What do you think?
Rate this book
The Parsival Saga #3
The Final Quest
First printing. The third in this series of novels set in the time of King Arthur, and retelling the story of Parsival, "The wars are over and there is nothing but great loss to show for all the struggle. Parsival, his friends and his family are scattered across the face of plague-ridden England." 337 pp. Wrap-around dustjacket art by David McCall Johnston.
337 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1977
8 people are currently reading
100 people want to read
About the author
Richard Monaco
26 books15 followersBorn in NYC, Monaco studied musical composition at Columbia University, helped create a national student newspaper, The University Review and had many works performed in concert; wrote screenplays for Warner Brothers, other studios and independents; reviewed film and books; hosted a talk radio show for five years on WNYC/FM; taught and lectured at various colleges including Columbia, NYU, and Mercy College; had plays produced in various venues off-Broadway; published poetry in anthologies and periodicals. He has published ten novels and several works of non-fiction including a poetry textbook. Two of his novels, Parsival, or a Knight's Tale and The Final Quest, were finalists for the Pulitzer Prize in literature. He is planning to soon release Dead Blossoms, a ninja detective adventure set in 16th century Japan and re-release the previous Parsival books.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
April 29, 2015
The third book of what was initially a trilogy(and which now has had two 'interqels' added) feels more like part two of the Grail War. It seems to pick up immediately after the last book ended, and the last books ending felt more like the climax of an act than the climax of a complete story.
Once again, we enter a world of horror and war. This one is set after the horrific, climactic, almost nuclear conflagration of the last one, and the characters wander in a landscape wasted by fire and psychological horrors. Parsival,(eventually joined by his friend Gawain and his lover Unlea) having abandoned his quest for the Grail, searches for his long-lost son, the only remnant apparently of the family he once had.
His son, Lohengrin, meanwhile, wanders also, suffering from amnesia from a chunk of the Grail that has embedded itself inside his skull. At the same time, the sturdy, practical Broaditch continues to let fate run him on its course, eventually meeting up with his family of refugeea.
There is a lot of despair and depression in the characters, in fact, if there is one overarching theme, I would say it's probably the idea that amidst all the hell that is life on earth, there are these fragments of beauty that we all share and partake in, and it's human nature that largely creates the hell. Although there are definite Christian themes(it's a medieval, magical Christianity, though) there also seems to be something very Eastern about a lot of it...very...Taoist, maybe? I'm not sure.
My first impressions were that the book was more colorful than the relentless browns and greys that characterized the last one...but it's also more horrific, at least to me. The post-war 'Britain' it depicts is a hell of the squabbling remains of armies, religious fanatics, cannibals, murderers and madmen. Again, the story builds to a climax that left me in awe at it's bloody scope--it wasn't so much like reading a book it was like looking at a live-action uber-violent Hieronymous Bosch painting of hell on acid. Really disturbing images and events that almost got to be too much for me, and I'm not super squeamish...and finally a vision of an inhuman, destructive mechanized future, that must refer to the time we live in now.
None of that is to say it's not good. The author was reaching for a lot, and I think that what is so weird about these books, is, yes, they are novels, but they are also prose poems, prose paintings, even prose opera--the rhythms of the language are extremely musical and with the grand-if-depraved-and-bloody images building upon each other and the rhythm building too, it reminds me more of a climax of a symphony or opera than of a book.
More than anything, I want to impress upon anybody reading this the following: these books are written like no other I've read. I mean, I see a bit of Faulkner in there, maybe, but otherwise the books are unique works of art that transcend their genre of dark fantasy or whatever. They almost transcend the form of the novel itself in a way, and I think that's what the author was going for.
Once again, we enter a world of horror and war. This one is set after the horrific, climactic, almost nuclear conflagration of the last one, and the characters wander in a landscape wasted by fire and psychological horrors. Parsival,(eventually joined by his friend Gawain and his lover Unlea) having abandoned his quest for the Grail, searches for his long-lost son, the only remnant apparently of the family he once had.
His son, Lohengrin, meanwhile, wanders also, suffering from amnesia from a chunk of the Grail that has embedded itself inside his skull. At the same time, the sturdy, practical Broaditch continues to let fate run him on its course, eventually meeting up with his family of refugeea.
There is a lot of despair and depression in the characters, in fact, if there is one overarching theme, I would say it's probably the idea that amidst all the hell that is life on earth, there are these fragments of beauty that we all share and partake in, and it's human nature that largely creates the hell. Although there are definite Christian themes(it's a medieval, magical Christianity, though) there also seems to be something very Eastern about a lot of it...very...Taoist, maybe? I'm not sure.
My first impressions were that the book was more colorful than the relentless browns and greys that characterized the last one...but it's also more horrific, at least to me. The post-war 'Britain' it depicts is a hell of the squabbling remains of armies, religious fanatics, cannibals, murderers and madmen. Again, the story builds to a climax that left me in awe at it's bloody scope--it wasn't so much like reading a book it was like looking at a live-action uber-violent Hieronymous Bosch painting of hell on acid. Really disturbing images and events that almost got to be too much for me, and I'm not super squeamish...and finally a vision of an inhuman, destructive mechanized future, that must refer to the time we live in now.
None of that is to say it's not good. The author was reaching for a lot, and I think that what is so weird about these books, is, yes, they are novels, but they are also prose poems, prose paintings, even prose opera--the rhythms of the language are extremely musical and with the grand-if-depraved-and-bloody images building upon each other and the rhythm building too, it reminds me more of a climax of a symphony or opera than of a book.
More than anything, I want to impress upon anybody reading this the following: these books are written like no other I've read. I mean, I see a bit of Faulkner in there, maybe, but otherwise the books are unique works of art that transcend their genre of dark fantasy or whatever. They almost transcend the form of the novel itself in a way, and I think that's what the author was going for.
Read
February 23, 2014Wonderful. A very tidy ending. Horrific antagonists. Desperate situations.
April 30, 2022
5+ stars…I loved this book. I really enjoy Monaco’s writing (even if it is a little difficult to keep up with the picture he’s painting sometimes). Now that I’m finished the “trilogy”, I find myself wanting to read more! I was a little disappointed with the end…I was hoping for a more “complete” finish, instead of being left to the imagination.
Parsival, or A Knight’s Tale, the Grail War, and the Final Quest are books that I would absolutely read again. I made the mistake of reading the first book (that I happened to find on a bookshelf) and waiting years before I really looked into the sequels. I found myself trying remember some of the story from when Parsival was young.
Another “fourth” book, Blood and Dreams, is on my list to read (still need to purchase it), though it seems that book is more of a “filler” to the story, as opposed to a continuance.
Parsival, or A Knight’s Tale, the Grail War, and the Final Quest are books that I would absolutely read again. I made the mistake of reading the first book (that I happened to find on a bookshelf) and waiting years before I really looked into the sequels. I found myself trying remember some of the story from when Parsival was young.
Another “fourth” book, Blood and Dreams, is on my list to read (still need to purchase it), though it seems that book is more of a “filler” to the story, as opposed to a continuance.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews