Product Description

It is 1274 and in the fortified city of Acre, the last major stronghold of the Crusaders in Palestine, an epic conflict is beginning.

Will Campbell is a Templar Knight, trained for war, but as a member of the mysterious group known as the Brethren, he is also a man of peace. After years of bloodshed, the Brethren have helped to create a truce between the Christians and Muslims. But Will now fears they have been betrayed. King Edward of England has promised the Pope that he will lead a new Crusade, while in Acre itself, a ruthless cabal of Western merchants, profiteering from slaves and armaments, is plotting to reignite hostilities in the Holy Land.

Meanwhile, in Egypt, Sultan Baybars is caught in a power struggle. His son and heir has become involved in the dangerous designs of the insidious soothsayer, Khadir. While Baybars wants to take on the mighty Mongol empire, Khadir and others want to destroy the Christians once and for all.

As war looms, Will is torn between his oath as a Templar, his secret role in the Brethren and his duty to Elwen, the woman he loves but is forbidden to marry. He is caught at the centre of a web of deception and destruction, as he and all those around him rush headlong towards one of the most dramatic moments in history.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2775 in Books
• Published on: 2008-02-07
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 650 pages

Review
'Crusade is a sweeping historical adventure as well as a cracking sequel' --Financial Times

'Intricate but wonderfully written, a romp of a read and an exhilarating ride' --Birmingham Post

Review
'Crusade is a sweeping historical adventure as well as a cracking sequel' (Financial Times 20060627)

'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 on BRETHREN )

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

'Wonderful... loaded with atmosphere, action, and intrigue. The Crusades come alive' (Steve Berry on BRETHREN )

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

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

'A sweeping historical adventure with strong characters and serious verve...Can't wait for the next two volumes!' (Sarah Weinman on BRETHREN )

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

'Swords clash in the first sentence...and go on clashing throughout...plenty of action...pacy dialogue. Equally enjoyable is the description of everyday life' (The Times )

About the Author
Robyn Young was born in Oxford and grew up in the Midlands and Devon. She has worked as a festival organiser, a music promoter, an investment advisor and as a teacher of creative writing. She has a Masters in Creative Writing from the University of Sussex.

Customer Reviews

Lots of detail, but great read
Book 2 of Robyn Youngs crusade trilogy carries on perfectly from the first book. The same comments can be made as the first, a lot of time is covered and a lot of detail on the characters and story. It is clear she does a lot of research into this time period, you really feel you are there. The characters as well, you feel like you know them inside and out by the end of the book, feeling their pains and pleasures with them. If you are a fan of the first, you will really enjoy this, however I can see how some people may find this a little heavy going. The book itself is actually split into 3, so you almost get 3 for the price of 1 with these, some more unscrupulous authors may have even made 3 out of this for more money. Great read, great story and great characters, for me a good new historical fiction authors, just got book 3 for Christmas, can't wait to tuck in!

A strong novel bu rather long............
For what it's worth, I thought that Brethren, the first in this yet-to-be-completed trilogy, was very good - the characters had depth, the storyline had credibility, it was a page-turner (never a bad thing if one has had to endure the hideous gloom of Thomas Hardy in one's youth) and the lovely Miss Young writes excellent and well-constructed English. It was a fine effort from one so young and also showed evidence of a great deal of careful historical research to root the novel in a bed of basic fact.

Unusually for me, I actually sought out Crusade with real eagerness and settled down on a particularly wet and horrible weekend (which also featured much Gordon Brown on the tele - that's how bad a weekend it was) to enjoy it. Enjoy it I did, but with some reservations and it seems unkind to criticise adversely because Miss Young has achieved a great deal. Here, again for what it's worth, are some of my reservations:

1. The novel is about 150 pages too long. There is no doubt that the author wanted to cram in as much as possible and build the book up to a cracking ending - but there are long passages where not a lot happens, and more by circumstance than by style, they plod.
2. The characters have become a little formulaic. The Sultan's evil advisor never talks, he hisses. Will's girlfriend is such an unspeakable drip that one is surprised she hasn't dissolved by the 4th chapter. The wronged friend who betrays his old mate and yet comes good at the end is tiresome. Yet I have to say that once again Robyn's depiction of life in Acre during the Crusades is good - hot, miserable, disease-ridden and run through with finance and the intrigues that always follow war and conflict. As J B Priestly said, "Sex, money and food cross all borders."
3. Robyn Young's writing is efficient but no so vibrant as in the first book.

All that said, I shall seek out the final chapter and no doubt read it with pleasure. Whenever I have tried to write a novel I have run out of ideas by page three so I have no right to judge Miss Young. I do hope, though, that she is economical with the story and with the various plots. She is a fascinating writer and I have no doubt at all that her books over the years will become more and more interesting. To her great credit, nowhere does she affect to be writing history and one is aware that this is a real novel.

A sensible and well-thought out novel, but not so available as Brethren. Nonetheless, far, far better than a holiday potboiler.

Mills and Boon meets historical fiction.
I wrote a review on the first in this series (Brethren) and ended wishing for hopes that the second installment imporved on the first. The reality is I read these novels hoping to meet an author of historical fiction, someone who could weave research and detail into a great plot and rich characters.

What I should have appreciated is that this is not historical fiction (no matter what it says of the fly sleeve). The opening chapters introduce us to characters carved out of the C20th and dropped into the middle ages. This is a good yarn but it's like reading about a re-enactment society; eveyone's dressed up in 'ye olde clothes' but thinking, speaking and acting like the us.

Sorry to disappoint, it's not a bad book - it's just not "historical" - I want to be immersed into the period not shown the costumes.