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One King, One Soldier
The story says that one day a Fisher King will rise to heal the land. In the 1950s, they’re still waiting. . . .
“A captivating historical thriller, a great spine-tingling romp through history in search of the Holy Grail. Fans of The Da Vinci Code will love this!”—Kevin Baker, author of Dreamland and Paradise Alley
At the turn of the twentieth century, a baseball player named George Gibson embarks upon a mystical journey to the Congo. His 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.
“A captivating historical thriller, a great spine-tingling romp through history in search of the Holy Grail. Fans of The Da Vinci Code will love this!”—Kevin Baker, author of Dreamland and Paradise Alley
At the turn of the twentieth century, a baseball player named George Gibson embarks upon a mystical journey to the Congo. His 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.
352 pages, Paperback
First published July 27, 2004
2 people are currently reading
37 people want to read
About the author
Alexander C. Irvine
190 books199 followersAlexander C. Irvine is an American fantasist and science fiction writer. He also writes under the pseudonym Alex Irvine. He first gained attention with his novel A Scattering of Jades and the stories that would form the collection Unintended Consequences. He has also published the Grail quest novel One King, One Soldier, and the World War II-era historical fantasy The Narrows.
In addition to his original works, Irvine has published Have Robot, Will Travel, a novel set in Isaac Asimov's positronic robot milieu; and Batman: Inferno, about the DC Comics superhero.
His academic background includes an M.A. in English from the University of Maine and a PhD from the University of Denver. He is an assistant professor of English at the University of Maine. He also worked for a time as a reporter at the Portland Phoenix.
In addition to his original works, Irvine has published Have Robot, Will Travel, a novel set in Isaac Asimov's positronic robot milieu; and Batman: Inferno, about the DC Comics superhero.
His academic background includes an M.A. in English from the University of Maine and a PhD from the University of Denver. He is an assistant professor of English at the University of Maine. He also worked for a time as a reporter at the Portland Phoenix.
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
November 8, 2011
2 stars in my rating system means I finished it and wished I hadn't.
While the subject matter is interesting, this guy is no Tim Powers. Check out Powers: Anubis Gates if you want good modern historical fantasy.
My primary issues with this book are: sketchy dialogue between characters that conveys no information about the plot or their relationships; no likable characters; no characters that undergo any kind of personal transformation; vague treatment of alternate history/conspiracy theory material that avoids constructing a detailed narrative; misanthropic point of view (in a novel about the grail no less); author has a buddhist character who throws around quotes but the author understands nothing about meditation, goals of enlightenment, buddhist view of mind (Mr Irvine should give it a try, it might improve his apparently jaundiced view of reality); ending that is not an ending-- no plot closure.
Very disappointing.
While the subject matter is interesting, this guy is no Tim Powers. Check out Powers: Anubis Gates if you want good modern historical fantasy.
My primary issues with this book are: sketchy dialogue between characters that conveys no information about the plot or their relationships; no likable characters; no characters that undergo any kind of personal transformation; vague treatment of alternate history/conspiracy theory material that avoids constructing a detailed narrative; misanthropic point of view (in a novel about the grail no less); author has a buddhist character who throws around quotes but the author understands nothing about meditation, goals of enlightenment, buddhist view of mind (Mr Irvine should give it a try, it might improve his apparently jaundiced view of reality); ending that is not an ending-- no plot closure.
Very disappointing.
January 15, 2010
This book I randomly grabbed off the shelf when I was out of reading material and the librarian was trying to kick me out. For being chosen without even reading the back, I liked it. It was a little hard to follow because he keeps changing point of view, but I got used to it. It had some swearing which always bothers me, but it wasn't all that frequent and was mainly used by certain rough characters. It certainly isn't a life changing book or anything, but I found myself making time to read it by the end.
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July 24, 2010I so wanted to love this book. Baseball! King Arthur! And it started off so well. It's just that the author didn't keep my attention. Very uneven. Sorry.
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March 20, 2007Didn't like this one.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews