Very good story about the Crusades from an insider's perspective. A bit slow moving, but then many European-written books are.
Good book. I liked A Fool's Tale by Nicole Galland better.
This book could have been broken into 3-4 separate stories. As a whole, it took twists & turns & then twisted again, sometimes making it difficult to tell who was crossing who. I think it could have been condensed and told the same story more effectively.
This book is written with all the flavors, smells and irritants of a good historical novel but adds something that took me quite by surprise. Say it's a bit of Captain Jack Sparrow and the 4th Crusade. Only the protagonist is also filled with honor, duty, a sense of purpose as well as his wicked funny take on the crazy world of men killing men in the name of religion. Grueling travel to spread the word of God and oh yes... all the wine, women and song to make the trip a little more palatable. I suppose there were always people that have been self-effacing and sardonic, but never have I seen it so well written in a twelfth century setting. What a joy!
This book has a lot of history and less of a story, however it is well told and very interesting.
