Friday, June 17, 2011

Discovery... Peter David

I've just discovered a new author. He's not new to the rest of the world, just to me. I grabbed a copy of Fall of Knight at the library when I made my last run-through. I wasn't sure about it, but the idea of knights and their ilk in a modern day setting intrigued me.

It was a fun, thought provoking and enchanting tale.

King Arthur, Merlin, Percival and friends are alive and well in our current day. There is magic, a laudable (and credible in the context of the story) attempt to marry up religion with ancient beliefs, and villains who try to destroy humanity. Oh, and humor, excellent threads of humor.

I loved the book and loved the way Peter David told the tale. I started out a little skeptical that I'd finish the book as it didn't quite fit my mood. I couldn't put it down. It was a perfect break from the intense novels I've been reading, and yet it was intense in its probing of human nature, religion, and the state of the world.

After I read the book I read the jacket. I try not to look at pictures of authors or to read about them before reading a book by an author I haven't encountered before. I want to go in fresh to my new story, not knowing what else they've written or anything that might intrude in my perception of the book. Thus, it wasn't until after I read Fall of Knight I discovered that Peter David is a prolific writer, just in genres that I rarely read these days. I love science fiction and fantasy, used to read it almost exclusively. However, I've been glutting myself on mysteries and similar for quite some time so just skated by sections that included David's books!


David has written sci fi scripts for, among others, Babylon 5 and Crusade. He has written some Star Trek books and is "the New York Times bestselling author of more than forty novels". He has written fiction, non-fiction, comic books and more. I will be adding Peter David to my list of authors to keep up with and read in the future. If you'd like to know more about David, here's a Bibliography link: http://www.peterdavid.net/index.php/bibliography/. I guarantee that just scanning the list is going to make you tired! How can one person write so well and so much?

After reading Fall of Knight I noticed a list of other books in the front that you may want to read first before picking up Fall. Howling Mad, Knight Life, and One Knight Only are listed as previous ACE titles by David.

Author: Peter David
Title: Fall of Knight
The Berkley Publishing Group
Ace Books
ISBN 0-441-01402-X
First edition: June 2006