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english_lady03's review
4.0
Excellent novel about the First Crusade from the perspective of a little known Norman Nobleman named Tancred. Some elements were perhaps not necessary to the narrative (the seer woman, for instance) but generally its a fact packed story. The author has also done very well with getting into the mindset of the time period.
I only wish she had continued the series as was planned. Have to make do with her Regencies instead.
I only wish she had continued the series as was planned. Have to make do with her Regencies instead.
littleladyluna's review
4.0
Everyone has heard of the Crusades, but many people are not aware that there was more than one (I certainly wasn't.) This novel begins during the First Crusade and follows Tancred, a young man trying to escape from and atone for his past by engaging in a holy war. Through this novel, we follow Tancred on his journey through Italy to Constantinople and all of the dangers, perils, battles, and intrigue on the way. Tancred truly believes in the cause, however he soon finds it difficult to know who to trust and which rules to follow.
Before reading this novel, I really was only acquainted with the Third Crusade and the part Richard the Lionheart played in it. It is very obvious right off the bat that Lortz did her research and probably is as familiar with the Crusades (all of them)as she is with the back of her hand. This novel is full of historical facts and anecdotes as well as a very realistic setting that allows Lortz's historical prowess to show. Tancred was an interesting character, however I wish that there had been more character development throughout the book. I would have loved to know a bit more about him and seen him mature, but since this is the first in a trilogy, he will probably mature a bit throughout the series. While this novel is full of battles, it wasn't over done with gore. The battles were well described but it didn't feel as though I was wading through a river of blood to see what was going on. Overall, this book had everything from war to romance and the writing was really well done. I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series to see what happens next.
*Please note, I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
Before reading this novel, I really was only acquainted with the Third Crusade and the part Richard the Lionheart played in it. It is very obvious right off the bat that Lortz did her research and probably is as familiar with the Crusades (all of them)as she is with the back of her hand. This novel is full of historical facts and anecdotes as well as a very realistic setting that allows Lortz's historical prowess to show. Tancred was an interesting character, however I wish that there had been more character development throughout the book. I would have loved to know a bit more about him and seen him mature, but since this is the first in a trilogy, he will probably mature a bit throughout the series. While this novel is full of battles, it wasn't over done with gore. The battles were well described but it didn't feel as though I was wading through a river of blood to see what was going on. Overall, this book had everything from war to romance and the writing was really well done. I'm looking forward to reading the next in the series to see what happens next.
*Please note, I received a copy of this novel from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
unabridgedchick's review
3.0
Beginning in 1096, this novel covers the very start of the Pope Urban's First Crusade (the subsequent two novels will play out the rest of it, presumably). Written in a straight-forward manner, Lortz follows the exploits of the young nobleman Tancred, nephew of Bohemond of Taranto.
The characters, sadly, were flat, and I felt very little connection with any of them, including our hero Tancred. Despite having a lightning bolt revelation about his role as a Christian soldier at the beginning of the novel, his development seemed to halt after the first thirty pages. His zest for fighting is clear and we get plenty of that, but his mental state, his feelings about himself or the Crusades, his faith, his friendships, none are considered or explored in anyway that compelled me to care about him or the Crusades. Lortz created two female characters but both felt a bit throwaway and underdeveloped as well.
This book suffers from being too accurate. (I can't believe I'm saying that!) Lortz literally recounts (it felt) every skirmish that occurred historically, but the scenes lacked a frisson of tension and the thrill of daring strategy. To be honest, I started to dread each new city the crusaders arrived at for there would be another siege. While each episode might be differentiated by a quirky historical detail - a betrayal here, a hilarious interlude there - this novel felt interminably long in that sense and the usual payoff, an arc of change in a character, didn't materialize.
One thing that jolted me out of the story was Lortz's use of very specific idioms and phrases that seemed inaccurate or out-of-place in the story. For example, a character says someone 'doesn't give a fig' about something while another utters 'by my troth'; a quick search indicates these phrases both came about in the 1500s. Later, we get 'there's the rub' (16th century) and 'gist' (17th century). Granted, the entire novel is written in Modern English but something about these well-known words and phrases struck me as anachronistic.
Otherwise, I found Lortz's writing quite readable and she doesn't bog the narrative down in lots of explication (no long descriptions of war machines or how to saddle a horse, etc.). There's promise of a great historical novel here and I'm interested in seeing how Tancred's story unfolds. The Author's Note promises that one of the female characters gets more coverage in the second book, which makes me happy. If you're in the market for a new historical trilogy that is detailed without being overwhelming, give this book a try.
The characters, sadly, were flat, and I felt very little connection with any of them, including our hero Tancred. Despite having a lightning bolt revelation about his role as a Christian soldier at the beginning of the novel, his development seemed to halt after the first thirty pages. His zest for fighting is clear and we get plenty of that, but his mental state, his feelings about himself or the Crusades, his faith, his friendships, none are considered or explored in anyway that compelled me to care about him or the Crusades. Lortz created two female characters but both felt a bit throwaway and underdeveloped as well.
This book suffers from being too accurate. (I can't believe I'm saying that!) Lortz literally recounts (it felt) every skirmish that occurred historically, but the scenes lacked a frisson of tension and the thrill of daring strategy. To be honest, I started to dread each new city the crusaders arrived at for there would be another siege. While each episode might be differentiated by a quirky historical detail - a betrayal here, a hilarious interlude there - this novel felt interminably long in that sense and the usual payoff, an arc of change in a character, didn't materialize.
One thing that jolted me out of the story was Lortz's use of very specific idioms and phrases that seemed inaccurate or out-of-place in the story. For example, a character says someone 'doesn't give a fig' about something while another utters 'by my troth'; a quick search indicates these phrases both came about in the 1500s. Later, we get 'there's the rub' (16th century) and 'gist' (17th century). Granted, the entire novel is written in Modern English but something about these well-known words and phrases struck me as anachronistic.
Otherwise, I found Lortz's writing quite readable and she doesn't bog the narrative down in lots of explication (no long descriptions of war machines or how to saddle a horse, etc.). There's promise of a great historical novel here and I'm interested in seeing how Tancred's story unfolds. The Author's Note promises that one of the female characters gets more coverage in the second book, which makes me happy. If you're in the market for a new historical trilogy that is detailed without being overwhelming, give this book a try.
truebookaddict's review
4.0
I am so pleased that I keep discovering historical fiction authors who really know how to tell a story. Rosanne Lortz has taken the Crusades, which I have to admit I know little about, aside from Richard the Lionheart, and has written a well-researched and captivating account. I'm not much for battle scenes, but she succeeded in adding just enough to show the harsh reality of war and the mettle it took for these men to fight as they did. While many of the men in the story joined the Crusades for personal gain, for many it was a deeply religious experience. A quest to prove their fealty to their Lord and Church. The main character, Tancred, was one of the latter group.
Tancred is a very likable character. It may seem cliche, but I really enjoy characters that have a purpose, a mission to do good, and a character who has principles and honor. Tancred loses his taste for killing in the name of a liege lord, that is, the killing of Christians. He seems to have no qualms in killing Turks or 'Mussulmen' (I'm assuming the name of the time for Muslims?) because they are infidels who have denounced Christianity. Killing is killing, right? But we must remember the time period, when war was common and many wars were fought in the name of the Church. Despite what we might view as hypocrisy, Tancred is a noble man who refuses to swear allegiance to any state, but the Church.
In her author's note, Lortz informs that all the characters are true historical personages, with the exception of a few supporting characters. She has breathed life into history. Something that I continue to stress that is the importance of historical fiction. An engaging book such as this is one that will spark an interest in learning more about the Crusades, even in the most lay of persons. A planned trilogy, with subsequent books with Tancred as protagonist, the second and third books are Flower of the Desert and Prince of the East, set to release in 2012 and 2013. I, for one, cannot wait to read about the further adventures of Tancred.
Tancred is a very likable character. It may seem cliche, but I really enjoy characters that have a purpose, a mission to do good, and a character who has principles and honor. Tancred loses his taste for killing in the name of a liege lord, that is, the killing of Christians. He seems to have no qualms in killing Turks or 'Mussulmen' (I'm assuming the name of the time for Muslims?) because they are infidels who have denounced Christianity. Killing is killing, right? But we must remember the time period, when war was common and many wars were fought in the name of the Church. Despite what we might view as hypocrisy, Tancred is a noble man who refuses to swear allegiance to any state, but the Church.
In her author's note, Lortz informs that all the characters are true historical personages, with the exception of a few supporting characters. She has breathed life into history. Something that I continue to stress that is the importance of historical fiction. An engaging book such as this is one that will spark an interest in learning more about the Crusades, even in the most lay of persons. A planned trilogy, with subsequent books with Tancred as protagonist, the second and third books are Flower of the Desert and Prince of the East, set to release in 2012 and 2013. I, for one, cannot wait to read about the further adventures of Tancred.
abookishaffair's review
4.0
The Crusade was a Pope and Catholic sanctioned Christian takeover of Jerusalem. This book is the first in a trilogy that covers the first Crusade. Tancred, a young warrior, is told by Pope Urban if he fights in the Crusade, all of Tancred's sins will be absolved. Tancred really doesn't like playing by the rules but he wants to make his previous troubles go away.
I had never read any fictional books about the Crusade. I thought it was really interesting to see the Crusade from the perspective of the people who were fighting to boot the pagans out of the Holy City of Jerusalem. You can see from Tancred's perspective alone that people fought in the Crusades for all sorts of reasons. Some did fight because they believed they had a religious duty to remove the pagans from the Holy Land. Other fought for more selfish reasons. I guess I didn't realize that there was such a broad range of reasons for people to fight.
One of the things that I liked about this book is that although it takes place during a war, there isn't a lot of time spent on the battles themselves. The book covers more of the behind the scenes of what's going on. It talks more about what people were thinking as they marched towards the unknown. To me, this was way more interesting than a bunch of battle sequences.
Bottom line: This was a great adventure story with an interesting perspective.
I had never read any fictional books about the Crusade. I thought it was really interesting to see the Crusade from the perspective of the people who were fighting to boot the pagans out of the Holy City of Jerusalem. You can see from Tancred's perspective alone that people fought in the Crusades for all sorts of reasons. Some did fight because they believed they had a religious duty to remove the pagans from the Holy Land. Other fought for more selfish reasons. I guess I didn't realize that there was such a broad range of reasons for people to fight.
One of the things that I liked about this book is that although it takes place during a war, there isn't a lot of time spent on the battles themselves. The book covers more of the behind the scenes of what's going on. It talks more about what people were thinking as they marched towards the unknown. To me, this was way more interesting than a bunch of battle sequences.
Bottom line: This was a great adventure story with an interesting perspective.
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