The Knight
core novel 2004 The Wizard Knight
Record
| First published | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 3.77 (5,792 ratings, collected 2026-09-14) |
| Page count | 544 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780765309891 |
| Internal chronology | 1 |
Synopsis
The Knight opens The Wizard Knight with Able, an American boy who is mysteriously transported into a magical world and supernaturally aged into the body of a grown man, though his mind and experience remain those of a child. Disoriented by his sudden adulthood and the unfamiliar rules of this new reality, Able is taken in by Bold Berthold, an old woodsman, before setting out to learn the ways of this world and pursue his ambition to become a knight. His journey draws him into contact with beings from across a seven-tiered cosmos blending Norse mythology, Arthurian legend, and Christian theology, including giants, elves, and other otherworldly figures who complicate his understanding of honor and duty. As Able trains and travels, he begins to grasp the scope of the world he has been thrust into and the responsibilities that come with the knighthood he seeks.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Wizard Knight
- Series: The Wizard Knight core; position 1 of 2 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Gene Wolfe
Awards (verified)
- Nebula Award (Best Novel), 2004: nominated; SFWA's own nebulas.sfwa.org indexes this as 'Award Year 2004' (the eligibility year), though the ceremony was held in 2005.
Notes
- From the series record (The Wizard Knight): Complete 2-book duology (published 5 months apart in 2004; internal chronology and publication order agree), one continuous story following American teenager Able's transformation into a knight across the seven worlds of Norse-derived cosmology.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings, but they resolve to the exact same sequence for this book, so one combined line is shown instead of two identical ones.
- Reading order, within the series The Wizard Knight: position 1 of 2: next The Wizard (2004)
Sources
← The Wizard Knight dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.