The story of Arthur is still not out of fashion. In fact, it's more popular than ever. Writers in the 20th century are just as fascinated as writers in previous centuries. Here is a brief look at some modern authors:

• Chopra, Deepak: the spiritual living king entered the fray with The Return of Merlin, a not too subtle tract of his own teachings that tells the story of a modern battle between good and evil, captained by Merlin and Arthur one side and Mordred on the other. Chopra also wrote The Way of the Wizard to emphasize the ways in which the reader can incorporate the wisdom of Merlin into his or her own life.
• Christian, Catherine: author of The Pendragon, or The Sword and the Flame, a sixth-century version of Malory narrated by Bedivere. Emphasizing its setting, this story embraces pagan themes but at the same time incorporates the Grail Quest.
• Cochran, Molly and Murphy, Warren: wrote The Forever King and The Broken Sword, both on the theme of the return of Arthur into a modern body, and the struggle all over again of fighting an ancient evil with modern weapons.
• Hugh, Dafydd AB: "The Troubles" meets The Matter of Britain. Seems the British government has got hold of a time machine and is sending back someone to try to prevent Arthur's death; meanwhile, the IRA has sent someone back to kill Arthur. In Arthur War Lord and Far Beyond the Wave, we see Roman Britain interspersed with modern Britain.
• McCaffrey, Anne: the Pern author wrote Black Horses for the King, a glimpse at Roman times and Lord Artos (sound familiar?) and his faithful stable boy Galwyn. This novel gives a realistic depiction of the effects of cavalry on fighting methods of the time.
• Monaco, Richard: wrote the Grail Trilogy: Parsival, The Grail War, The Final Quest. These books are loosely based on Wolfram's Parzival and unusually bloody and profane in their depiction of the insanity of violence and war. Monaco also wrote two other Arthur-themed books: Runes, which posits that Arthur was the son of Spartacus, he of the slave uprising against the Roman Empire, and Broken Stone, which continues the saga with Arturus meeting his half-sister Morga and engaging in a battle of good vs. evil, with the latter being powered by the Black Grail.
• Saberhagen, Fred: the Books of Swords author worte Merlin's Bones, a modern romp that speculates that the bones of the real Merlin give their bearer a certain higher power. The names are familiar, but the characters are different. It's all a battle for New Camelot, rising from the shrouds of history.
• Steinbeck, John: the master of California fiction told his own version, The Acts of King Arthur and His Noble Knights. Shot through with the trademark Steinbeck humor, these tales emphasize the humanity of the knights and their ladies.
• Yolen, Jane: the fantasy expert wrote Merlin's Booke, a collection of 13 stories and poems (including a modern DNA analysis) about Merlin and his influence on Arthur and other major characters.

Note: This page is always under construction, and will be updated as the author reads more Arthurian books.

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