Reviews

The Pilgrim of Hate: The Tenth Chronicle of Brother Cadfael by Ellis Peters

Only show reviews with written explanations

english_lady03's review against another edition

4.0

I didn't know what to expect with the Pilgrim of Hate. I was told the book is very VERY different from the TV adaptation. Just for some background, for some reason ITV chose The Pilgrim of Hate to conclude their Cadfael series way back in 1998, after the show had run for 4 seasons and a total of 13 Episodes.

I still think this was a mistake. If ITV wanted to end the series, they should have wrapped it up with an adaptation of Brother Cadfael's Penance, the final novel. We would have seen a return of Olivier de Bretagne and Cadfael's final great moral conflict.
Instead, we got a strange version of this title which used the names of the characters but bore little to no resemblance to the book, and had a dark, cynical, nasty edge with almost everyone acting out of character.

Now to get around to the book review: The real Pilgrim of Hate was a complex, fascinating and well-thought-out story. A refreshing break, in fact, from the last novel which I was very disappointed with.
It is something of a break from the norm because there is no murder in Shrewsbury itself: instead, distant events and the people involved in them converge on Shrewsbury and people's choices and past actions have an impact on what is going on.
Ellis Peters led us down a twisty, turny rabbit hole full of misdirection. Making us question who was good, who was bad, and who what motivated them. The cleverest part was making us actually sympathize with Matthew and understand the basis for his actions, after presenting him as a rather cold character for the first part of the book.

Kieran and Matthew are very different character in this novel to what we see on screen: and both represent something about the social norms and connections of 12th century society.
The notion of high-ranking retainers becoming something like adopted children to older noblemen and women who didn’t have children of their own was fascinating.
Servants could genuinely love their masters and have a relationship that was almost familial with them.

I’ll never watch Season 4 of Cadfael in the same way.

dominic_piacentini's review against another edition

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adventurous funny mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

This entry felt like a little reward for those who have been reading the largely stand-alone books in order. One Corpse Too Many is always relevant, with its introduction to Shrewsbury, the English Anarchy, and major recurring characters like Aline and Hugh Baringar. But so much time has passed since A Morbid Taste for Bones that I had forgotten Cadfael once corpse swapped a teenaged saint for a zealous Benedictine monk in a sleight of hand unbeknownst to any in his chapter. I was delighted that this book not only returned to that thread but also dwelt in its humor.

Also important here are the events of A Virgin in the Ice, as we are reintroduced to Olivier de Bretagne — a British Syrian rogue fiercely loyal to the only correct champion of the Anarchy — empress MAUD (may her reign be long). And what an introduction that was:

“Over Hugh’s shoulder, he saw a taller head and shoulders loom, emerging from dimness in suave, resplendent plains, the bright jutting cheekbones, the olive cheeks smoothly hollowed below, the falcon’s amber eyes below high-arched black brows, the long supple lips tentatively smiling upon him. It was not possible, yet he beheld it. Olivier de Bretagne stepped out from the shadows.”

The mystery here is middling — but the exchanges between Cadfael and his bestie (Hugh) and his bestie’s new hot boyfriend (Olivier) made it all worth it.