Product Description

Will longs to be a knight, like his older brother Gavin. Then he could ride a charger, fight bravely in the Crusades for King Richard, and win the heart of a fair maiden. All he needs is a horse. And when he chooses one, he chooses well - a small chestnut stallion with a blaze on its forehead. There's something different about Hosanna - but Will doesn't know how important Hosanna will be to him, to his family, even to Saladin. In the Holy Land, Will learns that being a knight is bloody, brutal and often terrifying. His father is killed, his brother desperately injured, and Will finds himself closer to his enemy than he ever expected - but his small chestnut horse teaches him what it really means to be brave, to be noble, and to be fair.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #269188 in Books
• Published on: 2004-02-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Ink Magazine, March 2004
Atmospheric and evocative ... a terrifically exciting novel.

The Bookseller, January 2004
... this really is unputdownable, featuring great characters, plenty of action and some unforgettable moments.

Undercover, June 2005
These books are tense and exciting - great reads for boys and girls ...

Customer Reviews

Better than Harry Potter...
William is a young boy who lives in the city of Hartslove, governed by his father, Sir Thomas de Granville. Gavin, his brother, is a knight with a black stallion warhorse called Montlouis. Ellie is a young girl, adopted by the de Granvilles and brought up with Gavin and William. Gavin is betrothed to Ellie but she is in love with William. The book charts the adventure of William and his horse, Hosanna, who is the foal of William's old courser, Sacramenta.

I am 11 years old and I began reading this book without any preconceptions about how good or bad it would be. After reading the first few pages, I was drawn in and couldn't put it down. This is by far the best book I have ever read and I would thoroughly recommend it to anyone over the age of 10. It was spell binding - the story of King Richard's crusade - told through the eyes of the king's right hand knight. It makes you want to know more about that period of history and I hope there will be a sequel although the ending seems very final...

The Tale of a Crusader's War Horse
I had been looking forward to this book - despite reading about it in one of the most scathing newspaper reviews I've ever read. I'm glad that I did read it, because I have come to the conclusion that the reviewer was most unfair. It suggested that this book was written as some kind of comment on parallel wars being fought in recent times. Knowing the timescales involved in writing and publishing, I knew this was impossible - but I was curious to see what kind of slant the author had put on the history of the Crusades. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the view presented was impartial and balanced. We learn about this historical event from both sides: from King Richard and his men as well as the Sultan and his Saracen army.

The story is well written and has a definite sense of period - yet without resorting to 'olde worlde' dialogue that would swiftly weary the reader. The three main characters: Will, Gavin and Ellie, are well drawn and have real depth. The reader follows their growth from children to young adults. As they age it becomes ever clearer that there is a romantic triangle of sorts here - Ellie is clearly attached to Will, yet must marry Gavin the oldest. How their emotional stories progress (whilst together and far apart) really holds the story together.

Despite its merits, I felt the story had a few flaws that kept it from being a truly perfect children's novel. It seemed to have a very slow start; on a number of occasions whilst reading the first few chapters I was half-tempted to abandon the book, as it seemed rather pedestrian and dull. I also found the earlier segments about the Sultan and his son distracted me from the story of the three main protagonists, and felt tempted to skip them. I pressed on, however, and gradually my affection for the story and characters grew.

Bizarrely, I found the least well-rounded and convincing character to be the 'Blood Red Horse' himself. I never truly understood what was so very special about 'Hosanna' that captivated everyone who came into contact with him. Apart from his attractive appearance, ability to move well, and a certain steadfastness - I couldn't see what all the fuss was about. I read continually about how everyone utterly adored him (to the rather uncomfortable point of idolization), including the entire Hartslove estate, King Richard, and the Sultan's son. Yet despite this, I couldn't see one single heroic deed or action that prompted their devotion - and as such, I never really bonded with the horse or cared enough about it, in the way that I did about Will, Gavin and Ellie. True, at one point he stubbornly refuses to join in with a mass slaughter - but this subtle distinction of what was honorable seemed unconvincing, especially when he played an active role in many other bloody scenes.

When first told of this story, I had understood that it was a story about the crusades as told from a horse's point of view - so I kind of expected a historical 'Black Beauty.' Sadly, this was not the case. For me, the central character of Hosanna has practically none of the emotional impact of Black Beauty, because we never really get to know him, his thoughts, feelings, etc. This is especially unsettling when he seems to switch his allegiance midway and focus his affections on the Sultan's son, with little evidence of missing his previous owner. This may be how a 'real' horse would behave perhaps, but for me, this central character just didn't work in the way he should. Maybe if we had 'heard' from Hosanna (got inside his head), this story might have had a real emotional impact and might have become a true classic instead of a rather standard historical adventure with a horse that everyone obsesses over thrown in for good measure. Perhaps it all works so much better for lovers of all things equine - but the gruesome deaths of so many of the other horses (though historically accurate), might be distressing.

A sterling debut novel - but it could have been so much more!

Interesting reflection on our current times
I picked up Blood Red Horse while I was living in Egypt. K.M. Grant successfully pictured the horror of pointless wars which continue to this day. There was no bias opinion expressed which is so important in books of this nature. She uses the life of a horse to travel the world and gather new experiences. An excellent read for anyone interested in history, horses or chivalry.