When Conrad of Montferrat is murdered, King Richard gets a chance to redeem himself and lead a new march on Jerusalem. Meanwhile, Ailith is forced to disguise herself as a man and become a troubadour, and Fauston contemplates losing the love of his life, Bonjute, when she returns to England. Roger commands an undermanned city against the army of Saladin, Henry of Deraa comes face to face with Qaymaz, and Richard rides into legend as the Third Crusade comes to a close.
Roger and his Death Heads are still in the thick of all the intrigue and fighting going on in the lands around Jaffa, Acre, and Jerusalem. Roger is now a knight and he helps his friends who had been with him in the fighting to become knights themselves.
I enjoyed this series very much. Once you get past the utter depravity and viciousness that is the core of any war, it intrigues and captivates. Just a couple of odd points brought my original opinion down from 5 to 4 stars. One was the silliness of injecting the well known names used in the legendary series, both literary and in the world of cinema, of _"Robin Hood". I can't even bring myself to name the book in anything other than quotes, mostly because although that story is legend, this series is not and nowhere near the same caliber. It just feels a bit disingenuous to use the appellation of Tiny John, Will Recipes or Alan Of The Dale and try to keep your writing original. Like pulling a punch in a fight. The other nonsense was having the female lead, Ailith, when she was performing in drag, make such a big deal of the song she was droning on about. It seemed a little trite and actually caused me to dislike her character for it. That's just me. I prefer my characters be a tad more industrious or at least worth several pages of text. The one female character I totally enjoyed was Lady Bonjute: saucy, profane and not afraid of the intimate relationship she could explore and maybe even exploit a bit. She also felt more earthy and worthy of her sad conclusion and gutsy pathos as she was forced to leave behind her the one person who had been allowed to see her as she really was. Yes, fiction but not too sappy and certainly not as wishy washy as Ability seemed to be. As for the few heroes of the series, I can't even begin to imagine how richly broad their experiences must have been for them. Knowing the times of the crusades with the inherent violence, the deprivation, the risk of death at a moments notice, I'm hard pressed to think such men could still exist in the present day world. Maybe that's because I've seen grown men throw temper tantrums if they don't get their coffee served just the way they order it from the drive through window at the local gas station! That might be a tad exaggerated but in reality we live, for the most part in a self satisfied and indulgent era, and many persons, regardless of gender, behave as toddlers if they don't get their own way. Picking up a sword is not exactly the way we tend to solve problems today, but even certain political candidates display childish and narcissistic behavior rather than maturity that should accompany calm and level headed problem solving. As a society we'd be doomed if just anyone in a blue baggy suit could come to power by wielding a double headed war axe. I'm more than grateful that's not an option. In reading this series I am always reminded that human beings thrive on power and some human beings choose to wield their share of power by violence. It's presence still controls many people, places and governments. We might be thousands of years removed from the times of the crusades but we will never understand how to exist peacefully, or so it often seems. But this series is historical fiction and I can walk away from it and move on to a more current societal standpoint for my reading pleasure. The series as a whole is entertaining and educational. I recommend the time to read and learn from it what you wish.
I choose this series because Amazon recommended it to be comparable to Bernard Cronwell (and it was "free" on Kindle unlimited). Aside from being a military historical fiction novel during the Mid Ages, that's were the similarities end. The writing itself is not up to par, while I did enjoy the first book of the series, I feel like the writer just got bored and wanted to wrap it up in the 2nd and 3rd. The foreshadowing is a little TOO obvious, and I found myself flipping through what felt like 10 chapters to get to the glaringly obvious and inevitable last minute saves (to be fair the chapters are like 4 pages long, but had oddly strange cliff hangers just to answer it all in the first paragraph on the next chapter which makes you wonder if this was just were the author ended it in drafts just to take a break and the flow was never edited in to make it cohesive) This also has an annoying amount of happy endings to wrap up the story. The more I think about it, the more I did not enjoy this series. The synopsis itself gives you enough spoilers so I wont continue them here but overall, its like a fast a furious movie. Will certainly occupy your time - but there is nothing special or significant about this series. I prefer to be devasted for days after a series such as this and this didn't cut it.
I've had some issues with the first two books, but not with this one. Certainly not one that would cause me to deduct a star.
The action was better than the first two books. With the advent of more action and the increase in romantic situations, things really did resolve themselves very well.
Only issue that kept popping up was the overuse of modern phraseology in the dialogue. I prefer sticking to words that maybe been more used in a book's stated time of occurrence. Words like `bloody, buggered, jumped up' and the like, weren't in common use during the late 12th century. A small thing but twas a no seeum bite in the buttocks when measured against many things good in the novel.
The third book of an excellent series, I was a bit sad to see it end. Roger went through a lot as the 3rd crusade wound down too the end leaving Saladin still in control of Jerusalem. But, Roger ended up making it home with the girl. Bernard Cornwall is one is one of but Robert Broomall made a great impression on me with this series and I look forward to reading more of his work. This was an excellent book well worth the read.
As Roger of Huntley’s crusade draws to a close, he faces even more savage fighting, heart-rending loss, & the aftermath of a past confrontation with the evil that started it all! That evil seems to have found him & Ailith, &, closed in for the kill! The fierce fighting & apt description of injuries is wrenching! A splendid end to the trilogy! Spoiler alert, the Deathheads do return in a sequel!
This was one of, if not the, best endings of a story ever. This series of three books was wonderful. If you like historical fiction you'll love this. Great detail, relatable characters, and lots of action. Keep your phone handy to look up those details/terms you might not know. Such a good read!
Excellent end to a fast paced trio of books, one of the finest book journeys I have taken. Gritty, packed with action and some wonderful characters. Well written and a gripping pace that kept me coming back for more. All three in six nights straight reading. Awesome.
Interesting historical fiction about the third crusade
Reading historical fiction is a fun way to learn a little bit about the period. I find that talented authors (like this one) can bring the time period to life. It also fuels my passion to learn more about the period from traditional history books
I thoroughly enjoyed this series and hated to see it end. There's scores of books about the Third Crusade but these are among the top five. Definitely worth reading.
The series keeps your interest and enthusiasm all the way through. The characters are so well-developed that you care about them, either rooting for or against them. Great storytelling!
Loved this final book of the set and would highly recommend it. Filled with exciting scenes and sad ones but those were the times. I can’t think of any way the series of books on Roger f Huntley could have been written any better .
Whilst I enjoyed the book , and there is a lot of basic truth in it , I found the battles a little exaggerated , a few Christians seemingly beating thousands of Saracens on a regular basis . Enjoy it for what it is , a crusade romp .