Tuesday 24 January 2012

HISTORICAL FICTION REVIEW: Perdition - James Jackson

Release Date: 05/01/12

SYNOPSIS:

Almost two hundred years have elapsed since the Crusader armies took Jerusalem. Now it is the turn of the Saracen to seek revenge and send an overwhelming force against the last Christian enclave in the Holy Land. In Acre, the defenders await their fate. Knight and bishop, mercenary and merchant, all will be tested and all may perish. For this is the endgame. No quarter will be given and no mercy shown. William of Beaujeu, Grand Master of the Templars, will stop at little to secure the city and preserve his legendary military order. He knows that final judgement is approaching and that time is running out. But among the garrison are allies - the adventurer de Flor, Theobald, the young Hospitaller, the court dwarf Amethyst, the camel master Selim and the orphan boy and spy Benedict - who must stay alive in the chaos to be unleashed. In their midst prowl the feared Assassins and sinister enemies from among a rabble army of Italians. Deserted by the pope and the princes of Europe, it seems as if Acre faces annihilation - but perhaps something can still be salvaged from perdition ...


REVIEW:

I love a story of swords, of bravery and of course a historical setting so when I heard about this story in the catalogue it was ordered pretty quickly for me to enjoy arriving just prior to Christmas. Alas what I got, whilst reasonable didn’t set my world on fire purely for the fact that I didn’t like the principle character and due to this had a hard time getting into it. Don’t get me wrong, the author has done a lot of work, has put a lot of time and energy within to get the feel, but without that personal connection it was a struggle from start to finish for me. Which, for me, was a great shame all in although I will definitely look into more by this author in the future as I did see the architectural promise beneath the pages.

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