Looking for the King (Inklings, #1)
by David C. Downing (Goodreads Author)

4.5 out of 5 stars
Tom McCord is an American visiting Oxford just before the outbreak of World War II. He is searching for evidence of a real historical King Arthur, and writing a guidebook to all the Arthurian sites in England and Wales. He meets Laura, who has been having mysterious dreams that seem to point to the legend of the Spear of Destiny, which pierced the side of Christ on the cross.
As they search for King Arthur, they also begin looking for clues that the Spear could be hidden somewhere in England. Unfortunately, someone else is looking for the Spear with evil intentions, and mysterious figures harass and spy on Tom and Laura at every turn.
A lecture from Charles Williams convinces Laura that her dreams are true visions of the past. Tom and Laura enlist J.R.R. Tolkien to help them uncover the secrets of the Spear. Tom talks with C.S. Lewis about the spiritual context behind the history, and finds that his search for antiquity is really a journey within his own soul.

I loved this book so much! There are a lot of layers to the story – adventure, mystery, history, and a little romance. They spend most of the time travelling around to different historic sites looking for clues, and I loved learning about the old churches and the Normans and Saxons and the Vikings and Celts. It was fascinating to see some real history interwoven with the fictional story!

At first, I was a little skeptical about using the Inklings as fictional characters, but you can tell that the author really did his research, and their fictional dialogue is mostly taken from their letters and lectures and things they really did and said. There is a long list of notes and citations at the back of the book that reference where the author got his information. Even little comments in the fictional conversation are based on real things the Inklings said and wrote. And little details like their clothing and their way of laughing were taken from first-hand accounts of people who knew them and could describe their mannerisms. I really loved the description of how Charles Williams would pace the stage so energetically during his lectures that you could hear the change in his pocket clinking. Little things like that really made the Inklings come alive in this book!

I liked that Tom has a spiritual awakening and starts to ask real questions about God and Christ while he is pondering things that C.S. Lewis has said to him. Laura is already a Christian, so she is instrumental in getting Tom to really think and decide what he believes, and then C.S. Lewis is kind of like the spiritual hammer that forces Tom to face the truth of Christ. It was really wonderful to see that gradual spiritual development in Tom.

Tom and Laura have kind of a funny romance! I liked that it is a clean wholesome romance, and very meaningful as they work together towards a common goal. But at first, they annoy each other, and Tom is always saying something stupid and insensitive. However, they gradually develop a closer friendship as they spend more time together, and Tom learns to stop and think before he says something dumb. I liked the slow burn for their romance, and it’s really only towards the very end that they start to realize that their feelings of friendship have developed into something more. It’s super sweet and cute, and I liked that the romance is a minor plotline after the adventure and mystery and spiritual development.

The writing is really excellent. The plot is engaging. The dialogue flows naturally. The characters have some great depth. The history is really interesting. I just loved everything about this book!