Book Description
Eight years ago, a young red-haired boy discovered that he was the reincarnation of Arthur, once High King of Britain, master of the Round Table, wielder of Excalibur and the Holy Grail, fated to one day reclaim his throne and lead the world into a new golden age.
Almost immediately, people started trying to kill him. Arthur has been on the run or in hiding since he was ten years old.
Four years ago, after a climactic battle between the resurrected Knights of the Round Table and a dark magician determined to warp the powers of the Grail to his own evil purpose, Arthur Blessing spoke to television cameras, and therefore the world. He told them the time for hatred and fear was over and that a new time of peace was at hand.
Pursued as a new messiah, Arthur disappeared to a small farm in the American Midwest, surrounded by his Knights, protected most of all by Hal, most recently an FBI agent, but, long ago, Sir Galahad.
Now Arthur is eighteen, and Merlin has come to bring him to his destiny. There’s just one small problem.
Arthur. What is he going to do as High King? How can he unite and heal such a deeply wounded world? No one believes in all that chivalry stuff anymore, and besides, he’s not sure mankind is worthy of the powers of the Sword and the Grail.
Yet those powers are needed, now most of all. Now, with a master terrorist preparing to strike Cheyenne Mountain, to blow up the heart of America’s nuclear arsenal and spread radioactive death across the planet. Now, with a psychopathic killer on the loose, a man determined to personally slaughter the Knights and Arthur himself. Now, with a chance to find Guinevere again, to put right their love that was spoiled and betrayed centuries ago.
Arthur Blessing. The Once and Future King. Now he must choose his fate.



About the Author
Molly Cochran was written more than 25 books, both fiction and nonfiction, including the bestsellers Grandmaster, which won the Edgar Award, The Forever King, and Dressing Thin, a nonfiction work. Born in Tokyo, of Japanese and Irish-American extraction, Cochran graduated from the University of Pittsburgh, studied at the Sorbonne in Paris, and has lived in many countries.

Cochran's other novels include World Without End and two sequels to The Forever King, The Broken Sword and The Third Magic. She has taught writing at numerous writers conferences. Cochran lives in Pennsylvania and is the mother of one.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Eight years ago, a young red-haired boy discovered that he was the reincarnation of Arthur, once High King of Britain, master of the Round Table, wielder of Excalibur and the Holy Grail, fated to one day reclaim his throne and lead the world into a new golden age.

Almost immediately, people started trying to kill him. Arthur has been on the run since he was ten years old.

Four years ago, after a climactic battle between the resurrected Knights of the Round Table and a dark magician determined to warp the powers of the Grail to his own evil purpose, Arthur Blessing spoke to the world. He said that the time for hatred and fear was over and that a new time of peace was at hand.

Pursued as a new messiah, Arthur disappeared to a small farm in the American Midwest, surrounded by his Knights, protected most of all by Hal, most recently an FBI agent, but, long ago, Sir Galahad.

Now Arthur is eighteen, and Merlin has come to bring him to his destiny. There's just one small problem.

Arthur. What is he going to do as High King? How can he unite and heal such a deeply wounded world? No one believes in all that chivalry stuff anymore, and besides, he's not sure mankind is worthy of the powers of the sword and the grail.

Yet these powers are needed, now most of all. Now, with a master terrorist preparing to strike Cheyenne Mountain, to blow up the heart of America's nuclear arsenal and spread radioactive death across the planet. Now, with a psychopathic killer on the loose, a man determined to personally slaughter the Knights and Arthur himself. Now, with a chance to find Guinevere again, to put right the love that was spoiled and betrayed centuries ago.

Arthur Blessing. The Once andFuture King. Now he must choose his fate.

FROM THE CRITICS

Publishers Weekly

In Cochran's third and probably concluding volume of her ingenious but complex Arthurian fantasy set in the modern world (The Forever King; The Broken Sword), young Arthur Blessing is still watched over by Merlin (aka Taliesin) and by Galahad (aka guardian Hal Woczniak), who happens to be in love with Arthur's aunt, Emily Blessing. The rest of the Knights of the Round Table are not quite effectively disguised as a motorcycle gang. The teen media, who have made Arthur Blessing something of a star, complicate his quest to return with the full powers of Arthur Pendragon. When the spring containing the Holy Grail helps Arthur develop healing powers, he faces a dilemma, because the house over the spring is the home of one Gwen Ranier, his contemporary Guinevere-and the legend says that Guinevere must die. Furthermore, shadows from the past (well-developed, if a minor part of the story), plus a fugitive Communist spy and a homicidal maniac, pose additional challenges. For readers new to the trilogy, the action flies by in a bunch of scenes in close formation without visible connection, but it should all make sense to those who have read the earlier books. (Oct. 1) Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

VOYA - Gillian Wiseman