The Knights of the Cornerstone

by James P. Blaylock

Calvin Bryson has hidden himself away from the world, losing himself in his work and his collection of rare and quirky books. He never meant to let so much time go by without visiting his aunt and uncle in the tiny town of New Cyprus, California. When he gets there, he'll discover the town's strange secrets and a mysterious group dedicated to preserving and protecting holy relics - a modern-day incarnation of the legendary Knights Templar…

An exquisite novel of fantasy from a "true one-of-a-kind original." (Neil Gaiman)

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Speculative Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Science Fiction

294 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

James Paul Blaylock is an American fantasy author. He is noted for his distinctive style. He writes in a humorous way: His characters never walk, they clump along, or when someone complains (in a flying machine) that flight is impossible, the other characters agree and show him why he's right.

He was born in Long Beach, California; studied English at California State University, Fullerton, receiving an M.A. in 1974; and lives in Orange, California, teaching creative writing at Chapman University. Many of his books are set in Orange County, California, and can more specifically be termed "fabulism" — that is, fantastic things happen in our present-day world, rather than in traditional fantasy, where the setting is often some other world. His works have also been categorized as magic realism.

He and his friends Tim Powers and K.W. Jeter were mentored by Philip K. Dick. Along with Powers he invented the poet William Ashbless. Blaylock and Powers have often collaborated with each other on writing stories, including The Better Boy, On Pirates, and The William Ashbless Memorial Cookbook.

Blaylock is also currently director of the Creative Writing Conservatory at the Orange County High School of the Arts, where Powers is Writer in Residence.

Reviews

[Jeffrey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Blaylock may be able to write, but this insomnia ending book is not his best effort. The book is not full size, being two thirds the size of a small hardcover, and its only 294 pages long but it feels like War and Peace at times. So Slow.

The story is basically set out west. Calvin, the nephew of Al Lymon, the leader of the Knights of the Cornerstone, is sent by his cousin to deliver a veil. Really he is a decoy as the Veil was actually mailed. Calvin, who inherited money on the death of his father is basically living a banal existence using his father's inheritance, moping after an old flame and collecting obscure pamphlets, and drawing odd cartoons. His Uncle and Cousin think that if he goes to New Cyprus, the home of the Cornerstone, maybe he will snap out of the doldrums and join their company of Knights-- which basically protects ancient religious artifacts and an old silver mine

When Calvin visits he finds that his Aunt Nettie is suffering from a terrible cancer that is killing her mind and body. It turns out the Veil has magical properties in that it can transfer illness from one person to another. Even though Al Lymon is supposed to be a good guy, the suffering of his wife has hit him hard and the powers of the Veil are hard to resist.

However Bob Postum, also is in New Cyprus and he is after the Veil and the silver. Calvin, of course, meets a girl, who is a Knight, discovers a traitor in the Knights, decides to join the Knights, and eventually becomes the Man. There are several erupting confrontations between Postum's group and the Knights, but the eventual confrontation takes way too long to arrive. Meanwhile there are no authorities around even though people get killed left and right.

I really tried to like the book, but in the end its a miss for me. There are books out there that you dive right into their welcoming pages and rush like a fiend to the end, then go back and re-read treasured passages over and over. And then there are books like s this -- that are original and well written but don't deliver the goods.

[Brooke · Rating 1 out of 5]

To sum it up: What a mess.

I grabbed this off the New Arrivals shelf at the library - it's the sort of book I'd have avoided (I'm wary of post-DaVinci Code books about the Knights Templar and Biblical artifacts, since most of them seem to be hastily slapped together to take advantage of the trend), except it's by a veteran fantasy author I've been intending to check out.

It would have been better off staying on the shelf. It's just shy of 300 pages, and yet it took me days and days to read. As I was trying to finish up the last 80 pages today, I feel asleep twice. The main character is pathetic and odd; he doesn't seem to have any friends, his fiance left him, and his life revolves around collecting obscure pamphlets and sketching very, very unfunny cartoons. He has a bad habit of not telling people things that really should be told, and he's so insanely passive that the book could have only been improved by replacing him with a turtle.

And that's saying nothing of the plot, which only half exists. There's some sort of malarkey about antagonists trying to steal a veil, or is it silver? Can we make up our minds? Nothing is explained very well, and all the characters do things that left me saying, "Okay, but WHY? Seriously?" The timing of everything is far too coincidental (of course plans that have been brewing for decades go down in the days that the main character just happens to be in town!) and by the time camels and a fake film crew and catapults came in for no good reason, I was just ready to burn this book. Except I think the librarians wouldn't appreciate that.

Any Blaylock fans out there who can tell me if this is representative of his other work, or if he just dropped the ball on this one?

[Sandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Knights of the Cornerstone is a well-crafted and entertaining read that doesn't take a huge amount of brain power to work through. I liked the conceit of a small town on the banks of the Colorado River where California, Arizona and Nevada meet that's populated by modern-day Knights Templar. The book has a bit of everything: mystery, miracles, adventure and romance. I'd love to see a movie made from this book.

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I suppose I could have put this on my Christian Fiction shelf, though I'm not totally sure. So going with my "play it safe" mode I simply put it on my "read" shelf and my "Fantasy" shelf. I've read several books by Mr. Blaylock and while they are all a little on the, esoteric, side and he may be an acquired taste (you'll have to decide that for yourself) I like his work, overall. You know.

Anyway, pretty good read. Our willingly and willfully ne'er-do-well protagonist is drawn into a long term spiritual battle with physical overtones or possibly a physical battle with spiritual overtones that he is ill prepared to believe in much less participate in...err. I mean in which to participate.

So as we travel with him up (and down) his road of discovery, belief and understanding the plot thickens constantly (you know like gravy or Jell-O). Christian Relics, greed, hunger for power and so on will keep you enthralled, or at least mildly interested right up to the end of the book.

Really.

Recommended, enjoy.

[April · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very enjoyable Knights Templar displaced to the rural Southwest kind of read. The main character is just kind of drifting along before he gets the call from his uncle to visit his dying aunt in New Cyprus, CA. It turns out that New Cyprus is kind of a haven for these rough-and-ready Western knights, who are embroiled in a battle with an evil man with the clear psuedonym of Bob Postum. Calvin is a likable and believable main character, making mistakes left and right. Like all of us, sometimes he has too much hubris and sometimes too little. Blaylock's book reminds me a bit of the old Manly Wade Wellman stories, where evil and good are clear, poor but gorgeous rural setting, and humans acting human in the face of inhuman forces. Not much depth, but a enjoyably good story.

[Tami · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting book. It has a bit of a tie in with the Knights Templar but it's more modern day than that - kind of how a group may have carried on with that philosophy. It's a quick read but maybe a little too quick to really care very deeply about the characters. Some of the twists were predictable but others caught me off guard. :)

[Tim Meechan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I can't remember how many years it's been since I last read a Blaylock novel, but I did remember, before starting "The Knight's of the Cornerstone", how much I loved his stories. I also remembered trying to compare his writing to others and deciding that he was totally unique. When I came across this book, saw the author's name, and realized it was new, I was jazzed, and then I read Neil Gaimen's blurb on the front cover, "Blaylock is a true one-of-a-kind original", and knew I had found another gem of a book.

To all of the other Blaylock fans, I don't need to sell you. You already know. If you are someone who has tried him once and didn't get hooked, I strongly urge you to try him at least once more. Maybe "The Paper Grail" or "Night Relics".

This story begins with a somewhat mysterious letter received by Calvin Bryson from his uncle Al, an uncle that never writes! Then a box is delivered from a truck that is distinctly UPS in color, but has no truck logos and the delivery man does not have the little UPS scanner that we have all seen before-what? Then another relative explains how important it is that he personally deliver the box to his uncle Al. Get the picture, before he knows it, Calvin is knee deep in a centuries old battle of good and evil.

The thing that makes Blaylock's books so unique, is his crazy, eccentric cast of characters and just the right amount of magical and mysticism mixed in to make it super fun to read, and maybe, just maybe, the feeling that some of that magic really could exist.

I hope you will try him out, I'm confident you will enjoy this one and many others.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never read this author before so I got this book out of our library here at the apartments I live...So this was an interesting book about a group of people who live in a town called New Cyprus they are part of a group that came from the knights Templer and they call their selves the Knights of the Cornerstone which I understand is a huge stone from something important way back having to do with Jesus I believe..So Calvin is the nephew of Al Lymon (whom is a Knight) and his uncle and cousin send him on a mission to bring them a box with a veil in it now the story told to Calvin is it belongs to his aunt whom he has never heard of or saw turns out in the end it isn't what he thinks it is and so Calvin has to make a choice weather to be like the rest of his family and become a Knight and protect ancient artifacts or walk away and hope to live another day..I thing I did learn from this book I had never heard of the Veil of Veronica and now I know it is a true relgious artifact..anyways enjoy and sorry kind of a messed up review in someones but if u like some history with your fiction then u will like this book..

[Mei · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to like this more than I did. James Blaylock for me falls into the same category as Jonathan Carroll and Tim Powers - some kind of mythical Americana fantasy - which I sometimes get but sometimes feel like I’m missing the point entirely. I’ve never been a real fan of the whole Knights Templar pseudo-religious mysticism but if done well it can be very interesting. This is still streets ahead of the modern rubbish that’s being circulated these days however.

[Jesse · Rating 2 out of 5]

Got a beach read that I read on one day, it isn’t awful but it feels very empty. The set up is interesting, but the characters and execution feel very shallow and uninteresting. Still, not a bad way to spend an afternoon.

[Amy Phelps · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book couldn’t end fast enough. It was boring from beginning to end. I started skimming starting about page 250 because I was bored and ready to be done

[Ashley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bleh.

[Anthony · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great fun

[Garry · Rating 3 out of 5]

James Blaylock, where not all of your questions are answered. There are always greater powers at work, and the landscape itself is a character. As always, he does not disappoint.

[Megan]

DNS 5/4/23 no longer interested

[Kara Babcock · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm so over Templar fiction.

I was never into Templar fiction per se, but somehow my love for historical fiction and my love for Arthurian fantasy had an incestuous relationship that resulted in an irrational urge to inflict Templar fiction upon myself. I blame Jack Whyte, who writes both Arthurian fantasy and Templar fiction.

That being said, I chose to read The Knights of the Cornerstone. There's even a blurb from Neil Gaiman, one of my all-time favourite authors, on the cover! And on the back cover are a number of blurbs from an all-star cast of blurb-writers. That just goes to show how blurbs are inaccurate indicators of whether one will enjoy a book.

Of course, all of the blurbs without exception are talking about James P. Blaylock, not about The Knights of the Cornerstone. This is the first Blaylock book I've read; owing to the ringing endorsements from all these authors, I'll probably give him a second chance with one of his better-recommended books.

The main character might be Calvin Bryson, or it might be a roll of unused paper towel. The two have equivalent amounts of personality, so it's very hard to tell. Calvin lacks any sort of ambition in life; his fiancée has left him for reasons we never get to learn, so he's living off his inheritance by feeding a passion for New Age Californiana books. But then his uncle asks him to visit New Cyprus, a New Age hotspot that's actually a cover town for some modern-era Knights Templar wannabes. Calvin brings down a veil (or a decoy veil?) that has miraculous holy relic healing powers, but this gets the attention of the Big Bad Bob Postum, who wants the veil. Or silver. Or maybe he just wants to stand around waving his pistol and employ colloquialisms all day.

The whole pattern of dialogue in this book annoys me. I'm sheltered; I live in Canada, have never been to California, and never intend to go to California, so maybe people in that area of California actually talk like that. I don't care. While not exactly "metaphor poisoning" of the severe variety seen on Smallville, the locals speak with enough "local colour" for two New Cypruses. I wouldn't mind it so much except that, once you strip all the slang away, there's nothing left.

This is a short enough book as it is, but these few pages conceal an embarrassing secret: there isn't enough plot to fill them. Calvin spends an inordinate amount of time vacillating about an inordinate amount of things. I have nothing against protagonists undergoing mid-life crises and trying to figure out who they are, but there never seems to be anything redeeming about Calvin except perhaps his complete obedience to his aunt and uncle. He plays no pivotal role in the plot, contributes nothing of unique worth—in short, he's just there, and we're just there with him. I wish I could say Calvin is the exception, but this analysis applies to every character in The Knights of the Cornerstone. I'm not sure why I need to care about any of them, because most of them exist only to provide dialogue.

The appeal of the Templars lies in their rich history and mythology, and Blaylock does nothing with that. Instead, the eponymous Knights have almost nothing to do with the real Templars. In fact, the Knights themselves don't have much of a sinister secret—everyone in New Cyprus is a Knight, it seems, and they aren't up to any master plan, good or bad. The entire plot revolves around stopping Bob Postum from stealing the veil (or the silver), because that would be bad, and because the citizens of New Cyprus would rather take care of such problems themselves rather than involving law enforcement. If the stakes were high enough, if the Knights of New Cyprus were actually involved in something secret or illicit, I could understand this attitude. But the conflict is lame! A healing veil? Hidden silver, acquired from a mine, that everyone in the town decides to share?

It's possible there's a decent story buried somewhere in The Knights of the Cornerstone. Done differently, I can see an epic quest to protect the miracle veil from harm. Indifferent Calvin must step up, make a stand, even at the cost of the woman with whom he finds himself falling in love. Unfortunately, that's not the story we have here. The Knights of the Cornerstone isn't so much Templar fiction as it is Templar name-dropping; even if you are a fan of Templar fiction, this book isn't for you.

[Tim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Reading James P. Blaylock is, to me, like talking to an old friend. I tore through so many Blaylock and Tim Powers books in the late '80s and '90s that they became two of the writers whose works I most anticipated. Blaylock and Powers, friends, both trafficked in offbeat fantasy that, once they got a handle on their own strengths, usually uncovered fabulous magics/ghosts/powers in the real world. Powers was the superior writer, but Blaylock's gently odd tales usually had more humor, were more fun. Both writers are far less prolific than they used to be.

The first new Blaylock novel in awhile, "The Knights of the Cornerstone" can't hold a candle to his best work but still is welcome. This one deals with strange goings on in the desert where California, Nevada and Arizona meet. Modern Knights Templar, a New Testament veil with magical powers and an oily villain's plan to make away with some artifacts/booty protected by the new Knights in their isolated enclave form the core of this novel. Blaylock skillfully and delightfully peels away layers of the mystery for the first half, throwing in a sweet romance, as well. The book limps a little as it gets closer to the conclusion, though, as if Blaylock hadn't completely thought this one out, or his heart was not entirely in it. There is not enough use of the magical elements, and the plot is missing that indefinable something that propels many other Blaylock tales and makes them such a hoot.

I think I've read 14 Blaylock novels; "The Knights of the Cornerstone" certainly ranks in the bottom third; it's like a woman you have loved who isn't quite as pretty as she used to be. Still, here the substitution of comfort for thrill isn't all bad.

[Alan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this sort of occult history, at least as long as it's fictional - works which give one the sense that vast currents are moving underneath the surface of our quotidian world. The slow revelation of secrets. Theodore Roszak's conspiratarian Flicker springs to mind.

Although Blaylock's entry in this genre never quite jelled for me, I found it entertaining, fast-paced and detail-rich, like an early Tim Powers novel, to drop another name.

The basic story's really pretty simple - Calvin Bryson is an ordinary fellow who finds himself in ever-more-extraordinary situations. A quiet, bookish sort living on his own in Eagle Rock, California, Calvin is called to a remote area on the border between Colorado and Arizona called New Cyprus, an aloof, religious community that eschews even wristwatches. Calvin's eccentric relatives want him there to deliver a package containing his late Aunt Iris' "spirit veil," it seems, although that is only the start of a mystery which eventually spans centuries and continents.

Blaylock tells an engaging story, and Calvin is an engaging viewpoint character for our gradually-increasing understanding of what New Cyprus and its inhabitants are about. Worth a look.

[Dan Glover · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some of Blaylock's other works came highly recommended to me so when I saw this one on the shelf, I thought I'd introduce myself to his work. "Knights" is a quirky story with quirky characters which is something I like. However, the mood of the story felt superficial, the descriptions of people and places often seemed heavy handed, and the characters were too under developed to feel any true sympathy for. The overall effect for me was that this is a good idea that needs more work. Unfortunately, it was published prior to that work being done.

I confess I wanted to like this book and there was a spark of excitement when on the opening page there were quotes from both George MacDonald and G.K. Chesterton, two of my all time favourites. The teaser on the back cover seemed promising also. However, the combination of the things listed above along with frequently clunky prose made this an overall disappointment for me. If a book is truly good one doesn't usually find oneself thinking things like, "maybe this would make a better movie than a book", or "man, if this got published maybe even I could publish a book". I'm pretty sure no author wants to hear that about their work but that was where my mind went more than a few times. If the main character had been in his adolescent years and the love interest removed or altered, this would have been at about the right level for a teen adventure.

[Kate Coombs · Rating 4 out of 5]

James Blaylock's fantasy (or magical realism--it borders on that) is so understated that it sometimes seems to move in slow motion. Nevertheless, the guy can write. In this story, a man named Calvin Bryson is asked to bring a package to a little town of New Cyprus in the California desert for his aunt and uncle. It soon turns out that bad guys are after the package, and Calvin is drawn into events having to do with the Knights Templar. I'm afraid most people would be bored by this book, but I just have a certain amount of admiration for Blaylock's story telling--I remember reading All the Bells on Earth and The Last Coin many years ago. He tends to center his plots on religious relics sought by evil men, and they're often as much horror stories as fantasy. In this book, Bob Postum is a thoroughly ruthless villain made more menacing by his very ordinariness, a hearty guy-next-door type who will murder without blinking, then smile like a car salesman and shake your hand. I also suspect Blaylock himself is a quiet man, as his heroes, including Calvin, are timid schlubs who nevertheless get the girl and prevail--but barely!

[Scott · Rating 2 out of 5]

I chose this book because the premise is eerily similar to a concept I have for a novel (essentially: A young man visits a remote small town in the California desert, and finds that he is secretly part of an ancient order of knighthood ... magic, adventure and epic battles ensure). But reading this book was a bit like actually visiting a small town isolated in the desert - which is to say, all the people are stand-offish and hard to get to know. The characters, other than the protagonist and villain, are pretty much just names on the page, with little background or characterization. The plot, while including some interesting twists, is kind of vague and confusing. And by the end - when trebuchets and camel-riding Egyptian soldiers arrive to fight the Knights, and their strategy is just to sit around and hope a miracle happens ... the book loses its steam. The author's writing is good enough to carry you along for a while - but by about 2/3rds of the way through, it's pretty clear that the story isn't really going anywhere, and the characters aren't going to become any more engaging.

[William Humphreys · Rating 2 out of 5]

Usually Blaylock, one of my very favourite writers, mixes and bends genres, conjuring up zany characters and crazy situations with a sure hand, but I feel like he failed here. On the positive side there are some great characters and scenes and the locale is beautifully rendered but overall I found the book to be a disappointing mishmash of crackpot fundamentalist religion, somewhat alarming and sinister isolationist fanatics (as the heroes) and strange mystical garbage.

While Blaylock takes issues of good and evil and human corruption seriously, the reader normally feels like he is tipping them a wink when it comes to dogmatic belief and he levens the weighty stuff with dashes of humour and farce. In this work he seems have lost his way and is straying onto the CS Lewis/Philip Pullman side of the river, bashing the reader on the head for not taking weird religious relics quite seriously enough.

Come on Blaylock, you can do so much better than this.

[Doug · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet again I want half stars available for ratings, as this is a 2.5 star book in my opinion. At times I liked it, at other times it was just ok. It is a fairly quick read, and mixed the fantastic into the everyday quite well, with miracles and ghosts described with an evenhanded style that didn't come across as the sort of "OOH! MAGIC!" experience you get from lesser books.

Calvin, the central character, initially comes across as a typical Blaylock protagonist, in that he manages to quickly get himself into a situation where he's over his head, attempts to play it off by acting like he's in charge, and winds up coming across as a transparent fool in the process. Fortunately, Calvin doesn't stay stuck in this role throughout the novel.

In all, an entertaining yet somewhat slight read. Good if you don't feel like getting involved in a dense epic.

[Deb · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoy Blaylock's off-kilter mysticism. While he's not exactly making a joke of the subject, he definitely has a different take on the far from new subject. Here you will find Knights Templar, religious relics and murderous bad guys, sound familiar? Here, however, the setting is an eccentric small community in California, our hero is an unassuming part-time teacher who collects fifties New Age small press pamphlets and both sides tend more to overalls and pickups, rather than tailored suits and private planes. Appearing also are: the cornerstone of Solomon's Temple,various ghosts, water cannons, grape soda,the Gas n'Go, a secret silver mine and a final struggle that includes earthquakes, floods and a fake film crew complete with camels and two working trebuchets.

[Almer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Started really promising, humorous, intriguing with the box of his uncle and the strange telephone conversations. Slowed down in the middle when the protagonist meets a waitress he really likes. Picked up some speed to end okayish. Liked the overall idea though, some nice characters, but could have been more. I didnt like the whole love affair, it didn't stuck and was a bit out of place and flat. I would have liked a bit more of the initial mysteriousness with the Knights of the Cornerstone group and all. Still I'm curious to read more of Blaylock, see if he can keep me entangled for a complete book.

[trickgnosis · Rating 3 out of 5]

A variation on a theme that Blaylock has explored before. I don't fault him for that, as others have, but will admit that it is not his very best work. That said, I am a fan of his and I enjoyed this. The quirkiness that makes Blaylock special is reigned in a bit here, or perhaps edited away. Which is a shame as indulging the odd and the silly is a strength of his. No need to try to play it too straight. Fans will want to read it but others would do better to start elsewhere.

[Brandon Ives · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've always meant to read Blaylock, but never got around to it. I'm glad I finally picked up one of his books for a quick enjoyable read. The book is linear and follows a single plot thread, but the writing is smooth and plenty engrossing. The modern day Knights Templar foundation was interesting, and though it's an old trope it's used well here without wandering into the cliche. If you're looking for a good page-turner adventure novel here it is.

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well worth the wait if you are a die hard Blaylock fan. He has a terrific way of conjuring up the landscape and people of west coast USA. If you've visited that part of the States much you will find many memories coming back to you, this plus a gentle humour and a quaintness about his characters make me smile alot and just devour his books.

[Jeremiah Genest · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel transposes the legends of the Knights Templar to the desert of the US southwest. The reader follows Calvin, a sympathetic everyman, step by step as he learns the truth about the place, his family, and history. The last third of the novel contains a lot of action. A bit of fantasy, a bit of Templar legend, wrapped up in a adventure story.

[Joe Slavinsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Off the top, I have to say that Blaylock is one of my favorite authors. He takes real ordinary people and places, adds a healthy dose of the metaphysical, with a fast paced plot, and turns the ordinary into extraordinary. This book is no different, and if you've never read Blaylock, do yourself a favor, and pick up this book. You won't regret it.