Grail

First volume in what has come to be known as The Grail Series of anthologies from Atlantean Publishing, Grail was open to any prose story or poetry featuring or relating to the 'Grail' in some way: not just a gilded chalice or Celtic cauldron, but any variation on the quest object theme — not just fantasy or history, but science-fiction, humour and horror. Some of the tales directly relate to the Grails of mythology, others play with the concept. Published in 2004, it is A4 in format, 35 pages in length, and was edited by DJ Tyrer.
Available to order.
==Contents==
*Introduction by DJ Tyrer
===Fiction===
*The Stone Of Heaven by DJ Tyrer
*Fallen From Heaven by Chris Lovegrove
*Island Of The Dawn by Pamela Harvey
*The Grail Of Derwandir by DS Davidson
*The King Fisher by Aeronwy Dafies
*Magusto And The Fulcrum: A Tale Of Cultural Exchange by Neil K. Henderson
*Ye Tale Of Ye Grale by DJ Tyrer — featuring the famous (well, to one or two people) Sir Blodry!
===Poems===
*The Grail by Aeronwy Dafies.
*Of A Care In What You Wish For by Steve Sneyd
===Artwork===
*Cover art by David Leverton.
*Internal art by David Leverton, Chris James, AC Evans and Aeronwy Dafies
==Trivia==
*The pre-publication history of this project was long and tortuous — appropriately so, perhaps, given its subject — and the five-years-and-more quest to bring it to fruition was one that seemed many times as though it would founder. More on the early incarnation of the Grail Anthology can be found on this wiki.
*The cover art is that rarest of things, in Atlantean's overwhelmingly monochrome published world — a full-colour image. The colourscheme is subtle enough that this may not be immediately apparent, however. There is also a solitary coloured artwork inside: David Leverton's phoenix-archaeopteryx illustrating 'Fallen From Heaven' – an alternative version of which has become The Atlantean Phoenix, featured in the page-header image used on Atlantean Publishing's website and throughout this very wiki.
==Review==
"This small press production is an anthology of poetry and fiction by contemporary writers that presumably have not made their way into mainstream literary works. That is not to say that the material presented is not worthy of inclusion in anthologies by major publishing houses. Several of the pieces presented are well written and entertaining. There is something for every grail seeker, no matter what definition is endorsed, in this unpretentiously bound booklet.
Opening with a simple, straightforward poem, The Grail, about the grail and man's attempt to attain it, by Aeronwy Dafies, the editor chooses to close with a weighty poem, Steve Sneyd's Of a care in what you wish for. Steve ponders the quest for uniqueness by human beings, while demonstrating, using a substantial number of myths and legends, the universal sameness of individuals and life.
Between the two poetic offerings, we have seven short stories, DJ Tyrer's The Stone of Heaven presents an ecclesiastical origin of the grail. The consequences of an attempt to deceive true believers in the grail are disastrous and unexpected in Chris Lovegrove's entertaining short story, Fallen From Heaven. Two tales can be directly associated with the Arthurian legend: Island of the Dawn by Pamela Harvey follows the fate of a group of Romano-Celts during the Saxon take-over (succession) of Britain, and DJ Tyrer gives us a humorous interpretation of the truth behind Galahad's attainment of the grail in Ye Tale of Ye Grale. A malevolent grail is encountered in DS Davidson's science fiction story, The Grail of Derwandir and a 'grail' to set right the many dimensions of the world is sought after in Neil K. Henderson's science fiction-fantasy, Magusto and The Fulcrum. Lastly, a child's encounter with the Fisher King and her chance to change the fate of the world is related in Aeronwy's The Fisher King.
A unique volume that entertains, THE GRAIL should be read by lovers of fantasy and fiction and is a must have for those who hope to own everything in the way of Arthurian literature."
— by Larry Mendelsberg
Category:Anthologies
Category:Grail
Category:Trivia