The King of the Elves

"The King of the Elves"

Author	Philip K. Dick
Original title	"]"
Country	United States
Language	English
Genre(s)	fantasy
Published in	Beyond Fantasy Fiction
Publication type	magazine
Publisher	H. L. Gold
Publication date	September 1953

"The King of the Elves" is a short story by science fiction writer Philip K. Dick and first published in the September 1953 issue of Beyond Fantasy Fiction.^[1]

Plot summary

Shadrach Jones is an old man who owns and runs a gas station in the fictional town of Derryville, Colorado, along an old highway fallen into disrepair due to it having been replaced by a modern interstate highway. One night he counts the money he made that day and realizes that although his income is meager, it is enough to sustain a humble lifestyle that suits him. He then looks outside and sees sickly elves standing in the rain in front of his store. He invites them inside his home to comfort them and learns that they are an army with their king, who is ill and needs rest. They tell him that they are at war with trolls. Shadrach allows them to sleep in his bedroom while he sleeps in his living room.

During the night, Shadrach feels foolish for believing in the existence of elves, and goes to check on them. He finds that the King of the Elves has died in his bed, but his last command to his subjects was that they should have Shadrach be the new King of the Elves, and have him lead them into battle against the trolls. Shadrach looks in the mirror and sees his aged face; immediately he thinks to tell his friend Phineas Judd of his royal status. The next day Shadrach tells Phineas that he is king, and by the end of the day the local community has all heard this news. Away from Shadrach, they question among themselves whether he actually believes that he is king, and why he would say this, and whether he is trying to get more customers for his gas station.

That night a messenger elf comes to Shadrach and tells him that he must help his staff develop battle plans against the trolls at a meeting tonight under the oak tree on Phineas’ property. Shadrach thinks of his dinner, of being ready to serve customers the next day, and of the opinions of his human peers, and suggests that the elf choose a different person to be king. Still, he commits to attend the meeting. When he goes to attend at the appointed time the cold weather bothers him and on the way he passes Phineas at his home. When Phineas invites him inside for a short while, Shadrach gets comfortable inside and forgets his commitment as they reflect on their long friendship. At Phineas' advice Shadrach decides to return home to be warm and comfortable. As Phineas takes Shadrach outside, Shadrach realizes in the moonlight that Phineas is an inhuman, beastly troll.

Phineas attacks Shadrach as legions of trolls pour from the shadows. Shadrach calls for help and attacks trolls as best he can while elves rush to his rescue. In the end, Shadrach has fought effectively and killed many trolls, including Phineas. The elves reveal Phineas to be the Great Troll, and are awed that he is defeated. With the trolls routed, Shadrach expresses a desire to return to his life as a gas station attendant, and the elves respect this. But after seeing his dilapidated home and gas station, he reconsiders, and accepts the status of King of the Elves.

Film adaptation

In April 2008, Walt Disney Animation Studios announced a 3D animated feature film adaptation, titled King of the Elves. The film was originally to have been directed by Aaron Blaise and Robert Walker (directors of Brother Bear), and produced by Chuck Williams.^[2]

Originally slated for release in 2012, the film was reported as shelved in December 2009.^[3] By July 2010, King of the Elves had gone back into development and it was being directed by Chris Williams, director of Bolt.^[4]^[5] About a year into Williams' effort, he decided that this was not the film he wanted to make and left the project.^[6]

References

↑ "Philip K. Dick Bibliography". Philip K. Dick Bookshelf. Retrieved October 7, 2010.
↑ The Walt Disney Studios (April 8, 2008). "The Walt Disney Studios Rolls Out Slate of 10 New Animated Motion Pictures Through 2012" (Press release). PR Newswire. Retrieved March 7, 2014.
↑ Cohen, David (April 26, 2010). "Blaise to head Digital Domain Florida". Variety. Retrieved May 5, 2010.
↑ Connelly, Brendon (August 3, 2010). "Disney Futures – Including The On-Again King Of the Elves". Bleeding Cool. Retrieved November 26, 2010.
↑ Graser, Marc; Sneider, Jeff (June 29, 2011). "Disney revives 'King of the Elves' toon". Variety. Retrieved June 30, 2011.
↑ Vasquez, Larry (September 27, 2016). "Interview with Angry Birds Director - Clay Kaytis". iAnimate. Event occurs at 29:15. Retrieved October 4, 2016.

External links

The King of the Elves title listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database

Works by Philip K. Dick

Novels

Gather Yourselves Together (1950)
Voices from the Street (1952)
Solar Lottery (1954)
Mary and the Giant (1954)
The World Jones Made (1954)
Eye in the Sky (1955)
The Man Who Japed (1955)
A Time for George Stavros (1956)
Pilgrim on the Hill (1956)
The Broken Bubble (1956)
The Cosmic Puppets (1957)
Puttering About in a Small Land (1957)
Nicholas and the Higs (1958)
Time Out of Joint (1958)
In Milton Lumky Territory (1958)
Confessions of a Crap Artist (1959)
The Man Whose Teeth Were All Exactly Alike (1960)
Humpty Dumpty in Oakland (1960)
Vulcan's Hammer (1960)
Dr. Futurity (1960)
The Man in the High Castle (1961)
We Can Build You (1962)
Martian Time-Slip (1962)
Dr. Bloodmoney, or How We Got Along After the Bomb (1963)
The Game-Players of Titan (1963)
The Simulacra (1963)
The Crack in Space (1963)
Clans of the Alphane Moon (1964)
The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch (1964)
The Zap Gun (1964)
The Penultimate Truth (1964)
The Unteleported Man (1964)
The Ganymede Takeover (1965)
Counter-Clock World (1965)
Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? (1966)
Nick and the Glimmung (1966)
Now Wait for Last Year (1966)
Ubik (1966)
Galactic Pot-Healer (1968)
A Maze of Death (1968)
Our Friends from Frolix 8 (1969)
Flow My Tears, the Policeman Said (1974)
Deus Irae (1976)
Radio Free Albemuth (1976; published 1985)
A Scanner Darkly (1977)
VALIS (1981)
The Divine Invasion (1981)
The Transmigration of Timothy Archer (1982)
The Owl in Daylight (unfinished)

Collections

A Handful of Darkness (1955)
The Variable Man (1956)
The Preserving Machine (1969)
The Book of Philip K. Dick (1973)
The Best of Philip K. Dick (1977)
The Golden Man (1980)
Robots, Androids, and Mechanical Oddities (1984)
I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon (1985)
The Collected Stories of Philip K. Dick (1987)
Beyond Lies the Wub (1988)
The Dark Haired Girl (1989)
The Father-Thing (1989)
Second Variety (1989)
The Days of Perky Pat (1990)
The Little Black Box (1990)
The Short Happy Life of the Brown Oxford (1990)
We Can Remember It for You Wholesale (1990)
The Minority Report (1991)
Second Variety (1991)
The Eye of the Sibyl (1992)
The Philip K. Dick Reader (1997)
Minority Report (2002)
Selected Stories of Philip K. Dick (2002)
Paycheck (2004)
Vintage PKD (2006)

Short stories

"Beyond Lies the Wub" (1952)
"The Gun" (1952)
"The Skull" (1952)
"The Little Movement" (1952)
"The Defenders" (1953)
"Mr. Spaceship" (1953)
"Piper in the Woods" (1953)
"Roog" (1953)
"The Infinites" (1953)
"Second Variety" (1953)
"The World She Wanted" (1953)
"Colony" (1953)
"The Cookie Lady" (1953)
"Impostor" (1953)
"Martians Come in Clouds" (1953)
"Paycheck" (1953)
"The Preserving Machine" (1953)
"The Cosmic Poachers" (1953)
"Expendable" (1953)
"The Indefatigable Frog" (1953)
"The Commuter" (1953)
"Out in the Garden" (1953)
"The Great C" (1953)
"The King of the Elves" (1953)
"The Trouble with Bubbles" (1953)
"The Variable Man" (1953)
"The Impossible Planet" (1953)
"Planet for Transients" (1953)
"Some Kinds of Life" (1953)
"The Builder" (1953)
"The Hanging Stranger" (1953)
"Project: Earth" (1953)
"The Eyes Have It" (1953)
"Tony and the Beetles" (1953)
"Prize Ship" (1954)
"Beyond the Door" (1954)
"The Crystal Crypt" (1954)
"A Present for Pat" (1954)
"The Short Happy Life of the Brown Oxford" (1954)
"The Golden Man" (1954)
"James P. Crow" (1954)
"Prominent Author" (1954)
"Small Town" (1954)
"Survey Team" (1954)
"Sales Pitch" (1954)
"Time Pawn" (1954)
"Breakfast at Twilight" (1954)
"The Crawlers" (1954)
"Of Withered Apples" (1954)
"Exhibit Piece" (1954)
"Adjustment Team" (1954)
"Shell Game" (1954)
"Meddler" (1954)
"Souvenir" (1954)
"A World of Talent" (1954)
"The Last of the Masters" (1954)
"Progeny" (1954)
"Upon the Dull Earth" (1954)
"The Father-thing" (1954)
"Strange Eden" (1954)
"Jon's World" (1954)
"The Turning Wheel" (1954)
"Foster, You're Dead!" (1955)
"Human Is" (1955)
"War Veteran" (1955)
"Captive Market" (1955)
"Nanny" (1955)
"The Hood Maker" (1955)
"The Chromium Fence" (1955)
"Service Call" (1955)
"A Surface Raid" (1955)
"The Mold of Yancy" (1955)
"Autofac" (1955)
"Psi-man Heal My Child!" (1955)
"The Minority Report" (1956)
"To Serve the Master" (1956)
"Pay for the Printer" (1956)
"A Glass of Darkness" (1956)
"The Unreconstructed M" (1957)
"Misadjustment" (1957)
"Null-O" (1958)
"Explorers We" (1959)
"Recall Mechanism" (1959)
"Fair Game" (1959)
"War Game" (1959)
"All We Marsmen" (1963)
"Stand-by" (1963)
"What'll We Do with Ragland Park?" (1963)
"The Days of Perky Pat" (1963)
"If There Were No Benny Cemoli" (1963)
"Waterspider" (1964)
"Novelty Act" (1964)
"Oh, to Be a Blobel!" (1964)
"The War with the Fnools" (1964)
"What the Dead Men Say" (1964)
"Orpheus with Clay Feet" (1964)
"Cantata 140" (1964)
"A Game of Unchance" (1964)
"The Little Black Box" (1964)
"Precious Artifact" (1964)
"The Unteleported Man" (1964)
"Retreat Syndrome" (1965)
"Project Plowshare" (1965)
"We Can Remember It for You Wholesale" (1966)
"Holy Quarrel" (1966)
"Return Match" (1967)
"Faith of Our Fathers" (1967)
"Not by Its Cover" (1968)
"The Story to End All Stories" (1968)
"The Electric Ant" (1969)
"A. Lincoln, Simulacrum" (1969)
"The Pre-persons" (1974)
"A Little Something for Us Tempunauts" (1974)
"The Exit Door Leads In" (1979)
"Chains of Air, Web of Aethyr" (1980)
"Rautavaara's Case" (1980)
"I Hope I Shall Arrive Soon" (1980)
"The Alien Mind" (1981)
"Strange Memories of Death" (1984)
"Cadbury, the Beaver Who Lacked" (1987)
"The Day Mr. Computer Fell Out of Its Tree" (1987)
"The Eye of the Sibyl" (1987)
"Stability" (1987)
"Goodbye, Vincent" (1988)

Adaptations

Films	Blade Runner (1982) Total Recall (1990) Confessions d'un Barjo (1992) Screamers (1995) Impostor (2002) Minority Report (2002) Paycheck (2003) A Scanner Darkly (2006) Next (2007) Screamers: The Hunting (2009) Radio Free Albemuth (2010) The Adjustment Bureau (2011) Total Recall (2012) Blade Runner 2049 (2017)

TV series	Total Recall 2070 (1999) The Man in the High Castle (2015) Minority Report (2015)

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