Frank Morton runs the game show Go Fish. Hafiz Chagla, an electrician at Maplebrook and one of Saladin’s men, helped him escape. Hamid Laghouat, an Algerian and another of Saladin’s men, worked as an assistant at the Bournemouth library while Saladin was at Maplebrook. Jeff Brown was a boy Hal failed to rescue from a burning building during his FBI days. Joe Starr hosts the CBS game show Go Fish, which Hal appears on. Kanna is a caveman who kept the Cup for hundreds or thousands of years before Saladin took it. Matilda Grimes, an elderly English woman, handles tax collection, village clerk duties, and building inspection for Wilson-on-Hamble; she also maintains county records and assists Hal in finding the house where Arthur is held. Mordred, a twelve-year-old boy claimed to be Arthur’s son, stabs Arthur in battle, killing him, but Arthur stabs Mordred back, also killing him. Mrs. Sloan runs the inn in England where Hal and Emily stay. Mustafa Aziz is one of Saladin’s men. Nimue, called the Lady of the Lake, is a wild, beautiful young woman who lives in the woods and communicates with animals. Tom Rogers is a boy who visits Camelot each St. John’s Eve to listen for the hoofbeats of the riding knights. Vinod Abad is also one of Saladin’s men.
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