Customer Reviews
Lots of detail, but great read - By: chuckles, 05 Jan 2009 
Book 2 of Robyn Youngs crusade trilogy carries on perfectly from the first book. The same comments can be made as the first, a lot of time is covered & a lot of detail on the characters & story. It is clear she does a lot of research into this time period, you really feel you are there. The characters as well, you feel like you know them inside & out by the end of the book, feeling their pains & pleasures with them. If you are a fan of the first, you will really enjoy this, however I can see how some people may find this a little heavy going. The book itself is actually split into 3, so you almost get 3 for the price of 1 with these, some more unscrupulous authors may have even made 3 out of this for more money. Great read, great story & great characters, for me a good new historical fiction authors, just got book 3 for Christmas, can't wait to tuck in!
Excellent read! - By: Florian Drews, 18 Nov 2008 As opposed to what others might have said, I think Robyn Young has not only managed to outshine her first book (the brethren - which I devouredin a few days only) but has been able to get myself fully absorbedin the history of the 13th century.
As I knew little of the time period, I found myself researching the main plots of the book & immersing myself ever more into the history of the mamluks, templars & the crusades.
As opposed to Bernhard Cornwell's taste for sometimes boring battle scenes (as they somehow seem to appear to be same over & over againin any of his books), I feel that Young puts more emphasis on developing her characters well & giving them believable non-20th-century-personalities. I guess, that this is the point, which many people might disagree about.
As a non-native English speaker, I loved once more her way of describing personalities & surroundings, which clearly arosein front of my inner eye.
I think, this book could be one of those, which I might actually read again after a few years, because it gave me a great deal of joy.
The only thing I didn't like was the book cover - as it looks to me like a fantasy book similar to the abominable Eragon.
Gripping read! - By: Karrie, 30 Oct 2008 I'm not going to go into detail about the plot, many reviews here already give that information, but I will say that it's a fabulous, absorbing read. In parts, the tension is so fierce & consuming that you just don't want to put it down! Having read the first book of the trilogy I was familiar with the main characters. I now can't wait to get the third & final book to discover what further trials life brings for Will & 'Co'!
what a dull read - By: joff, 25 Oct 2008 
I got so bored with this book that i'm not even going to finish it. The books called crusade & so far i'm over half way through there hasn't been one exciting battle. The first one was average but i read though itin the hope that this one would be better but its not; & this one has the added bonus of being constantly reminded what happenedin the first one. i know what happened i read it.
Good bedtime read for insomniacs - By: M. Shopland, 09 Oct 2008 
This is a poor one dimensional book. It is great to read at bedtime if you cannot relax, as this book will send you to sleep fast. I am persisting with this book on the grounds that it just has to get better! However it is hard to get stuch into more than a few pages at a time.
Both the Templar characters & the Muslim (in particular Muslims) are just so weak! None of the Muslim chracters do anything to enthrall the reader & the Templar ones really are not believable. The title is Crusade, but I am 3/4 the way through & I can see no sign of it happening. The implausable Garin character is a work of pure literary weakness.
Another reviewer said this is Mills & boon meets History, & I think that is rather accurate. I am a Historical fiction reader & other authors do a far better job than this.
