barnesandnoble.com
In twelfth-century England, after his master, a maker of coins for the king, is brutally punished for alleged counterfeiting, 17-year-old Edmund finds himself traveling to the Holy Land as squire to a knight crusader on his way to join the forces of Richard Lionheart. This sweeping medieval epic from the acclaimed author of Rundown, Heat, and In a Dark Wood, will be devoured by fans of history and adventure, alike.
Publishers Weekly
Edmund, a squire, awaits the joint punishment for his master's counterfeiting charges and escapes his fate when a knight asks him to join the Crusades. In a starred review, PW wrote, "The message about the romance vs. reality of war proves powerful, and fans of history and adventure alike will devour this well-crafted, dramatic quest." Ages 12-up. (Oct.)n Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
School Library Journal
Gr 6-9-Apprenticed to a minter of coins for King Richard, Edmund is awakened one night by the Exchequer's men, there to exact punishment for the minter's use of counterfeit metals. As Edmund watches, his master's hand is chopped off, and he knows that as apprentice, his hand is next. He escapes, but only because his arm is more useful wielding a sword in the battle to reclaim the Holy Land than nailed to a stake. As a knight's squire, he travels through Europe and across the Mediterranean, getting into a fair share of trouble and experiencing the vagaries of life on the move. Finally, arriving at Acre, he finds himself camped outside the castle walls. While all await the arrival of the king, the anticipation of the glorious battle to come is lost in the everyday reality of Crusader life-heat, poor food, sickness, and boredom. At this point the book seems endless, but in fact, the story just echoes the life they are leading. Cadnum paints a vivid, but not idealized, picture of the times. With the deft use of word and gesture, he delineates his characters in a way that makes them believable even though their mind-set is very different from ours today. What is most clear is that though the characters have faith in the rightness of their cause, the battle they are fighting is no different from any other ugly, brutal, and destructive war. Readers must be willing to stick with a tedious section of slowly rising action before the climax, but those interested in the subject should enjoy the story.-Barbara Scotto, Michael Driscoll School, Brookline, MA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.|
