Lions of the Grail

Richard Savage #1

by Tim Hodkinson

It is 1315 AD. Rotting in prison, condemned as a heretic, Knight Templar Richard Savage is given a chance of reprieve if he returns to his homeland of Ireland. There is a catch: He must work as a spy for King Edward of England. Scotland and England are at war. The Scots intend to invade Ireland and someone in Ireland is helping them. Savage returns to a land where he cannot be sure who to trust. Robert Bruce, King of Scotland, is said to possess a mysterious treasure, and many are flocking to his cause. Efficient, brutal killers are on the loose and in the middle of it all is Alys de Logan, Savage's former love who he abandoned to join the Templars, who some say has become a witch. Amid feasts, tournaments and war, Savage discovers he left more than just memories behind in Ireland. Can he decide whose side he in on, where Bruce's secret treasure is and above all, stay alive?

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Medieval, Ireland

424 pages, Paperback

First published June 9, 2011

About the author

I love reading and writing historical fiction.

My interest in ancient times, and particularly the medieval period, goes back to my childhood when my parents took us kids around the castles and megaliths of Ireland. I remember riding my bike as a boy to the see the various remnants of the Normans within reach of my home town of Lisburn. What would appear to most as uninspiring hillocks to me became in my imagination the site of heroic battles and I suppose that's where inspiration for some of my stories came from.
My interest only deepened with studying Old Norse, Medieval English and Celtic civilization at university and these topics have informed my first novels, along with a passion to tell stories about areas of Irish history that are sometimes overlooked and forgotten.

"Lions of the Grail" is set in Medieval Ireland, at the time the Scots invaded. Its a tale of knights and tournaments set against a war that time has forgotten. "The Waste Land" carries on the tale where Lions left off, while the novella, "The Savage Forest" takes the hero of this series, Richard Savage back to a time when he was still a young idealistic member of the Order of Knights Templar.

"The Spear of Crom" goes back to the time of the druids and is the story of a celtic cavalry officer in the Roman Army and his hunt for a mystical spear.

"The Undead" takes place in Victorian Belfast and moves into Gothic Horror, taking inspiration from Chapter 20 of Mary Shelley's classic novel "Frankenstein", which takes place in North Ireland.

Apart form that I have a couple of short stories set in the world of the Anglo-Saxons - "All the Kings Thanes" is my retelling of a true story treachery and the paranoia of power, while "Beowulf's Return" is set in the time of myth & legend.

My novels are available in print at all good online retailers and also (as well as the short stories) in Kindle format from Amazon.

I hope you enjoy reading as much as I enjoy writing them.

Reviews

[Barefoot Gypsy Jimerson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A Interesting read.

I found this very interesting. I have always wondered about the conflict between the English, Scottish an Irish. This tail is about a Templar Knight that is a Irishman he ends up in a English prison where he watches 14 of his Templar Knights die over 5 years. When he is the only one left the English King wants him to go back to Ireland. He must tell the Irish Earl that Robert de Bruce is invading Ireland. The Earl secretly knows but doesn't know who to trust. Savage the Templar Knight dose what is asked of him for his freedom. But all is already in motion an he also doesn't know who to trust. He is not sure where his loyalty lies. There quite a few Irish that have joined the Scottish invasion. Cause Robert holds the Grail of Christ In the mean time Savage sees his one time love who is called a witch by the way an has mixed feelings. She is to marry one of the turn coats. But she knows not.
With some true history an tail in the mix Hodkinson tells a interesting story of this invasion. Its a true page turner an alot of players. But the main characters do stand out an bring all to light but it turns out to be a little late.

[Tim Hodkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wrote this so shouldn't say much more

[Lee Holz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lions of the Grail is set in the early 1300s and is based on two actual events of that era, one well known and the other lesser known. The well-known event is the suppression and persecution of the Knights Templar at the instigation of the King of France. The lesser known is the invasion of Ireland by a Scotts army in connection with the Scottish wars of independence led by Robert the Bruce against Edward II of England though neither king was directly involved in the invasion. Lions is a first rate example of the high adventure tradition with lots of action, intrigue and romance (no explicit sex). Author Tim Hodkinson’s extensive research shows in the authentic detailing of attitudes, customs, costumes, culture, weapons, dwellings (from hovels to castles), combat and more. The characters are well developed and believable. As the title implies there is a Grail quest theme, but it is handled realistically and not as fantasy. If you loved Ivanhoe as I did, you won’t go wrong with this one. However, some may not find this suitable as a YA book because there’s a lot of graphic violence. As adult fare, it is more than fine.

[Wayne Turmel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really fun read. Some minor production issues but not enough to detract from an exciting, well-paced thriller. Put your brain on hold and go for the ride.Lions of the GrailLions of the Grail

[Linda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this book three stars because of grammatical errors and length of the book. The book needs another editing read through. The author went overboard describing battle scenes and shipwrecks.

Set in the early 14th century, Richard Savage is on a quest to find the Holy Gŗail, and he is not the only seeker. When God in Heaven looked down on Earth and saw the English, the Scots, and the Irish all pursuing the Holy Gŗail, I wonder if He was amused. I do believe He knew that some seekers were seeking power and wealth in the name of Jesus. There were a few good apples seeking the Gŗail to prove the truth of Jesus' message, but I believe that cart held more rotten apples than good ones. The rotten apples were just hidden away in the bottom of the cart. The characters of Alys and Richard kept the read alive for me. They kept meeting in strange places under strange circumstances while generally saving the other's life. Their daughter had the gift of cool under fire.

Near the end of the book, Richard Savage finally holds the chalice which is made of precious metal and is studded with precious jewels. He wonders if the cup is really the Holy Gŗail. What use would the son of a carpenter have for such a costly prize?

Thank you, Mr. Hodkinson, for a good read.

[Nadine · Rating 1 out of 5]

As I suspected, one of his earlier books from the start of his writing career. After avidly reading the Whale Road Chronicles and loving every minute of it, I was eager to dive into this book. And much to my huge disappointment, it ended up in the read but never finished pile of books. The editing was horrendous and made reading it like constantly tripping over an uneven sidewalk. The frequent and annoying use of ":" instead of commas drove me to frustration (I am used to editing documents, something like that is very rarely used). It started out with a promising storyline, but the writing style was just too juvenile for my tastes and the poor editing drove me crazy. As per usual with books that end up in this pile, I gave it an honest effort to try and finish the book in the hopes that it would improve, but eventually had to admit defeat.

Thankfully his writing style has vastly improved over the years and I am looking forward to the 4th installment of the Whale Road Chronicles.

[Simon Howard · Rating 4 out of 5]

After a good time trying to make up my mind whether or not to buy this I am glad in the end that I decided to give it a go. A very good solid historical read with a leading character that not only grows through the book but grows on the reader as well, a good supporting cast that kept things moving along nicely in most places! I agree with some of the other reviewers that it could have done with better editing but overall a damn fine read! Will look out for more adventures from Tim Hodkinson in the future!!

[Bobby · Rating 4 out of 5]

I initially found this story to be a bit unbelievable when Savage recovers so quickly after being imprisoned for 5 years. But that being said, the tale then becomes a well-researched vision of the 14th Century invasion of Ireland by Robert the Bruce. A real page-turner interspersed with real characters. The weaponry and use of medieval names is very well incorporated. Easily a 4 star story. I would welcome another story involving Richard De savage.

[John Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly epic tale!

This was a real page turner of a book, from start to finish. I had never heard of a Scottish invasion of Ireland and found the tale fascinating. A story of Gaelic Irish, hating each other, hating the Scots (with whom they shared family and ancestral ties), hating their Norman overlords but, most of all, hating the English. A stew of hatred that lasted until the present day. A fabulous story.

[RICHARD ASHFIELD · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. Lots of N Ireland refeerneces and history thrown in. Once i got going i did not want to put it down I wanted to know how everything was going to come together and be resolved.

[PeterK B · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have enjoyed many books by Hodkinson and was happy to find two new ones (from Kobo)
This is the first of the series ... no actual lions since it takes place in Ireland in 1315 during the reign of England's Edward II.
Apparently it was published in 2012 and this is a "new edition" (?)
A compelling main character, Sir Richard Savage, although his reasons for joining the Templars seemed a bit murky to me. No complaints otherwise.
Enough action with battles and also suspense thanks to some turncoats. But also interesting characters (some historical, such as Robert Bruce and his brother Edward) and even a bit of a romance.
Anyone who enjoys historical fiction set in this era would probably appreciate this book as much as I did.
Just started reading Book 2, The Waste Land, also with Sir Savage.

[Jefrois · Rating 2 out of 5]

A deluge of names and absurdities wasted my time:

“…The final places at the top table were occupied by allies from outside the earldom. Muircetach and Thomas Ui Cahan were members of the family that controlled the lands to the north-east of the Earldom of Ulster. These two well-dressed noblemen were accompanied by their wives. Deirdre, who was married to Muircetach was disarmingly pretty while Thomas’ wife Niamh had the oddest mouthful of teeth…The Ui Cahans and the Byssets had connections going back years. Brian MacArtain sat next to Niamh Ui Cahan and nearly at the end of the table sat Alain and Beth FitzWarin. The FitzWarins were another of the major families of the Earldom of Ulster, holding lands in Down and the Ards Peninsula.…”

The whole book seemed this way to me.

At halfway through this mess I just stopped reading….

[John Mccormick · Rating 5 out of 5]

My thanks to the Author publisher's and NetGalley for providing me with a Kindle version of this book to read and honestly review.
I have read the first two stories of this Author's terrific Viking series, which are right up there with the best of the genre. Now he has moved forward in time approximately 400 years to a new hero, Irish knight Richard Savage. This story features the Holy Grail, Knights Templars and Robert the Bruce. Well written and researched with a terrific mix of real and fictional characters, full of the action and authenticity that i have come to expect from this writer. A tale of adventure betrayal intrigue and love, even the odd joust as you would expect of heroic knights.
I just hope he does not give up on the Vikings stories.
Totally utterly recommended.

[Jay · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is one of the first books written by Tim and it kinda shows. The book does have the fast pace great story telling.
Is it Chapter 37, in which Richard when nearly drowned "could feel his lungs burn with lack of Oxygen" and there is also use of the word "Submarine" to mean under the sea surface. Clearly Oxygen and Submarine were not discovered/invented in the 14th Century, and nor were the words been coined then.
Good read.

[William Scales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really had a hard time rationalizing the ending of the book. In the middle of battle for Carrickfergus castle, the real story is taking place on a mountain housing the Grail with Alys and others as hostages. For me, this ending just did not fit with the rest of the story.

With the variety of software available, I was perplexed as to why better editing was not performed. Some of the errors are so basic, eg., their instead of there and where instead of were.

[Richard Twiss · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed it

Took me a little to get into it but once in the read was hard to put down. Very good surprised by some of the more modern vernacular used in conversations. Still a good story told.

[Jeremy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I couldn’t decide if I liked this book or not. There were some interesting elements and history met fantasy on some fun ways. In the end the clear goodies and Basie’s vibe swung me into ‘it was okay but I wouldn’t recommend it’.

[Dave · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the Whale Road Chronicles and thoroughly enjoyed them . This book never really got going for me , battle scenes were over described , Savage was too introspected . Just not my cup of tea I'm afraid.

[Anthony Bentley · Rating 5 out of 5]

A new tale to be read by Tim Hodkinson

A good lively story of a time long gone by. A really good read. I cannot wait for next instalment.

[Philip James · Rating 5 out of 5]

A search for a personal grail

The story of a man betrayed and then given another chance to find the holiest of all relics, his family

[Don Anderson Okuti Productions Ltd]

good

[Mac Bogert · Rating 4 out of 5]

good fun

A bit predictable and , though some characters are well-developed, others are two-dimensional. Nevertheless, the pace, sense of place and history, work very well together.

[Paul Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

In Lions of the Grail I found myself transported to a time and place I am not too familiar with, the history of Northern Ireland and the invasion of it by The Bruce Brothers. It seems that most everyone in that region wanted to rule Ireland except maybe the Irish who were too busy clan fighting to resist the English under King John or the upstart Scottish King Robert the Bruce. It is in this chaotic period that we meet our protagonist Syr Richard Savage, formerly of Ulster but who joined The Knights Templar as a personal quest to find meaning in life. Unfortunately for Savage, the Templars are declared heretics and are condemned by The Pope so after being betrayed by a former Templar now turned Knight Hospitaller, he has been incarcerated for 5 years awaiting his fate. Fortunately for Savage, King John(the son of Longshanks) has a pressing need for a former Ulsterman to spy out what is happening in Ireland regarding the Scots and the rumors of invasion.

The author has given us a tale with an intriguing cast of characters from the effeminate King John, the duplicitous Templar turned Hospitaller, The Bruce brothers Robert and Edward, a host of Scots, Irish, and Norman descendants, loyal mercenaries and witchcraft accused mother and daughter. The story runs the gamut of human emotions, love, hatred, loyalty, loss and redemption, to name a few. It also has The Grail and how it came to be in possession of Robert the Bruce and how he uses it to gain allies. Given the many Grail stories and tales that are out there I found that the author gives a credible rendition though perhaps not as good a one as in the Monty Python movie. :-)

All in all, Lions of the Grail is a fast paced, intriguing story full of twists and turns, full of villainous treachery, full of valor and courage. A thoroughly enjoyable story. I rate it at 4.5 stars.

[R Pata · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good storyline…

… But the protagonist can be an infuriatingly difficult character to like and identify with.

It seems like a lot of the youth today don’t have it together by their early 20s like most of my earlier generation. And the protagonist certainly does not have it together, doesn’t have reality in his head, and even worse, doesn’t make good decisions.

Example: he tells his love who he has a child with, and they’re unmarried, that he’s going to go check out a potential invasion and she asked him to come right back and he said sure. And of course he didn’t, he had to first go do some other flashy thing which kept him from ever getting back to where she was when she said that - throughout the rest of the book. Just an example of his immaturity even though he’s supposed to be around 30 by that time.

In general, the action periods were good, they didn’t get into overload descriptive detail, thank God. However the very last fight in the book went into detail that most readers would have no idea what the heck he was talking about. I only know what he was trying to do because I was a fencer in college and some of what he mentioned worked.

As far as his ability to fight, at times seems unsurpassed but at other times he’s a total klutz. That dichotomy certainly didn’t belong with that character, a seasoned Templar knight. It’s not as if you forget your abilities or totally make rash decisions that turn out to be wrong… But he did!

However the characters in general were done very well in their description and how they brought together parts of the story. The action was paced well throughout the differing parts of the storyline, and did stick somewhat to historical reality, as we know it today. Worth reading.

[Nicky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I don't usually write poor reviews - usually a waste of my time - but since this is a series and the errors I found that meant I couldn't ready beyond chapter 9 can be corrected and really should, worth a few minutes before dinner.

You can't start a book telling your readers how much you've researched and how great you are and then use 'chain mail' at every turn; throw the name 'Plantagenet' around before Richard Duke of York contested the throne in the Wars of the Roses; have your medieval man counting in seconds before the hour was settled in length; and discuss courtyards and not baileys and wards. These are the details that show an author should have paid attention to more than a bunch of names and dates in a history book.

Disappointing, as I was prepared to ignore some, but they just built up (there are more...) and went beyond me being pedantic. I'd been looking forward to it and even enjoyed the detail of the Templars. Hey ho, you win some, you lose some.

[Melisende · Rating 3 out of 5]

As an avid reader of Hodkinson's Whale Road Chronicles, I was interested to see how the Scottish invasion of Ireland under Edward Bruce would pan out.

This is the first in the series, and is focused on events leading up the that point. There is plenty of action, battles, captures, escapes, rescues, disguises, secret codes and assassins to keep the reader entertained. There is a short historical note at the end to let the reader know that the events certainly are based in historic detail. The female character I could take or leave, sometimes they are not necessary to the narrative - the cast of characters does not - in my opinion - always need to be "inclusive" or "politically correct" to tell a good story.

Having said that, this was a period of history I had some fore-knowledge of so the premises did intrigue me from the beginning. I am looking forward to seeing ho the rest of the series progresses.

[Anne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Richard Savage is a Templar Knight who is in jail awaiting execution like his fellow Templars in France. He is freed with one caveat, he must return to his Irish homeland and work for English King Edward as a spy. King Robert the Bruce of Scotland is planning to invade Ireland and conquer it for his brother Edward to rule, and Richard must find out just what the Bruce is planning. As he comes home to Ireland, he finds many who once knew him, among them Alys, his former love whim he left to join the Templars. Some say she is a witch. There are also rumors the Bruce has the Grail. He finds he is still attracted to Alys and works to save her from those who hate her as well a trying to stay alive. A good read and recommended.

[Nola · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well researched historical novel that includes the Scottish invasion of Ireland, jousting, Templars, sieges, angry seas, a lost romance, bards who are not bards, priests who are not priestly, knights who are not honorable, lords who switch sides, and assassins. The action moves fast but there is still much descriptive detail. I would have liked a little more thought about how the characters felt. At one point, the hero receives life-altering news and barely reacts. A defensive tactic maybe but I want to feel the characters, not just the grit. There is plenty of that and accurately done.

[Annarella · Rating 4 out of 5]

A quite gripping, fast paced and entertaining historical fiction.
I think it's quite well researched and I appreciated the characters and the vivid historical background.
The plot sometimes drags but it never bores.
Even if I think that the characters are fleshed out I found the female characters a bit static and prototyped.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

[Mary Hildenbrand · Rating 5 out of 5]

My review.

I found Tim Hodkinson to be a very descriptive writer. Reading this novel was like being transported back to medieval times. The characters were well developed. You grew easily attached to the hero Savage and the graphic battle scenes were brilliantly done. Over all this was a fast paced read and I was left wanting more when I came to the end of the story.