Existe un punto clave entre las naciones divididas de Europa y la expansión incesante del Imperio Otomano: Malta. Un soldado veterano lucha por la existencia de los Caballeros de la Orden de San Juan y el mundo cristiano...
Frente a un ataque enemigo feroz, los Caballeros de la Orden deben aguantar con todas sus fuerzas para escapar de la total aniquilación. Entre aquellos que regresan a Malta para ayudar estará sir Thomas Barret, exiliado décadas antes por una desgracia. La lealtad y el instinto lo obligan a poner la supervivencia de sus hombres y de la Orden sobre cualquier otra preocupación. Sin embargo, su lealtad está dividida. Bajo las órdenes de la reina Elizabeth, debe recuperar un pergamino oculto, escondido en la isla, que amenaza su reinado.

This book has something for everyone. Romance, history, faith or lack of and war.

It tells the story of a Knight of St John, Thomas who is banished from Malta after breaking the rules of the order. When twenty years later he is asked to return and help the fight against the threat of invasion by a Muslim army he immediately answers the call. His squire thouh has another seperate agenda which could well get in the way of Sir Thomas.

This siege of Malta was a period in history which I knew nothing about so this book although fiction goes a long way to address that.

I really enjoyed learning about this period and how polarised religion was in those times. Muslims were very much seen as something to be totally wiped out by any means and they felt the same about Christians. Sir Thomas himself struggles with his faith and this clearly comes across.

The characterisation is very well done and it's hard to differentiate between those people who are real versus those who have been invented for the book making the story flow seamlessly.

The battle scenes are not overly gratuitous while telling how violent it really must have been and totally terrifying for all whether directly involved in the battle.

Weaved within is a romance which never feels out of place is filled with many moments of deep pathos as we don't know if anyone involved will even survive.

With many twists and turns this book never fails to keep the reader wondering what will happen next right up to the dramatic finish.

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I'll be honest, I would not ordinarily have picked up this book. Although I like historical fiction (in small doses), I don't usually choose 'sword and sandals' epics; 'crusades and crosses' in this instance.

The story opens dramatically in 1545, on board The Swift Hind, as a battle starts to defeat an invasion at sea from the Muslim Turks, led by Sultan Suleiman. Our hero - Sir Thomas Barrett - is a young knight, sworn into the Order of St John to protect Christendom against 'the infidels'. He is brave, skilful, wealthy and handsome. Just as a battle is waging against the enemy, both sides proclaiming God's truth and protection, so there are subtle battles within the Order; for power, recognition and love.
Sir Thomas falls in love with a captive from the galley they 'liberate'. As to be expected, Thomas and Maria's affair is forbidden and they are forcibly separated. He is exiled from the order and spends the next twenty years looking after his Herefordshire estate. Although he never recovers from this separation, he keeps himself physically in shape, ready for action.
Thus, in 1565, Sir Thomas is summonsed to London to meet Queen Elizabeth's principal secretary, Walsingham. The ageing knight is to be welcomed back into the Order to rejoin the holy war. Why has Elizabeth's 'Spymaster' recruited Sir Thomas? Why has he specifically appointed a new squire to accompany the knight on his quest to the island of Malta. Who is this talented youth? Why is he, Richard, so elusive?
The bulk of the novel details the Siege of Malta of 1565 (no, I hadn't heard of it); the passions and pain felt by both sides in this bloody siege.

From the dramatic opening on board ship to battles on land and sea, this is a romp of a historical novel; you can see, smell and taste the hand-to-hand combat. I confess, I started to skip some of the battle scenes after about half-way through, but was interested enough to read to the end.
The prose is rich in detail; just enough to help you visualise the action and context. The main characters are well rounded and (just) avoid becoming cliches. Familiar tropes are used: brave, handsome young knight falls in love, they are separated, he always loves her, tries to find her, continues to battle against the enemy (both within and without the Order), reassesses his attitude to the enemy, finds both truth and love by the end.

To my surprise, I enjoyed this 'males in mail' romp. It was less cliche-ridden than I had anticipated; there was a balance between the action scenes and the more thoughtful, slower paced conversations and reflective scenes. There was some romance amongst the slaughter; a thread that held my interest, along with the slight mystery surrounding Richard the 'squire'.
If you like Ken Follet; you'll love this; if you like Phillipa Gregory, give this a try. It was interesting to read a novel such as this from a male perspective, with more action on the battlefield than in the bedroom.
A good choice for a holiday read, particularly somewhere like Malta, where most of this is set, or as an antidote against the vagaries of the British weather, curling up against the elements; pure escapist enjoyment.

bookwormmum.wordpress.com ( )

Having studied the period in which this book is set during my Catholic school education, I was looking forward to reading this story without the jaundiced view inherent in Catholic views of the period, and was eager to re-immerse myself in the period. In his fictionalised re-telling of the story of the siege of Malta, Simon Scarrow has to try and tell the story of a long and bloody siege in a manner that will engage the reader.

As ever with historical fiction, the first decision has to be who will do the telling, should it be a real life figure who was known to be there, or should it be told by an imaginary character with a tragic back story and a secret quest. Scarrow opts for the second option here, which I found to be one of the major flaws with the book, in that in order to provide the tragic back story, he takes the protagonist away from the centre of the action for many years, so that in effect we miss out on all the political and military build-up to the siege, and just have the protagonist dropped back into the action in time for the start, never gaining any real understanding of why it was happening beyond the level of “that heathen over there wants to be a bully and overthrow Christendom” without really dwelling on the ideological rifts that were dividing Europe at the time.

Another problem was the need to make the book appealing to those with only a broad picture of the historical context, by bringing in characters such as Sir Francis Walsingham, and providing a quest that modern readers could understand. Unfortunately, that does have a knock-on effect,
as when the “true meaning” of the quest is finally revealed, it also robs one of the narrative threads of the story of its impetus - plus, the reveal itself is rather buried under a tide of other revelations, during one of the climactic scenes of the book.

Although the quality of the writing was very good, and I would not doubt the historical accuracy, I did find the book very slow paced, and struggled with the characterisation to such an extent that I had problems distinguishing between two of the main characters, and the love interest seemed to be little more than a physical description with a very brief outline of her history. I was left with the feeling of an opportunity wasted, as there were several real life characters in the book that I would have liked to have been told more about, and the ending to me bore all the characteristics of a fast approaching deadline.

I will say that this would be a very enjoyable read to those that enjoy their historical fiction with an emphasis on fiction, but light on the history, and to those that are looking for something not too engaging to read on the beach - especially if you are holidaying in Malta. ( )

Sword and Scimitar – Simon Scarrow

From an historical perspective this book was fascinating. Whilst I know a fair bit about what went on in my own country during this period I was ashamed to find my knowledge beyond the shores of this island was scant indeed. And within the context of contemporary religious strife regarding Christianity and Islam the factual elements of this story were very important. I admire the writer’s research and attention to detail. I learnt a great deal from his work.

However this is not a history book it is a novel and a tale has to be told. And so from a fictional perspective I found the story somewhat predictable. Not unenjoyable for all that but I think most astute readers would have figured out the dénouement.

The characters were competently constructed, again, predictable and almost stereotypical. I’m not in the business of plot spoiling but Richard’s development was unsurprising. And I felt I’d met Thomas many times before.

The only downside of the book was the frequency and graphic descriptions of all battles and fighting. It isn't something I personally enjoy reading but I would acknowledge the need if points are to be made and I’m sitting on the fence about whether this was really the case here or whether much was gratuitous?

This writer was unfamiliar to me and I am grateful to Real Readers for giving me the opportunity to read this book. I doubt I should have selected it of my own volition.