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Saracen #1
The Saracen: Land of the Infidel
The assassin Daoud ibn Abdallah strides amid his throngs of enemies, vowing to have Sophia Paloides as a slave to his wishes and fighting another powerful warrior for control of civilization
468 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 1989
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About the author
Robert Shea
66 books176 followersRobert Joseph Shea was a novelist and journalist best known as co-author with Robert Anton Wilson of the science fantasy trilogy Illuminatus!. It became a cult success and was later turned into a marathon-length stage show put on at the British National Theatre and elsewhere. In 1986 it won the Prometheus Hall of Fame Award. Shea went on to write several action novels based in exotic historical settings.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 18, 2013
The story is set in the 13th Century when the world was at war on religious lines, with Christians fighting the Holy Crusades against the Saracens, and the Mongols, the descendants of Ghengis Khan, busy trying to conquer as much of the known world as possible. David is born in an English family and was sold into slavery when his parents are killed by the Turks. Brutalized as a young slave, he is taken over by Baibers, the leader of the Mameluke and trained to be a warrior and an efficient assassin.
During his training, he converts to Islam (named Daoud ibn Abdallah) out of some conviction, and works with dedication to rise up to be a trusted Mameluke Emir. Baibars treats him as his own son and even lets his favorite daughter marry him.
The Christians were stonewalled in their attempt to regain control of their Holy Lands, Bethlehem and Jerusalem, among others. France, Italy and other small kingdoms were dealing with their own intrigues.
The Mongols were attempting a treaty with the Christian world to enable them to jointly wipe out the Islamic world. It is in this situation that David is sent to Italy to prevent the treaty between the Mongols and the Christian world.
The narrative is detailed in terms of the times enabling the reader to form vivid imagery, yet keeping up a fast pace. The story takes no sides in this religious posturing of the parties and lets you form your own opinions. The characters come out alive.
Religions have been the cause of much violence and misery over several centuries. When one kills in the name of God, the self-righteousness is at its height justifying the brutality. Daoud is fighting to prevent the Muslim world from being overrun by the Christians and the Mongols. Simon, the French Count is fighting to enable the treaty between Christians & the Mongols on behalf of his benefactor, King Louis, to claim the Holy Lands held by the Saracens and also to regain his family honor. The Mongols are focused on simply conquering more land, even trying to forge a relationship with the Christians whose lands they had sacked and pillaged. Even though the Mongols killed conquered people brutally, including women and children, the killings were not on religious grounds (Thank God! but which one?).
While it appears as a man's world, we also see the hopes, desires and travails of females like Tillia (the successful and powerful brothel owner), Sophia (a high-class courtesan who was brutalized in her childhood, falling for both Daoud and Simon in an apparently confused manner), and Rachel (the teenage Jew girl who loses her old husband without consummating her marriage, and then willingly joins Tillia's brothel to lose her virginity to one of the visiting Mongols).
Book 1 ends in a furious climax that leaves one wanting more. I must start on Book 2 immediately. The late Robert Shea is definitely one of the top class authors of Historical Fiction. His earlier books on the Mongols and the Japanese (Shike, for instance) are wonderful ones. Thanks to his son, Robert Shea's books are available free (on www.obooko.com) for instance. Go there and take a look. Better still, download all the books and read them at your convenience.
Robert Shea joins my other favorite authors - James Clavell & James Michener.
During his training, he converts to Islam (named Daoud ibn Abdallah) out of some conviction, and works with dedication to rise up to be a trusted Mameluke Emir. Baibars treats him as his own son and even lets his favorite daughter marry him.
The Christians were stonewalled in their attempt to regain control of their Holy Lands, Bethlehem and Jerusalem, among others. France, Italy and other small kingdoms were dealing with their own intrigues.
The Mongols were attempting a treaty with the Christian world to enable them to jointly wipe out the Islamic world. It is in this situation that David is sent to Italy to prevent the treaty between the Mongols and the Christian world.
The narrative is detailed in terms of the times enabling the reader to form vivid imagery, yet keeping up a fast pace. The story takes no sides in this religious posturing of the parties and lets you form your own opinions. The characters come out alive.
Religions have been the cause of much violence and misery over several centuries. When one kills in the name of God, the self-righteousness is at its height justifying the brutality. Daoud is fighting to prevent the Muslim world from being overrun by the Christians and the Mongols. Simon, the French Count is fighting to enable the treaty between Christians & the Mongols on behalf of his benefactor, King Louis, to claim the Holy Lands held by the Saracens and also to regain his family honor. The Mongols are focused on simply conquering more land, even trying to forge a relationship with the Christians whose lands they had sacked and pillaged. Even though the Mongols killed conquered people brutally, including women and children, the killings were not on religious grounds (Thank God! but which one?).
While it appears as a man's world, we also see the hopes, desires and travails of females like Tillia (the successful and powerful brothel owner), Sophia (a high-class courtesan who was brutalized in her childhood, falling for both Daoud and Simon in an apparently confused manner), and Rachel (the teenage Jew girl who loses her old husband without consummating her marriage, and then willingly joins Tillia's brothel to lose her virginity to one of the visiting Mongols).
Book 1 ends in a furious climax that leaves one wanting more. I must start on Book 2 immediately. The late Robert Shea is definitely one of the top class authors of Historical Fiction. His earlier books on the Mongols and the Japanese (Shike, for instance) are wonderful ones. Thanks to his son, Robert Shea's books are available free (on www.obooko.com) for instance. Go there and take a look. Better still, download all the books and read them at your convenience.
Robert Shea joins my other favorite authors - James Clavell & James Michener.
June 21, 2017
Conflicts between conflicts - Mongols, Saracens, Italian Catholics, Greek Orthodox, French Catholics, family fueds, Jews.... this book leaves no one of the many peoples in conflict when the Mongolian Empire was fracturing and so was the Christian Church. We are given multiple personalities to guide us through these conflicts, from one of the most famous Christian philosophers/heretics - Saint Thomas Aquinas - to King Louis IX and Sultan Baibars of the Saracens, one of the Khans, King Manfred as well as a variety of characters that I assume to be fictional for the purpose of telling the story - especially the Marmaluke Daud and the Count Simon. A well written story, and now I need to read book 2!
Btw, this series is available for free on www.gutenberg.org
Btw, this series is available for free on www.gutenberg.org
October 27, 2015
A young boy is turned from an orphaned Christian slave into a Muslim warrior/spy who must prevent an alliance between the Roman church and the Tartars in the 13th Century.
Very farfetched but quite enjoyable. Various 'cut aways' in some of the chapters didn't fit for me (discovering love/lust in a tent in his youth was a bit of an odd scene) but overall the book flowed well.
Very farfetched but quite enjoyable. Various 'cut aways' in some of the chapters didn't fit for me (discovering love/lust in a tent in his youth was a bit of an odd scene) but overall the book flowed well.
June 26, 2018
interesting! Am going to read number 2 also
July 1, 2018
Really good Shea historical novel. Ends on a cliffhanger, so I have to read part two soon!
June 5, 2014
Great book, just like Shike. Felt torn being left with such a Cliff hanger.
March 29, 2017
A well documented historical novel about the attemped alliance between Tartars (Mongols) and France to launch a last, devastating crusade. Historical events are correct. The author evidently spent a lot of time checking facts and setting a realistic stage to the story. The 2 main characters, Daoud and Simon, are complex and their weaknesses somehow mirror each other. Fighting for 2 different religions but for the same woman can only lead to a saga-like scenario. This is a page turner.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews