In this latest of Gordon R. Dickson's immensely popular adventures of Jim Eckert; the 20th-century mathematician who has come to live in a medieval age where magic works and Jim himself can become a dragon at will, Gordon R. Dickson draws on the richness of the greatest medieval legend of all, the tale of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.In the legends, after their final battle, Arthur and his knights went to Lyonesse, the land under the sea. Now Lyonesse is threatened by a resurgence of the Dark Powers, those mindlessly malevolent forces that struggle to stop the course of History. And Jim Eckert and his friends are called upon to stop them.Arthur and his court live on in Lyonesse because, even though centuries have elapsed, there are still those who believe in them. But Arthur and his knights are proud, too proud to easily accept help from Jim Eckert and his allies. But they will have help, from Jim in his dragon form, from knight-in-armor Sir Brian Neville-Smyth, from the brilliant archer Dafydd ap Hywel, and from one small hobgoblin. The result is a wild ride, an Arthurian fantasy adventure as only Gordon R. Dickson could tell it.
From Booklist
Dickson's Arthurian series about a dragon knight--twentieth-century mathematician Jim Eckert, who has been thrown back to the fourteenth century and has acquired the ability to turn into a dragon at will--continues. This time Eckert discovers that Lyonesse, the refuge of King Arthur and his knights, is being menaced by a dark power. Arthur and the knights are reluctant to accept the aid of a dragon with magical powers and even more reluctant to draw on twentieth-century knowledge for help. Eckert has to be diplomat, warrior, and puzzle solver all at once, then, and quickly. Dickson's is a distinctly original take on the Matter of Britain (which, to be sure, is supposed to have transpired a good many centuries earlier than in these yarns), distinguished by the humor arising out of the contrast between popular notions about the Middle Ages and its frequently grisly realities. The latest installment is one of the series' best, although readers who know what has gone before will enjoy it most. Roland Green
About the Author
Gordon R. Dickson was the Hugo- and Nebula-winning author of many classics of fantasy and science fiction, most famously the Childe Cycle (also known as the Dorsai series). He died in 2001.
Description:
In this latest of Gordon R. Dickson's immensely popular adventures of Jim Eckert; the 20th-century mathematician who has come to live in a medieval age where magic works and Jim himself can become a dragon at will, Gordon R. Dickson draws on the richness of the greatest medieval legend of all, the tale of Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table.In the legends, after their final battle, Arthur and his knights went to Lyonesse, the land under the sea. Now Lyonesse is threatened by a resurgence of the Dark Powers, those mindlessly malevolent forces that struggle to stop the course of History. And Jim Eckert and his friends are called upon to stop them.Arthur and his court live on in Lyonesse because, even though centuries have elapsed, there are still those who believe in them. But Arthur and his knights are proud, too proud to easily accept help from Jim Eckert and his allies. But they will have help, from Jim in his dragon form, from knight-in-armor Sir Brian Neville-Smyth, from the brilliant archer Dafydd ap Hywel, and from one small hobgoblin. The result is a wild ride, an Arthurian fantasy adventure as only Gordon R. Dickson could tell it.
From Booklist
Dickson's Arthurian series about a dragon knight--twentieth-century mathematician Jim Eckert, who has been thrown back to the fourteenth century and has acquired the ability to turn into a dragon at will--continues. This time Eckert discovers that Lyonesse, the refuge of King Arthur and his knights, is being menaced by a dark power. Arthur and the knights are reluctant to accept the aid of a dragon with magical powers and even more reluctant to draw on twentieth-century knowledge for help. Eckert has to be diplomat, warrior, and puzzle solver all at once, then, and quickly. Dickson's is a distinctly original take on the Matter of Britain (which, to be sure, is supposed to have transpired a good many centuries earlier than in these yarns), distinguished by the humor arising out of the contrast between popular notions about the Middle Ages and its frequently grisly realities. The latest installment is one of the series' best, although readers who know what has gone before will enjoy it most. Roland Green
About the Author
Gordon R. Dickson was the Hugo- and Nebula-winning author of many classics of fantasy and science fiction, most famously the Childe Cycle (also known as the Dorsai series). He died in 2001.