Robyn Young
Hardcover | Pages: 496 pages Rating: 3.82 | 3707 Users | 225 Reviews
Be Specific About Books Conducive To Brethren (Brethren Trilogy #1)
| Original Title: | Brethren |
| ISBN: | 0525949755 (ISBN13: 9780525949756) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Brethren Trilogy #1 |
Chronicle To Books Brethren (Brethren Trilogy #1)
Since the Knights Templar is a subject I know very little about, and have an interest in, this book appealed to me. The author has a good reputation for historical fact within the fiction so I thought it would be reliable. It definitely had a strong historical context.
The plot follows a boy named William who is a sergeant that hopes to become a knight. The story is complicated by his love interest, Elwen, and the vows of knighthood which preclude romantic involvement or marriage.
The story follows Will and his friend Garin as they progress through the world of the Crusades. It shifts at times to the Saracen perspective and follows the ruthless Baybars. I found the conflict and themes interesting in light of many of our modern day struggles and conflicts both around the world and within our own borders here in America between Islam and Christianity.
When the story slows down and focuses on specific characters and their individual situations, such as William the would be knight or Baybars the would be conqueror, it grabbed my attention. At times it seemed to skim the surface of events in order to move the story forward, even taking large leaps of time forward and aging characters while summarizing situations. For large scale stories I know this is often a necessity- it’s just not my favorite type of story. The author does make it work in this case; however, I still felt it took a time to pull me back into the plot.
The occasional fast forward style seemed to create space between the world of the characters and the one I live in which reduced the immersive feel of the read for me. Immersiveness is what I really enjoy when I read. Reading is my temporary entry into another world within my mind that allows me a complete escape from the world around me- at least when I find a good author.
This author definitely does do that at times- maybe it is the limitations of the genre that force the situational detachment I felt, or maybe it was just me. She does manage to pull me back in time and time again, sometimes quickly and sometimes not for a few dozen pages.
The ending left me wondering what will happen to both the individual characters as well as the groups and organizations that are involved in the story. There is treachery, murder, savagery and a little bit of mayhem now and again interspersed at various intervals. Nothing really intense or overwhelming- there is just enough to remind the reader that the world the characters live in is unpredictable and violent. I struggled with rating it 3 stars or 4, but settled on 4 because ultimately I did like it and I want to stick with it.
Particularize Regarding Books Brethren (Brethren Trilogy #1)
| Title | : | Brethren (Brethren Trilogy #1) |
| Author | : | Robyn Young |
| Book Format | : | Hardcover |
| Book Edition | : | First Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 496 pages |
| Published | : | July 20th 2006 by Dutton (first published January 1st 2006) |
| Categories | : | Historical. Historical Fiction. Fiction. Medieval |
Rating Regarding Books Brethren (Brethren Trilogy #1)
Ratings: 3.82 From 3707 Users | 225 ReviewsWrite-Up Regarding Books Brethren (Brethren Trilogy #1)
I struggled between 3 and 4 stars.I liked the book very much; didn't love it.Lots of intrigue and inter-personal stuff.Not as much action as I would have liked.I will finish the trilogy.Brethren is a good read about the Templars during their decline in Outremer from around 1267 to 1272 and about the Mamluks who were rising in turn.The main overarching story of Outremer and Christians vs Muslims is told from the perspective of both camps, which I enjoyed. It was well laid out and had well developed characters. We spend time in France, England and Outremer and learn a fair bit about life as a Knight and what was going on at the time.There were also a few storylines embedded in
It didn't take me long to read the first part of the Brethren Trilogy called Brethren. You can always tell when I like a book very much because I tend to start reading and not stop until its finished or I fall asleep.Besides the story which is all about the coming of age of two very powerful people, and the side story which is about the mystery of a missing book, and the Knights Templars; the book has a lot to recommend it.The historical detail that the author put into the book was amazing. She
The crusades are not a period of history I know an awful lot about but it was refreshing to hear a story from both sides rather than just the western Christians. The only thing that bugged me was the descriptions of eyes. One woman is said to have violet eyes and this is used a lot in fan fiction to denote that this woman is not like other women but honestly, have you ever seen someone with purple eyes? I found this book interesting and I may check out the next instalment in the series.
Set in period between the Seventh and Ninth Crusades, Brethren purports to tell the story if the Crusades from both the East's and the West's points of view. The West's version is told through the tale of Will, training to follow in his father's footsteps as a Knight in the Order of the Templar, while the East's view is depicted through the tale of Mamluk Sultan of Egypt, Baybars.The Templars, as usual the subject of speculation and rumours of secret societies, are here given a secret Order
I was a little uncertain if i would like this book. I do like the Crusades, but i have never really read anything serious from this era in Historical Fiction.There were some areas that i was not fully fond of, and sometimes the skipping in time caught me out (mainly due to being an audiobook, rather than reading - i missed the dates occasionally).I will continue with this series for sure - once i have cut my to be read pile a little.
Since the Knights Templar is a subject I know very little about, and have an interest in, this book appealed to me. The author has a good reputation for historical fact within the fiction so I thought it would be reliable. It definitely had a strong historical context. The plot follows a boy named William who is a sergeant that hopes to become a knight. The story is complicated by his love interest, Elwen, and the vows of knighthood which preclude romantic involvement or marriage. The story
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