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A review by jjmann3
Crusade by Robyn Young
3.0
Robyn Young is and remains my favorite author. I love her stories so much that I have spaced out reading her five tales over two years in the hope that, when I am done her sixth, the third of her Scottish trilogy will be done. It should not be a surprise that have (and will continue to have) high expectations from her writings.
That said, Crusade was the first of her books I have read that did not quite meet my high expectations. The unrealistically life-long relationships between William Campbell, Garin de Lyons, and (in my opinion) the annoying unfortunate lover of both, Elwen, are a bit overly contrived by mid-point in the novel. Young also included a few more romantic chapters in this work than in her other tales. To quote from one of my favorite fellow book reviewers, although for a different book and author, Crusade took a risk at times of becoming: "...a 'lady book'. [Including] feminine details like, how she wears her hair, how glorious she looks that day, what gorgeous silks she has in her coffers, where she keeps her jewelry..." Those who know me know I have scant patience for such stuff in real life, not to mention in my fiction! ;-)
I was so glad with the relatively noble ending of this book after the Fall of Acre. Limited damage then: minus one star. But, like King Edward would do to Garin for a job poorly done, I shall punish my rating of the next book, Fall of the Templars, if I have to plow through Garin or Elwen foolishness.
Like Brethren, the first in the trilogy, I especially liked the parts Young included in Crusade to capture the (not unreasonable) view of the Saracens and the complications they visited on Outremer and those they endured at the hands of the Christians. The writing itself remains first rate and the dialog, save for most of Elwen's and de Lyons's, believable and heartfelt.
I've always harbored a sincere interest in the era of the crusades, a time when the believers of the three religions of Abraham found themselves mass killing each other for faith, finances, and honor of controlling what, geographically speaking, was and largely remains a desolate wasteland. My family coat-of arms has a shield faced with three silver crescent moons on red that was reportedly derived from an ancestor (or two) who took to arms in Outermer. A pity that the crusades have had the resilience and power to steer geopolitics for over a millennium.
That said, Crusade was the first of her books I have read that did not quite meet my high expectations. The unrealistically life-long relationships between William Campbell, Garin de Lyons, and (in my opinion) the annoying unfortunate lover of both, Elwen, are a bit overly contrived by mid-point in the novel. Young also included a few more romantic chapters in this work than in her other tales. To quote from one of my favorite fellow book reviewers, although for a different book and author, Crusade took a risk at times of becoming: "...a 'lady book'. [Including] feminine details like, how she wears her hair, how glorious she looks that day, what gorgeous silks she has in her coffers, where she keeps her jewelry..." Those who know me know I have scant patience for such stuff in real life, not to mention in my fiction! ;-)
I was so glad with the relatively noble ending of this book after the Fall of Acre. Limited damage then: minus one star. But, like King Edward would do to Garin for a job poorly done, I shall punish my rating of the next book, Fall of the Templars, if I have to plow through Garin or Elwen foolishness.
Like Brethren, the first in the trilogy, I especially liked the parts Young included in Crusade to capture the (not unreasonable) view of the Saracens and the complications they visited on Outremer and those they endured at the hands of the Christians. The writing itself remains first rate and the dialog, save for most of Elwen's and de Lyons's, believable and heartfelt.
I've always harbored a sincere interest in the era of the crusades, a time when the believers of the three religions of Abraham found themselves mass killing each other for faith, finances, and honor of controlling what, geographically speaking, was and largely remains a desolate wasteland. My family coat-of arms has a shield faced with three silver crescent moons on red that was reportedly derived from an ancestor (or two) who took to arms in Outermer. A pity that the crusades have had the resilience and power to steer geopolitics for over a millennium.