false http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1174479031m/405587.jpg 405587 13 The Celtic Crusades is a trilogy of stories about a noble Scottish family whose successive generations venture to the Holy Land at the time of the Crusades to retrieve sacred relics. In the first book, <i>The Iron Lance</I>, Murdo Ranulfson went to Jerusalem and brought back the iron lance used at the crucifixion. Now Duncan, Murdo's son, must find and preserve the Black Rood--a piece of the true cross. As in <I>The Iron Lance</I>, the main narrative is framed by the memoirs of Gordon Murray, nineteenth century scion of the ancient Scottish clan and member of a Christian secret society whose mission is to bring the world back to the true path.<p> This middle volume follows a format familiar to fantasy readers: an unformed youth leaves home to find himself and fulfill his destiny. In his travels through distant and dangerous lands, our hero rescues and is rescued by a series of quirky characters who join his quest, encountering divine visions, politics in the court of the Caliph, and cult assassins. He returns from his adventures older and wiser, triumphantly clutching the Black Rood, and accompanied, as an added bonus, by a new and beautiful wife.<p> Lawhead sprinkles his tale with delicious hints about revelations regarding the potential offspring of Jesus, which, if expanded upon in the final volume, threaten to elevate this fiction from competent to genuinely intriguing. <I>--Luc Duplessis</I> 1731933 1999 The Black Rood (The Celtic Crusades, Book 2) total:282|5:68|4:115|3:83|2:11|1:5| 282 1076 407 8 3 0 false false Sat Jul 25 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Tue Jun 30 08:41:42 -0700 2009 Tue Aug 04 19:08:37 -0700 2009 Rating C-

Review This book is just another example of Stephen Lawhead doing the things that he does well, well (and continuing to do the things he does poorly, poorly). In comparison to Book #1 in this series, I think The Black Rood built off that set-up and provided additional interestin...more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Aug 02 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 16:34:07 -0700 2009 Sun Aug 02 16:37:45 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Aug 10 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Fri Sep 19 13:08:26 -0700 2008 Fri Aug 14 15:45:01 -0700 2009 more...]]> 1 0 false false Fri Jan 16 14:39:27 -0800 2009 Sat Jan 17 12:54:34 -0800 2009 4 0 false false Fri Apr 06 06:10:53 -0700 2007 Sat Apr 14 09:19:49 -0700 2007 more...]]> 3 0 false false Sun Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2006 Mon Sep 21 07:10:31 -0700 2009 Mon Sep 21 07:10:52 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Wed Mar 28 12:27:52 -0700 2007 Wed Mar 28 12:28:28 -0700 2007 Favorite Quotes

The more I saw of {her}, the more convinced I became that if she wanted a thing, it was hers already—and no amount of argument would sway her; likewise flattery, threats, or reason.]]> 5 0 false false Wed Mar 05 13:30:00 -0800 2008 Wed Mar 05 13:30:20 -0800 2008 0 0 false false Fri Nov 20 05:33:29 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 20 05:33:29 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Thu Nov 19 06:06:16 -0800 2009 Thu Nov 19 06:06:16 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Mon Nov 16 17:11:53 -0800 2009 Mon Nov 16 17:11:53 -0800 2009 5 0 false false Sun Nov 15 19:17:35 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 15 19:17:35 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Nov 13 11:02:29 -0800 2009 Fri Nov 13 11:02:29 -0800 2009 1 0 false false Thu Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2000 Sun Nov 08 15:38:30 -0800 2009 Sun Nov 08 15:38:55 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Sat Nov 07 11:20:50 -0800 2009 Sat Nov 07 11:21:00 -0800 2009 0 0 false false Fri Oct 30 01:29:18 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 30 01:29:18 -0700 2009 0 0 false false Wed Oct 28 23:57:15 -0700 2009 Wed Oct 28 23:57:30 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Thu Oct 22 19:16:48 -0700 2009 Thu Oct 22 19:16:48 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Fri Oct 16 15:30:25 -0700 2009 Fri Oct 16 15:30:29 -0700 2009 3 0 false false Mon Oct 12 19:14:39 -0700 2009 Mon Oct 12 19:14:39 -0700 2009 http://www.goodreads.com/book_link/follow/8?book_id=405587