Allahu Akbar! (Brethren Trilogy: Brethren - Robyn Young)

Member Name: marandina

Product:	Brethren Trilogy: Brethren - Robyn Young
Date:	25/05/07 (294 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fabulously written

Disadvantages: Bit long

If ever there was a topic in danger of overkill it’s the story of the Holy Grail and all of the romantic association that goes with it. Having suffered at the hands of the movie version of Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” and faired better with Kate Mosse’s book “Labyrinth”, this wasn’t a genre I’d planned to revisit so soon. With Monty Python’s Holy Grail movie still my first thought when cornered by the notion of King Arthur, Knights of the Round Table and a rather rude, French guard at the top of a tower turret, it was with some reticence that I embarked on the book “Brethren” albeit the synopsis and Sunday Times recommendation did swing it for me in terms of attempting the read.

Set in the 1260’s, Amir Baybars is a devout Muslim leading a Mamluk army against the Mongols. Determined to avenge past defeats, he sets out to reclaim the Holy Land and rid it of both the Mongol invaders and its Christian occupiers. Meanwhile in England, Will Campbell and Garin De Lyons are learning to be Templar knights. From very different backgrounds, they train to be virtuous knights, serving their Order, ambitious to go on Crusade and see action in the Middle East. When a mysterious, ancient book is stolen in Paris, a secret sect within the Order called the Anima Templi set out to recover it before their Grand Plan can be uncovered and the sect destroyed as a result. As the chase unfolds, the cataclysmic events in the East eventually collide with those of the West as a chain of political intrigue, brutal passion and religious fervour all combine to come together in a explosive finale that shapes the known world and reverberates in conflict for decades to follow.

Robyn Young is an author on debut and a very fine one it is too. With an endearing acknowledgement at the start, a sketch map of The Holy Land and a prologue from “The Book of The Grail“, Robyn Young sets out on an ambitious tale of love and intrigue, passion and despair, retracing the legend of the Holy Grail and marrying it with the events of those times. Born in Oxford in 1975, Young starting writing at school in Devon. Winning various prizes for articles written as a teenager, the author chose a career as a writer eventually taking a Masters Degree in creative writing at Sussex University. Having suffered thirteen rejections for “Brethren“, she finally found an agent with the publishers Hodder & Stoughton eventually buying the rights to the book as part of a trilogy.

I was surprised by “Brethren”. Given the slow pace of anything else Grail related, I expected a ponderous start with the story gathering momentum as the pieces came together like an elaborate jigsaw. So it is with all things Grail related but Robyn Young begins with pace and keeps things rattling along in a gripping tale rather like a cross between Harry Potter and a Beowulf poem. Written in the third person and from a number of different viewpoints, the author has an obvious creative flare that shines through in her descriptions. From the monastic settings of Paris to the austere cathedrals of London, from the beauty of the Arabian coastline to the terrible trappings of warfare, Young captures an authenticity that adds spades to the quality of the tale, engaging the reader with the numerous characters that interact throughout the story.

My only (small) criticism of the book is that at 641 pages it’s atypically long and seems to be the trend these days with blockbuster books mirroring the Titanic-like run times of their movie cousins. However, there is little else to detract from the Boy’s Own quality of the plot lines. With characters carefully sketched to build an image in the mind’s eye, it’s easy to relate to the intensity of Baybars even allowing for his brutality in dispensing judgment on his enemies. Here is man who has survived his upbringing as a slave to become the most powerful leader since Saladin and the smaller details of his trials and tribulations as a leader and a man are traced in compelling detail. Will Campbell and Garin De Lyons are the catalyst for the story set in Europe and the link for the intrigue surrounding the search for the Grail. To interweave King Henry III and his son Edward shows a great deal of historical skill. The sub plot involving Henry’s pawning of the crown jewels to the Order is both fantastic and bizarre, bringing in the subterfuge of his son Edward and the repugnant Rook who gives the story most of its repellant and downright nasty moments.

Written in three parts, the book spans the globe, sweeping from England to the Holy Land via Europe. Written with a flourish, it’s easy to visualise the place settings, such is the colour with which the author adorns her work. The deserts and fig trees of Syria are contrasted by the fortresses and pageantry of the Christian settlers and the religious intensity of the conflict with the Muslim army unsettled only by the ultimate aim of the Anima Templi. The cantankerous Father Everard provides the fulcrum for the heart of the Brethren’s purpose and its links with James Campbell and his ill-fated work in the Holy Land. Above all, I found myself wrapped up in the characters and caring about what happened to them adding to the intensity of the story.

I thoroughly enjoyed “Brethren” and rate it as my best experience of the Grail tales so far. This book will appeal to fans of historical fiction, those that like action and adventure and anyone interested in yet more convolutions of the Holy Grail trail. With explicit scenes of violence and execution, the book should only be read by older children or adults. With an extract from the second book “Crusade” at the end and an interesting glossary that confirms historical fact to ally with the fiction of the story, I for one will be buying the next in the series and look forward to further adventures in the name of the Crusades.

Thanks for reading

Mara

Notes
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ISBN 978-0-340-83971-3
Published by Hodder & Stoughton
RRP £6.99
I bought this for £3.79 from Tesco (Paperback)
Available from Amazon from £3.99
More info at: http://www.robynyoung.com/

Summary: Overview of the book