Brethren Book 1 of the Brethren Trilogy (Audible Audio Edition) Robyn Young Christopher Scott Hodder Stoughton Books
Download As PDF : Brethren Book 1 of the Brethren Trilogy (Audible Audio Edition) Robyn Young Christopher Scott Hodder Stoughton Books
From the burning plains of Syria to the filthy backstreets of Paris and London, Brethren is the story of Will Campbell, coming of age in a time of conspiracy, passion, politics and war.
Will has been brought up from boyhood in the ways of the all-powerful Order of the Knights Templar. With a tragedy in his past that looms over his future, he faces a long, hard apprenticeship to the foul-tempered scholar Everard, before he can have any chance of becoming a Knight. As he struggles to survive in the harsh discipline of the Temple, Will must try to make sense of many things his own past, the dangerous mystery that surrounds Everard, and his confused feelings for Elwen, the strong-willed young woman whose path seems always to cross his own.
Meanwhile, a new star is rising in the East. A ruthless fighter and brilliant tactician, the former slave Baybars has become one of the greatest generals and rulers of his time. Haunted by his early life, he is driven by an unquenchable desire to free his people from the European invaders of his homeland.
With page-turning suspense and thrilling action, Brethren brilliantly evokes that extraordinary clash of civilizations known in the West as the Crusades. Robyn Young portrays a rich cast of characters, reflecting on each side greed, ambition and religious fanaticism, as well as courage, love and faith.
Brethren Book 1 of the Brethren Trilogy (Audible Audio Edition) Robyn Young Christopher Scott Hodder Stoughton Books
I'd actually rate this at 3.5 stars, but that wasn't an option. This was Robyn Young's first novel, and though I generally shy away from reading books written by women (I know, I know - MCP!), the subject of the story is a fascinating one for me. It concerns the Kings Templars and the end of the Western presence in the Near East.As a history buff, I found her research to be first rate. I have read other novels where Baybars, the Mamluk leader of Egypt was the main character and her interpretation of him and his motives was just as believable. I'd read the novel just for the historical insights and flavor.
I did think the plot took too long to develop and some aspects of it may have stretched probability. On the other hand, her characters were well developed and internally consistent.
I will probably buy the next in the series since I've put this much time into getting to know the characters and invested still more time understanding the plot.
When she did write the action scenes they were OK, but the story could have used more of them, seeing how violent that era was.
Would I buy this book again, knowing then what I know about it? Maybe, depends on what else was out there at the time. I value my time, and am quite willing to stop reading a book that I find I don't like enough. I finished this one, and will probably buy the next one. She has a way to go to become one of my favorite authors.
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Brethren Book 1 of the Brethren Trilogy (Audible Audio Edition) Robyn Young Christopher Scott Hodder Stoughton Books Reviews
Note I have only read through someowhere around 4/7ths of the book or so.
The writing flows well and does a good job at describing areas of importance with great detail, and leaving areas where most people want to have imaginary freedom basic. The book is cut up in to a number of storylines which converge, while at the start I had a hard time wanting to switch because they weren't relevant to each other yet as they become more and more interconnected the switchovers are more and more welcome.
I am not a medieval history major but from what I know of the crusades this is all pretty correct (except for the whole conspiracy thing but there wouldn't be a book without it). I can't say for people who are more educated in the area but if all you have taken is western civilization and read a couple of books on the crusades I think it will be enjoyable.
My biggest problem is with the main female character. I hate when they put in the "spunky" girl who acts like a tomboy and somehow gets away with it in a period where she probably wouldn't have been able to. She annoys me greatly, and so I stopped reading the book. Well actually I put it down for a few days and then decided not to pick it back up, because her story was just getting more and more annoying.
When I bought this book, I wanted a good intro into the period. I've read some histories, but was looking for more daily life type experience. Good fiction should provide such. This did.
In regard to the barbarism of the battles, I was not shocked. That a young authoress could do such a clinical job with them was gratifying, because those times were such and truth demands her descriptions.
Do the Templars come off poorly? I don't think so. They are a human organization with fatal flaws, but that's who they were battling as well. If you're on a God sanctioned mission, some within the organization will play that card with their own interest in mind. Too, I think their enemies are believable for the same reason. You come away from this work wondering how these folks, all sides, contest so vigorously having slept with one eye open wary of the enemy within.
About the love story contained, I thought it was good, but the behavior of the lovers, in certain parts, evoked loud "why'd he/she do that?" That was ok in the end, because love's irrational anyway.
As I read this tale, I kept thinking about the Roman Republic and its putative checks and balances. The Templars were obviously a check on monarchy's potential excesses. Overall, it was more than a worthwhile read, having piqued my curiosity for the next two books in the story of Will Campbell and the Knights.
Sensitive, aspiring, vital, adventurous and avid for mysticism, I saw William Campbell is a historically grounded Harry Potter. Instead of Hogwarts, the London Temple was the institution through which he had to pass. In place of the masters and mistresses of academic magic, the knights and commanders both outlined the boundaries of his freedom and taught him to move beyond it. Everade was an exacting mentor and Gavin and Elwen were the companions who aided and abetted young William. The magic of history is worked as eloquently by Robyn Young in "Brethren" as the dark arts are evoked by J.K. Rowling.
This was revealing and spell binding because Young found, in the era of the Crusades, the complexities we now spin fantasy to encounter. "Brethren" looks at familiar themes of family break up, bullying, alienation and betrayal in a very believable yet fascinatingly strange context but, in addition, she is able to examine the theme of growing up, not just as a social but also as a spirtual phenomenon. I applaud the selecton of character and setting that enabled her to package this investigation in the recreated reality of the Medieval Knights Templar.
Robyn Young's narrative skills create a rich and diverse canvas that spans Europe and the Middle East and finds humanity in ancient history and heroic
figures of the past on both sides of the idealogical struggles that gave rise to the Crusades. She hints at the relevance of this conflict to
contemporary issues, a theme to be developed further in "Crusade".
Young people who learned to love reading in the Harry Potter break through period will relate to this book and find it a great path to a new genre at an adult level. Established readers who have been thrilled by Dan Brown will be drawn to Robyn Young as a well informed source of further musing about the origins of faith and the conflicts associated with religion. Seasoned epic readers will become quickly fascinated by the scope of the Brethren trilogy. This book brings together timeless human concerns and clearly redrawn historical situations.
I'd actually rate this at 3.5 stars, but that wasn't an option. This was Robyn Young's first novel, and though I generally shy away from reading books written by women (I know, I know - MCP!), the subject of the story is a fascinating one for me. It concerns the Kings Templars and the end of the Western presence in the Near East.
As a history buff, I found her research to be first rate. I have read other novels where Baybars, the Mamluk leader of Egypt was the main character and her interpretation of him and his motives was just as believable. I'd read the novel just for the historical insights and flavor.
I did think the plot took too long to develop and some aspects of it may have stretched probability. On the other hand, her characters were well developed and internally consistent.
I will probably buy the next in the series since I've put this much time into getting to know the characters and invested still more time understanding the plot.
When she did write the action scenes they were OK, but the story could have used more of them, seeing how violent that era was.
Would I buy this book again, knowing then what I know about it? Maybe, depends on what else was out there at the time. I value my time, and am quite willing to stop reading a book that I find I don't like enough. I finished this one, and will probably buy the next one. She has a way to go to become one of my favorite authors.
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