6 Brilliant Sci-Fi Takes on Arthurian Legend

Honorable Mention: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court, by Mark Twain
Depending on your standards, Mark Twain’s book marks the first King Arthur-based science fiction tale: our intrepid Yankee reaches the court via that classic sci-fi trope, time travel. That said, Twain is more concerned with satire than science. The rest of the Arthurian myth-based sci-fi on this list are more in the “ray guns and future dystopias” wheelhouse.

Camelot 3000, written by Mike W. Barr and illustrated by Brian Bolland
In the original myths, King Arthur is known as “the once and future king,” a phrase referencing the belief that he’ll return in the far-off future, whenever Britain is in peril, to pick up his trusty Excalibur and defend the homeland all over again. It’s the perfect setup for a futuristic take on Camelot, and DC Comics’ early 1980s 12-issue run of Camelot 3000 is the most vibrant version of that concept.
In this series, Arthur awakes from his long slumber to deal with an alien invasion led by the pesky Morgan le Fay, a character who (predictably) already existed in the DC universe. Arthur rallies his Knights of the Round Table, who have all been reincarnated in an intriguingly diverse manner—Gawain is South African, Sir Galahad is a samurai, and Sir Tristan must come to terms with her gender identity following her reincarnation as a woman. The sci-fi and fantasy aspects are blended perfectly, as exemplified when a swing of Excalibur splits an atom and blows up an alien planet.

Port Eternity, by C.J. Cherryh
If you want a psychologically gripping SF Arthur tale, pick up this space opera: Cherryh tells the story of a wealthy woman who has cloned the entire pantheon of Arthurian characters to populate her interstellar yacht. She can experience the ancient myths firsthand, but it’s less enjoyable for the clone slaves, who slowly realize that their entire lives are predestined to be a medieval fairy tale.
On top of that, the spaceship gets caught in a pocket dimension and they must interact with other space-wrecked travelers, despite their completely archaic frame of understanding.

The Keltiad, by Patricia Kennealy-Morrison
The waning powers of magic in 5th century Scotland force the Kelts to migrate to their own star system. There, the legends of Arthur, Merlyn, and the rest come to life. The alien setting prompts an update to the stories, which incorporate plenty of other Celtic myths as well as futuristic technologies like starships and aliens. They’re all still questing for the Grail, though. Some things never change.

The Lost Stars, by Jack Campbell
Cambell’s Lost Stars trilogy, a spin-off from his Lost Fleet series, takes the allegorical approach to the mythic retelling. No one names the legends themselves, but the protangonist just happens to be named “Artur Drakon,” though he’s a CEO instead of a king. The coy naming continues as Artur attempts to gain control of a star system with a reluctant partner in business, CEO Gwen Iceni.
The earlier Lost Fleet series also draws on a familiar Arthurian trope: as the author himself put it, he wanted to explore the legend of, “a sleeping hero who will someday return when needed.” In this case, the sleep is a century-long stint of suspended animation, and the poor legendary hero must face not only the enemy, but his comrades’ overblown expectations of his prowess.

Three Hearts and Three Lions, by Poul Anderson
Anderson isn’t content to just crib from Arthurian legend—his tale begins when a Danish engineer is shot by Nazis and falls into a parallel universe to the age of Charlemagne. There our hero meets Morgan Le Fay, fights the fairy Oberon, and tangles with dwarfs, giants, and a swan woman before he realizes he’s actually a legendary Danish hero, travels back his time, and helps with the Manhattan project.
That’s right, Poul Anderson paired Nazis with King Arthur before Indiana Jones even existed.
What’s your favorite Arthurian twist?