Everyone is at once larger than life but very recognizably human, and all play their parts for good or ill according to who they are and what they think is best. Everyone is there for a reason, and everyone has their own story to tell, be it Geraint, Lancelot, Guenivere, Isolde, Tristram, even that legendary whipping-boy King Vortigern gets his due. There are no "minor characters" in a Godwin book. Godwin has the natural ability to bring his characters to life in a way that few other writers can match. Good as his research is, that's not what makes this book so worth reading. If Arthur actually existed, well, it could have been like this. Godwin has done his research, and traces Arthur's origins from a high-born Romanized Briton in the twilight years of Rome's presence through his rise to power and the creation of a well-organized, effective kingdom that is capable-at least for a while-of holding back the encroachment of the Jutes, Saxons, Angles, and other mainland tribes. This is probably the most definitive version of the legend of King Arthur in the last thirty years, in my opinion. His short story "Influencing the Hell out of Time and Teresa Golowitz," was the basis of an episode of the television series The Twilight Zone. Godwin's short fiction has appeared in several anthologies. Parke Godwin also worked as a radio operator, a research technician, a professional actor, an advertising man, a dishwasher and a maitre d' hotel. His other well-known works include Waiting For The Galactic Bus (1988) and its sequel The Snake Oil Wars (1989), humorous critiques of American pop culture and religion. He was also known for his novels of legendary figures placed in realistic historical settings his retelling of the Arthur legend (Firelord in 1980, Beloved Exile in 1984, and The Last Rainbow in 1985) is set in the 5th century during the collapse of the Roman empire, and his reinterpretation of Robin Hood (Sherwood, 1991, and Robin and the King, 1993) takes place during the Norman conquest and features kings William the Conqueror and William Rufus as major characters. Parke Godwin was an American writer known for his lyrical yet precise prose style and sardonic humor.
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