 Cover of The Pendragon Protocol | |
| Author | Philip Purser-Hallard |
|---|---|
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Genre | Urban fantasy thriller |
| Publisher | Snowbooks |
Publication date | 2014 |
| Pages | 350 pp |
| ISBN | 978-1-909679-17-7 |
| Followed by | The Locksley Exploit, Trojans |
The Pendragon Protocol is an urban fantasy thriller by Philip Purser-Hallard, published in 2014 by Snowbooks. It is the first volume in the Devices Trilogy.
The novel introduces the Circle, a Crown-sponsored British paramilitary organisation the members of which take inspiration from King Arthur's Knights of the Round Table. The "devices" of the title are both the heraldic devices the Knights of the Circle bear on their riot shields, and the emblematic identities of particular Arthurian knights (identified as semi-autonomous archetypes or memes), whose stories they continually re-enact. [1] [2]
The protagonist, Jory Taylor, bears the device of Sir Gawain, which puts him in direct conflict with an eco-activist cell called the Green Chapel and led by the avatar of the Green Knight. The political assumptions underlying the Circle's model of heroism are increasingly questioned as it is revealed that the Green Chapel take their inspiration from a radically different British legend, that of Robin Hood.
The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction wrote that the novel's "story is modestly softened [...] giving its telling a Young Adult focus". [2] The British Fantasy Society review stated that the novel's "writing is crisp and clever, the plotting devoid of flab and the cast of characters appealing, interesting and consistent", and that it was based on "that rarest of fantasy beasts – an original idea." [1]
A sequel, The Locksley Exploit, was published in 2015. [3] Trojans, the third book in the trilogy, followed in 2016. [4]
Stephen R. Lawhead is a UK-based American writer known for his works of fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction, particularly Celtic historical fiction. He has written over 28 novels and numerous children's and non-fiction books.
Gregory Dale Bear is an American writer and illustrator best known for science fiction. His work has covered themes of galactic conflict, artificial universes, consciousness and cultural practices, and accelerated evolution. His most recent work is the 2021 novel The Unfinished Land. Greg Bear has written over 50 books in total. Greg Bear was also one of the five co-founders of the San Diego Comic-Con.
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Philip Purser-Hallard is a fantasy, science fiction and crime author described by the British Fantasy Society as "the best kept secret in British genre writing".
Of the City of the Saved... is an original novel by Philip Purser-Hallard set in the Faction Paradox universe. Laura Tobin, who first appeared in the BBC Doctor Who books, is a major character in the novel.
Pendragon, or King Arthur Pendragon, is a Tabletop role-playing game (RPG) in which players take the role of knights performing chivalric deeds in the tradition of Arthurian legend. It was originally written by Greg Stafford and published by Chaosium, then was acquired by Green Knight Publishing, who in turn passed on the rights to White Wolf Publishing in 2004. White Wolf sold the game to Stewart Wieck in 2009. Wieck formed Nocturnal Media, who updated and reissued the 5th edition originally published by White Wolf. In 2018, it returned to Chaosium.
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The City of the Saved is a fictional setting originating within the Faction Paradox universe, created by Philip Purser-Hallard for The Book of the War and employed by him and others in various volumes. It has been described in The Encyclopedia of Science Fiction as a "cosmological hot-spot city located in a kind of safe zone between the end of this universe and the beginning of the next", and by a British Fantasy Society reviewer as "a wide-ranging and flexible format where almost anything can happen".
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Lady of the Forest: A Novel of Sherwood is a 1992 historical fiction novel by American author Jennifer Roberson. A re-telling of the Robin Hood legend from the perspective of twelve characters associated with the legend, the story centers around English noblewoman Lady Marian FitzWalter's encounters with Lord Robert of Locksley and his scheming rival the Sheriff of Nottingham amid the backdrop of Prince John's schemes – he aims to increase his own wealth and power at the expense of post-Conquest England and his brother, King Richard.