Sleepless Knights

It’s not easy being the man behind the myth.

Sir Lucas is butler to King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table — the person who managed every quest from behind the scenes. He’s a man whose average working day involved defeating witches and banishing werewolves, while ensuring the Royal pot of tea never crossed the thin line separating ‘brewed’ from ‘stewed.’ What’s more, 1,500 years after that golden age, he’s still doing it — here in the modern world, right under our noses.

When King Arthur and six of his knights are exposed as living among us, Merlin is unleashed and a grim apocalypse unfolds, uncovering secrets from the past that King Arthur would rather stay buried. When Lucas is forced to confront his own peculiar destiny, will he choose to sacrifice his true love and lay down his life in the service of his master?

Sleepless Knights is a tale of high adventure and warm humour, with a spring in its step, a twinkle in its eye and, at its heart, the ultimate butler.

Sleepless Knights is, quite simply, a cracking good read. A cross between The Remains of the Day, Le Morte d'Arthur and Harry Potter, it's packed with charming characters, thrilling chases, intrigue and mystery. A glorious modern chapter of an age-old legend, Sleepless Knights introduces us to a distinctive and sympathetic new voice in fantasy writing.
— Toby Whithouse, writer for Doctor Who, creator of Being Human

Action and comedy duel for prominence in this brilliant debut novel about the knights of the Round Table. … Lucas brings a refreshing “downstairs” sensibility to the usual heroic acts, and his fate is both surprising and entirely satisfying. Williams, an experienced playwright and television writer, has created a delightful addition to the Arthurian canon. ["Highly Recommended," STARRED REVIEW]
— Publishers Weekly

Mark Williams’ dazzling début shakes up Arthurian legend into a wildly inventive, roller coaster ride of thrills, hilarity, dark fantasy and brilliant characterisation all written with an exquisite elegance befitting the originality of the tale. Treat yourself.
— Muriel Gray, author of The Trickster, Furnace, and The Ancient

Wonderful neo-chivalric highjinks. Williams gleefully takes the training wheels off the Arthurian cycle.
— Mike Carey, author of the “Felix Castor” novels and The Unwritten

Who would have thought that a mash-up between Jeeves and King Arthur would result in such a charmingly bonkers adventure? Sleepless Knights has the kind of silly energy that inspired Monty Python and Time Bandits, and plays out like a modern-day version of The Sword in the Stone. It's clearly the Arthurian epic PG Wodehouse never got around to writing. Grail-tastic fun for all ages.
— Christopher Fowler, author of Film Freak and Hell Train, as well as the “Bryant & May Mysteries”

One of the most imaginative and original books I have read in ages. This type of out there fiction is right up my street. Give me more!
— Darren Craske, author of The Lantern Menace, Above His Station, and Before His Time, as well as “The Cornelius Quaint Chronicles”