Explorations

December 1996/January 1997

Reviewed by Sharon Bosley
from the Barnes & Noble Science Fiction and Fantasy Newsletter Explorations,
a bi-monthly publication available in Barnes & Noble bookstores nationwide.

Copyright 1997 Barnes & Noble. Reprinted with permission

Was Sir Lancelot a vampire? P.N. Elrod explores this possibility in Keeper of the King, a novel she writes with Nigel Bennett, star of the TV series Forever Knight. Together they've created a simple page turning tale about a man of honor, the kind of vampire we all want to meet.

Richard was born the third son of Montaque, the Duc d'Orleans. He earned his keep by entering tournament combats for the spoils that go with victory. A mysterious force, however, causes him to lose a tournament and everything he own with it. While he ponders his future, the Lady Sabra comes to him with a solution; become the keeper of the king.

It is a job he is well-suited for. he accepts and to his astonishment finds himself making love with Lady Sabra--only to awaken the next morning as a ...well...vampire.

Fast forward to 1996; Richard is still keeper of the king. His charge is the Prime Minister of Canada, the target of Irish terrorists operating in the Toronto area. Richard's investigation leads him to Sharon; the code name of the assassin is Charon. His quest for, what you would expect, the Holy Grail, which he needs to save himself and the Lady Sabra.