This is a diverting enough adventure story - a sort of Dan Brown-esque quest for Arthurian legends, sprinkled with a little bit of Christian intellectual thought from the Inklings, and, of course, a will-they-won't-they romantic sub-plot.

The whole concept is pretty preposterous: two Americans in Oxford in 1940 both just happen to reach for the same book in Blackwell's (possibly the best bookshop in the world, btw). Tom is a doctoral student writing a guidebook on Arthurian sites in the UK, and Laura is living with her aunt to look after her during the war. But she also just happens to have 5 recurring dreams involving crosses, knights and abbeys. As you do.

As Tom and Laura travel around various sites of interest in a sort of grail quest there are shadowy figures lurking in the background following them, and a dapper Dutchman who is fond of religious relics. Somehow, Tom gets invited into the fold of the Inklings, the Oxford group which included CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien and Charles Williams, amongst others, and where the novel works best is in these moments. Lifting quotes from letters, books and other sources, Downing creates a very real sense of the intellectual banter and the astonishing learning of these men. The discussions on Christianity and myths is often poignantly set against the 1940 setting, as Britain struggles to hold off the Nazi menace.

Like Dan Brown (who Downing happily seems to take a few swipes at), this is all hokum. The quest or chase elements are pretty sedentary, to be honest, so if you are looking for a rip-roaring adventure then this isn't for you. It's quite wordy - lots of conversations and deep thinking, which is fine if you are interested in it (which I was), but probably not so much if you aren't interested in the Inklings group.

All in all, this was fine. Nothing startling, quite diverting, but also pretty much as predictable as you can imagine. Harmless fun, with the benefit of some decent research and a loving nod to the Inklings. 2.5 stars, rounded up because of my interest in the Inklings! ( )

This book weaves a tale of two Americans in England in 1940 with the Inklings, who gathered at least weekly in Oxford to discuss their various literary projects Tom McCord is looking to be a doctoral candidate, but is doing research on a sort of Arthurian travel book. He meets up with Laura Hartman, who has dream of various sites that they end up visiting together. A romance ensues. They meet up several times with the key Inklings, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Charles Williams and discuss their life myth, and Christian underpinnings. The author does not want to project anything happening that can't be verified historically, so Arthurian things and the Spear of Longinus go into a dwindling effect as one progresses through the novel. But it is an interesting read, nonetheless. ( )

This is a fun and quick read that anyone who loves the Oxford Inklings (Tolkien, Lewis, etc.) will enjoy. The plot is not particularly tight, and the ending is disappointing, but it is good summer reading and has an excellent list of resources in the back for anyone interested in Arthurian legend and/or the Inklings. ( )

I vascillated on my rating for this one between a 6 and a 7. What set me over the edge was that I really enjoyed the parts of the book with the Inklings. They definitely made the book for me. The conversations Tom had with Lewis and Tolkien and Williams were really well done. On the whole, this book should have been longer. Probably much longer. (I know! Who says that?) But I really wanted more character development, more plot, more mystery, and more philosophy. What was there was pretty good, but the whole thing deserved more ink. The ending was just OK. On a more positive note, the history around the different sites they visit in England was fascinating. It looks like this is the first in a series — I liked it enough to try Downing again.

Read my full review here: http://letseatgrandpa.com/2011/04/04/book-review-31-looking-for-the-king-by-davi... ( )