Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13151 in Books
• Published on: 2007-05-03
• Binding: Paperback
• 784 pages

Brian Martin in Literary Review
`a novel of high adventure, blood, guts and romantic love…as master craftsman, [Willocks] tells his story with extraordinary pace.'

Times Literary Supplement
'a griping story with reliable factual underpinnings.' - Jane Jakerman

John Williams, Mail on Sunday
"the ideal man to do justice to the conflict...gripping...a classic of its kind"

Customer Reviews

Vivid, brutal and full of swagger...
Like so much of modern pop culture - this book is designed to provoke a reaction from the reader. And it does that in style. The Religion is brilliant but brutal, and not for the faint hearted. More importantly, it is not for those looking for a pleasant read.

It reminds me - in its hard-hitting and brutal view on the world (of sixteenth century Malta) - of Iain Banks' The Wasp factory, or the work of playwright Philip Ridley: there are times when you are reading it that you will feel utterly tense, or physically revolted, as well as intrigued. Such is Tim Willocks' vivid and hard-hitting storyline.

It follows the adventurer Mattias Tannhauser and various colleagues in their mercenary quest to the island of Malta to search for a boy. These characters are both realistic and yet larger than life, and the emotional attachment I developed with them is remarkable.

This is a book to be savoured. Vivid, brutal and full of swagger, there are parts of this book that you will not enjoy at all, and it is in these times that the brilliance of the book is exposed. It is engrossing, though, and not to be missed.

Superb
Favourite book of the last few years, the other reviewers have hit the nail on the head, so not a lot more to say. But.. even if the history side doesnt appeal to you the characters, story, etc. will.

Good but something missing
OK, this is a great book no doubt about that. Strong story, great action, in fact it comes across a bit like a Wilbur smith novel, only written by his evil twin brother on acid. I am a fan of historical novels and I thought my all time favourite "Gates of fire" by Pressfield was high on the blood and guts score, but Willock's book makes that seem written by enid Blyton in comparison.
Why not 5 stars ?...two things
1) Parts of the novel tend to drift on just a bit too long.
2) Why oh why are there no maps to go with the text. If ever a book is crying out for maps to help orientate the reader its this one.

Apart from that can't wait for the film. deserves treatment a la "300"