Product Description

From the burning plains of Syria to the filthy backstreets of Paris and London, Brethren is the story of Will Campbell, coming of age in a time of conspiracy, passion, politics and war.

Will has been brought up from boyhood in the ways of the all-powerful Order of the Knights Templar. With a tragedy in his past that looms over his future, he faces a long, hard apprenticeship to the foul-tempered scholar Everard, before he can have any chance of becoming a Knight. As he struggles to survive in the harsh discipline of the Temple, Will must try to make sense of many things: his own past, the dangerous mystery that surrounds Everard, and his confused feelings for Elwen, the strong-willed young woman whose path seems always to cross his own.

Meanwhile, a new star is rising in the East. A ruthless fighter and brilliant tactician, the former slave Baybars has become one of the greatest generals and rulers of his time. Haunted by his early life, he is driven by an unquenchable desire to free his people from the European invaders of his homeland.

With page-turning suspense and thrilling action, Brethren brilliantly evokes that extraordinary clash of civilizations known in the West as the Crusades. Robyn Young portrays a rich cast of characters, reflecting on each side greed, ambition and religious fanaticism, as well as courage, love and faith. (20060424)

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1733 in Books
• Published on: 2007-03-22
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 672 pages

Review
'Writing medieval stories is one of the toughest jobs in historical fiction, because there are so many details we just don't know -- how people talked to each other, how they loved each other. But Robyn Young has written an intricate, compelling, captivating and, above all, believable story.BRETHREN is a brilliant piece of sustained imagination.' -- David Boyle, author of BLONDEL'S SONG: The Capture, Imprisonment & Ransom of Richard the Lionheart 'A wonderful romp through a tulmultuous time loaded with medieval atmosphere, action, and intrigue. The Crusades come alive for what they were - personal battles of conquest and ambition. Robyn Young is a writer who bears watching.' -- Steve Berry, bestselling author of THE TEMPLAR LEGACY 'I was lucky enough to recieve an advance copy of this book, working in the book trade, and I was instantly blown away by the cover but the real treat lies inside. The story within is beautifully written and the research that has been done for this book shows in every amazing description. I would urge anyone to pick this up and read it. A deep, fast paced adventure extraordinare, beautifully crafted and filled with passion, intrigue and excitement taking the reader from the Scottish Highland to England, France and finally to the Holy Land. From the first word to the last it is impossible to put down. Robyn Young really brings alive the turmoil and politcal machinations of the medieval age creating a stunning debut.' -- M. R. Houlton-hart, bookshop, Bury St Edmunds, review on Amazon 'Wonderful... loaded with atmosphere, action, and intrigue. The Crusades come alive' -- Steve Berry, author of THE TEMPLAR LEGACY 'BRETHREN is one of the best historical debuts in recent memory. Exciting and enthralling, it gripped me from the first page and left me waiting anxiously for the next instalment' -- John Connolly, author of THE BLACK ANGEL and THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS 'Rich historical detail, clever plotting and engaging characters ... a historical thriller that will have readers turning pages and envisioning the sequel' -- Publishers Weekly 20060424 'Pacy and well-written, with vivid, convincing characters, Brethren captures your interest until the last page. I eagerly anticipate the sequel, knowing I will not be disappointed' -- Alison Weir 20060424 'Intricate, compelling, captivating and, above all, believable ... a brilliant piece of sustained imagination' -- David Boyle, author of BLONDEL'S SONG 20060424 'Robyn Young's BRETHREN is a truly excellent novel. The thirteenth century is vividly and excitingly evoked ...I can't wait for the sequel!' -- Mark Philpott, Centre for Medieval & Renaissance Studies, Oxford 20060424 'Stirring...carefully researched' -- Publishing News 20060505 'Asweeping historical adventure with strong characters and serious verve...hits all the big emotional points...Can't wait for the next two volumes!' -- Sarah Weinman (Baltimore Sun, Shots Magazine, Galleycat blog) 20060505 'If you love the Templars, the Crusades, and the Middle Ages, this is the book for you. Robyn Young is an exciting new voice that speaks loudly' -- Sharon Kay Penman, author 20060627 'Engaging and enjoyable - Robyn Young brings the tumultuous medieval world to life with pace and flair' -- Tom Harper, author, Knights Of The Cross 20060627

Review
'Wonderful... loaded with atmosphere, action, and intrigue. The Crusades come alive' (Steve Berry, author of THE TEMPLAR LEGACY 20060627)

'BRETHREN is one of the best historical debuts in recent memory. Exciting and enthralling, it gripped me from the first page and left me waiting anxiously for the next instalment' (John Connolly, author of THE BLACK ANGEL and THE BOOK OF LOST THINGS 20060627)

'Rich historical detail, clever plotting and engaging characters . . . a historical thriller that will have readers turning pages and envisioning the sequel' (Publishers Weekly 20060627)

'Pacy and well-written, with vivid, convincing characters, Brethren captures your interest until the last page. I eagerly anticipate the sequel, knowing I will not be disappointed' (Alison Weir )

'Intricate, compelling, captivating and, above all, believable ... a brilliant piece of sustained imagination' (David Boyle, author of BLONDEL'S SONG )

'Robyn Young’s BRETHREN is a truly excellent novel. The thirteenth century is vividly and excitingly evoked ... I can’t wait for the sequel!' (Mark Philpott, Centre for Medieval & Renaissance Studies, Oxford )

'Stirring...carefully researched'

(Publishing News )

'A sweeping historical adventure with strong characters and serious verve...hits all the big emotional points...Can't wait for the next two volumes!' (Sarah Weinman (Baltimore Sun, Shots Magazine, Galleycat blog) )

'If you love the Templars, the Crusades, and the Middle Ages, this is the book for you. Robyn Young is an exciting new voice that speaks loudly' (Sharon Penman, author )

'Engaging and enjoyable - Robyn Young brings the tumultuous medieval world to life with pace and flair'

(Tom Harper, author, Knights Of The Cross )

'Richly worked and captivating...an epic story of war, intrigue and heroism' (Good Book Guide )

'Tipped to be the next Da Vinci Code' (Elle )

'El Cid meets The Da Vinci Code! Exciting, page-turning fiction' (Simon Mayo's Book Panel, BBC Radio Five Live )

David Boyle, author of BLONDEL'S SONG
'Intricate, compelling, captivating and, above all, believable...a brilliant piece of sustained imagination'

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Customer Reviews

Not bad, but lacks something
I had high hopes for this book. Promising a clash between civilisations during the time of the crusades, it seemed perfect material for a sweeping, thrilling historical epic. However, despite the book's initial promise, there's something about it that just doesn't work for me.

Don't get me wrong - it's not a bad book and, for a debut, it's probably quite good. It's certainly ambitious in its scope and themes. It's obvious that a lot of research went into many aspects of this book, particularly the settings and places (the book moves from medieval London and Paris to the Holy Land), and the author succeeds pretty well in capturing the essence and atmosphere of medieval life.

There are a few negative points, though. The first is the author's writing style. She can write, there's no doubt about that, and much of her prose is excellent; however, after a while it began to seem a bit heavy-handed and ponderous. I also agree with some other reviewers, who said it's clear that the author has a qualification in creative writing - the writing often seems very rigid, as though the author was more concerned with conforming to the technicalities of style rather than with story flow and ease of reading. That's a fairly minor point, though. To me, the two biggest let-downs of the book were character and plot (and, considering how important both are to novels, they were pretty big disappointments).

First of all, the characters seemed a bit wooden and under-developed, and weren't always that believable. The author also seems to spend a lot of time telling us how one of the lead characters, Will, is feeling, rather than showing us through his actions; he seems to spend a lot of time in introspection, fuming over real or imagined wrongs done to him by others, and it sometimes came across as whining. The dialogue of the characters was also unconvincing in many instances - some of it seemed far too modern for medieval times, which was surprising, as a lot of research obviously went into the book. I just can't believe that some of the dialogue would have been heard in the thirteenth century. As another reviewer mentioned, it was also hard to believe that a medieval knight - a highly trained, professional warrior - could be so easily overcome by a thief from the streets.

In terms of plot, nothing much actually seemed to happen and the book was, in my opinion, over-long. One of the main threads throughout the book - the search for the Book of the Grail - was resolved in a huge anti-climax, and made me wonder what the point of it was. The blurb on the back cover promised a 'collision' between the two main characters, which never actually happened. The whole book felt as though it was just setting the scene for the next two books in the trilogy - I wonder whether the author should have just started with book two, as that seems to be where the action will come from. In addition, I couldn't see the point of the sub-plot involving Will and Elwen - again, it didn't go anywhere and didn't do much to deepen the plot. Maybe I'm missing something, or maybe more will be revealed in the second book.

Having said that, it wasn't an awful book, and there was something about it that kept me reading to the end. As a first-time author, Young shows a lot of promise and has the potential to be a great writer - I'm just not sure she's a great storyteller. It wouldn't put me off reading the next book in the trilogy but, if that one fails to improve on the first, I probably wouldn't persevere with the third.

Fascinating book
I am a big historical fiction fan so was keen to try a new author. This book felt quite heavy at first with a lot of detail, and at nearly 700 pages it's a long book. However this level of detail is what sets it apart from other books, with a huge amount of research into the period and characters that you can understand all their emotions and reactions. In the end the 700 pages flew by, and gripped me all the way through. Excellent book and new author for my bookshelf. Looking forward to the next in series

A thrilling debut
A marvellous read from start to finish - deftly plotted and thrilling - Young evokes a bygone world with a deft hand, avoiding lengthy exposition adn without letting the breakneck pace to flag. The only minus is the rather hackneyed and corny romance between the Will and Elwen, indeed remove the latter from the story entirely and nothing would be lost. However such faults can be forgiven in a first novel.

A breathtaking debut, exciting, informative and addictive, I can't wait for the next installment.