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aggressive_nostalgia's review against another edition
Not quite up to par with the rest of the series, I felt. I absolutely loved the first three books, and I think the major setbacks here were the change of narrator (Isidore's voice and his portrayal of Pagan as a monk in his thirties was really funny for the first chapter or two, but didn't really hold up over the course of the whole story), the short time span (I feel like it moved too quickly too make the emotional connections really believable), and…a sort of sense of anticlimax. I was hoping for a bit more dramatic finish to Pagan's story in the epilogue. (I was also hoping for a clue as to how he ended up with a daughter, as is implied in the title of another of Jinks' novels?)
I felt like I didn't really get anything out of the plot. It seemed less complex and witty and "deep" than when Pagan was the narrator twenty years earlier. and as much as I can relate to Isidore's obsession with books, it got a bit tiring after a while.
In any case, it was still a great read, still stamped with Jinks' trademark style, and definitely not a waste of time for anyone who read the preceding books. I just think it was a less-than-stellar finale.
I felt like I didn't really get anything out of the plot. It seemed less complex and witty and "deep" than when Pagan was the narrator twenty years earlier. and as much as I can relate to Isidore's obsession with books, it got a bit tiring after a while.
In any case, it was still a great read, still stamped with Jinks' trademark style, and definitely not a waste of time for anyone who read the preceding books. I just think it was a less-than-stellar finale.
kortirion's review against another edition
2.0
I wasn't as much of a fan of this last book int he Pagan Chronicles. I didn't find the main character as interesting as Pagan, and Isidore definitely wasn't as witty. I also got tired of people telling him what a find he was.
shanviolinlove's review against another edition
What!?!?! No fun having a new narrator! Pagan's too serious. I mean, sure, I understand it's twenty-some years later and Pagan's grown older and wiser, but the fact that his entire character changed--no more sarcasm, no more wit. Just a semi-stoic, semi-high-tempered scholar travelling with a redheaded version of a young Pagan...not quite the same feel.
The story does delve into more history about the Crusades, however. A great way to soak up some medieval history, rather than plow through a dry-as-dust history textbook. Wasn't a waste of a summer afternoon, although I miss the old Pagan. Maybe I'll go ahead and re-read the first novel again, for old times' sake.
The story does delve into more history about the Crusades, however. A great way to soak up some medieval history, rather than plow through a dry-as-dust history textbook. Wasn't a waste of a summer afternoon, although I miss the old Pagan. Maybe I'll go ahead and re-read the first novel again, for old times' sake.
allisonwonderland27's review against another edition
4.0
For me, a book is all about the ending, but a series is mostly about development. And this final entry in the Pagan series delivers. I don't know if I'd recommend this to anyone other than people who like YA books with a setting in medieval Jerusalem/France, though. The whole series is an easy, fast read, with a good deal of wittiness, but it didn't grab me. It's pretty violent and brutal. I enjoyed seeing what became of Pagan in his lifetime, and what kind of man he turned out to be. I'm glad I finished out the series.
thatlibrarynerd's review against another edition
5.0
This book gets progressively more beautiful as I get older.
piquareste's review against another edition
5.0
This was a surprisingly good book! I'm usually not really interested in historical fiction, but I picked this up because of a school project, and it turned out to be an interesting story with wonderful characters and good plots.
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