King Arthur’s Sister in Washington’s Court

In this offbeat sequel to Mark Twain’s classic A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, written in a credible pastiche of Twain’s style, Queen Morgan le Fay travels forward in time in an effort to prevent the events of Connecticut Yankee from occurring. Having overshot her mark and landed in 2079 America, Morgan settles into her new life, promptly getting involved in American politics as a reelection consultant for President Malory Beckham Hinton. Morgan also busies herself with baseball, quickly purchasing the London Knights and taking them to victory against rival teams such as the Connecticut Yankees. As she pursues her goal of making Hinton president for life and addressing the inadequacies of Congress, she enjoys an on-again, off-again romance with Sandy Carter, her baseball team’s general manager, but she never loses sight of her intention to return home to Arthur’s court. Headlee evokes the spirit of the original book, but the plot meanders through its obsessions with baseball and politics, spending too much time on minutiae while hand-waving away larger details. It’s a solidly entertaining tale, but it lacks Twain’s spark. [em](BookLife) [/em]