Arthur Visits the Big Apple

Reading Knight Life, I was blown away at how the author managed to blend this traditional fantasy with all of its magic and place it in the setting of a New York mayoral election. People really seem to like this guy, he keeps popping up in all different kinds of places.

I really liked how he fleshed out some of the characters. I always hated Gwen, just like all of you guys, but when she comes to Arthur's rescue when he's getting questioned about his past, I thought it was politically savvy how she deflected it. Even Merlin had to admit. She's also supposed to be really hot, that's why they use her voice for the commercial. It's sad that beauty and female power are linked in our society, but if that's the way it is, I could see Gwen's brains and looks taking her really far in modern politics. Nowadays you've got power couples; like Bill and Hilary, except Gwen and Arthur probably are much more attractive (and Hilary scares me more than Gwen)
I also loved Merlin, I kept picturing him as this quick-witted little kid spitting some game and overall being a smart ass. Take for instance when he tells Gwen that if a bunch of monkeys banging on type writers could by chance reproduce Shakespeare, then she could organize a press conference. It's funny because even Arthur says that he and Gwen agree on more things than they realize. They're just so antagonistic even though they're obviously good at playing the political game.
We then have an Arthur-Merlin-Gwen triangle, which to me is a battle of Gwen and Merlin for Arthur's attention. I think Merlin really loves Arthur, he watched him grow up, while he grew young. And he's probably wondering why in the hell Gwen and Arthur are even a thing anymore since the whole last fiasco.... But Arthur, for some god knows what reason, went right back to her.... Kinda reminds me of that offspring song, low self esteem, but this is King Arthur were talking about and he could just be that forgiving.... Poor guy

As for whether he would be a good candidate for mayor, I think we as a society like to say we want a person in office that is above party politics and says what he means, but I don't think he would be able to cope with the realities of running a city. For one, he won't even delegate power in simple matters, like a speech writer. If he spends all his time worrying about writing speeches and keeping to his integrity, he won't have time to deal with the real issues of how to rule. I like some of his ideas and his common sense approach to situations, and they way he connects with people, but ultimately I don't think he would be a good politician today. 

So anyways, I love how there was all this magic occurring regularly throughout the story, like Arthur living in a castle in Central Park, and nobody noticed. It seems like you have to have faith in magic to recognize it even when it's right there in front of you. I just think it's ridiculous nobody out there went.... Wait, huh??!? I mean, Arthur Penn, Gwen Queen, Percival..... Nobody asked questions it was very casual.

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