THE CRUSADER

by Michael Alexander Eisner




From Amazon.com:

This engrossing tale about one Spanish knight's experiences in the Crusades during the latter half of the 13th century is a first-rate historical novel, richly imagined and plainly written. After his brother Sergio drowns along with 500 other knights while sailing from Barcelona to the Holy Land, Francisco de Montcada dedicates himself to the Cross. Reported dead after the siege of the Crusader castle Krak des Chevaliers, Francisco returns to Spain mute and seemingly possessed, and is chained in the dungeon of a Cistercian monastery for his own protection. There, Cistercian monk Brother Lucas attempts to get him to speak of his experiences, and in the process earn the reward Francisco's father has offered for his son's recovery. Francisco's tale, when he begins to speak, involves the ghost of his brother, his warlike cousin Andres and Andres's intelligent sister Isabel, with whom Francisco is just beginning to fall in love when he goes off to train with the knights of Calatrava in preparation for their journey to the Holy Land. Artfully balancing Francisco's reminiscences with Brother Lucas's framing narration, Eisner smoothly turns the tables on the reader by slowly revealing that the real question of salvation does not concern the knight alone, but the monk as well. Brother Lucas, justifying his dreams of glory and renown with dogma and doctrine, must weigh his beliefs against the hypocrisy of everyone from promiscuous abbots to the evil Don Fernando, the bastard son of Spain's King Jaime, whose encounter with Francisco at Krak des Chevaliers is the centerpiece of the novel. Meticulously researched and artfully told, this is a historical novel that illuminates as it entertains, and proves Eisner to be a promising writer.


When I read the first chapter of The Crusader, I couldn't wait to get to the rest of the story. It was worth every moment of anticipation. There is a short period as Francisco begins to tell his story when I started wondering if the book was going to hold up to it's promise. It moves rather slowly for a little while. But trust me. Stick with it! Warning: Those with sensitive stomachs will have a hard time with the battle scenes and the cruel treament of prisoners by the vile Don Fernando. He is the first character I have run across since Sir William in The Pillars of the Earth that I loathed so much I would concoct heinous deaths for him in my head while I was reading.

While I thought Don Fernando's ultimate fate far too good for him, I did enjoy the way the author ended the book. While not the happy, happy end I hoped for, I did find something tranquil and soothing about it after all the blood and depravity. It does not appear at this time that Eisner has written any other books since this one (published in 2001), but I will be keeping my eyes open.

Lezlie