Once Upon a Time in America magnificently brings to a conclusion Michael Bowler’s Lance Chronicles series. In Children of the Knight, one’s first encounter with Lance and King Arthur promised a rollicking modern day adventure with a touch of magic, gripping characters, and a fast moving story-line. The cliffhanger ending was almost too much to deal with in a scene of such emotional anguish that I challenge any reader to walk away from it without tears. But tragedy was averted only to send the reader on a riveting new drama in Running Through a Dark Place and the introduction of both Michael and Ricky. Ricky quickly became the source of strength and support Lance desperately needed as the pressures of his almost incomprehensible fame combine with the deep-seated insecurity threatening to overwhelm him – all complicated by the appearance of the dark and dangerous Michael. It was in this volume that Bowler first revealed the depth of his ability to immerse his readers in Lance’s world and the emotional strains that provoke heartache and humiliation for both Lance and Ricky. In the third volume of the series, There Is No Fear, Lance, Ricky, King Arthur, and the others suffered the grief of Lance being wrongfully charged with a horrendous crime leading to hard lessons and a fast-moving ending in which the centrality of Michael’s role was driven to its ultimate surprising and tragic end. Volume four, And the Children Shall Lead, could easily be seen as an introduction to this final installment. In it, Lance and Ricky worked up a proposed Children’s Bill of Rights (CBOR) to ensure minors enjoy the same full protections as adults while a mysterious enemy began a campaign to torture and kill Lance. Here then, in the final volume, Once Upon a Time in America, we find Lance and company continuing their crusade in a cross-country tour to convince the states to ratify the CBOR – if Congress ever gets around to passing it. But the hidden enemy is working overtime to kill everyone Lance loves before assassinating him too. This unseen enemy is the wild card that Bowler’s had up his sleeve from the beginning, and as Team Lance travels the country, facing ever-increasing danger and the impending tragedy Lance fears most of all, we come to realize what a powerful tale-weaver Bowler truly is. Far from being merely a series of interrelated adventures, The Lance Chronicles is an epic yarn with a plot-line that is complex, clearly delineated, and unmistakably moving. Be warned. No fairy-tale ending awaits Lance and Ricky, as the violence of twenty-first century society and the sociopathic machinations of evil tempt, toy with, and terrify them If ever an ending could be called bittersweet here we have the very definition of it. And lest, you think the ending will be too hard, rest assured you'll have a misty-eyed smile on your face when you read the last page.Indeed, the same compelling majesty that runs through such classics as The Lord of the Rings and The Earthsea Trilogy courses through this series’ pages from beginning to end. With some slight alteration of division, this wonderful and inspiring collection could even be re-released in a trilogy format. But don’t wait for that. Pick up Children of the Knight – and go ahead and purchase the entire set of five when you do because once you start book one you’ll be hooked and won’t stop until you’ve read them all. Why some astute movie company and director haven’t snatched this series up is beyond me. Hello, Bob Iger, are you listening? Michael Eisner might snatch this one up if you’re not careful. It’s that good.Five stars hardly does justice to such a beautiful saga.