A Knyght Ther Was by Robert F. Young
Tired of solemn Arthur C. Clarke? Despaired of the hardboiled high technological future of Philip K. Dick? Disappointed at the-never-changing-oppression women face in feminist science fiction? Then perhaps you should try Robert F. Young.
Surely, few read Young in Taiwan, I believe. Or if some do, most of them might only read The Dandelion Girl due to its influence on RahXephon and Clannad.
Soft, simple, somewhat melodramatic, but with a healing touch. That's what makes Young's work lovely. In a way, most of his stories are like fairy-tales which end with "they live happily ever after," not in the silly or cynical sense, but offering people comfort, presenting the reader a solid home ground that one could settle down. But Young's work is science fiction, neither fairy tale nor utopia providing only with vain escape. I always feel that no science fiction would be written if the writer is satisfied with the status quo. Although not with elaboration, Young does describe not-so-perfect future society in his work, just as the perilous business of "time-lifting" in A Knyght Ther Was. Indeed, the characters in his writing do not struggle to change the unfair social system, nor do they endeavor to create a paradise. They just happen to find, or to be "found" in the case of The Servant Problem, the gate leads to earthly bliss and grab the door knob. And that, I think, manifests another important constituent of science fiction, namely, the existence of hope.
Nevertheless, there is a defect in A Knyght Ther Was. It is an intriguing, ingenious, and even possible hypothesis that what was written in Le Morte d'Arthur in fifteenth century could be a direct recording of, word for word, what a sixth century "damsel" had said if, and only if, those literary manuscripts, such as Beowulf, Bede's Chronicle, and King Alfred's translation do not survive to this day. In short, it seems that Young was not aware of the stark difference between Old English and Middle English. But it does not harm the delights of reading the story. Rather, if Rowena truly speaks Old English, I do not see any possibility that Mallory could communicate with her and, thus, the story could exist at all. So, please relax and enjoy it.