Good day to you readers. We interrupt our work on the revisions of the second Youngest Templar novel, to bring you some breaking news. As you know, The Youngest Templar: Keeper of the Grail goes on sale next week. September 18 to be exact. And I am. Being exact, I mean. As such reviews are starting to come in. Today, we received the following STARRED REVIEW from Kliatt. I’ll turn the rest of the blog over to the reviewer now…
* Michael P. Keeper of the Grail. (The Youngest Templar, Book One.) Penguin, Putnam. 249 p. c2008. 978-0-399-24763-7. $17.99.
Starred Review
This is a winner! The Holy Grail, the Knights Templar, even Rosslyn might remind readers of The Da Vinci Code, of course, and Spradlin might be having some fun playing on that familiarity. The setting is 1191. Richard the Lionheart and a young archer from Sherwood Forest named Robard share the story line with the hero and narrator, Tristan. They are in the Holy Land, fighting the Saracens, but also struggling to survive the evil machinations of Sir Hugh, an English knight. Tristan is an orphan, eager to know the details of his heritage. Cistercian monks have lovingly raised him, and as the story begins, Tristan at 15 is invited to accompany Sir Thomas, a Knight Templar, to the Crusades. Sir Thomas and others appear to recognize Tristan, but his true identity is not revealed in this first in the series. What happens, and what is so appealing abut the story, is endless action – attacks, escapes, suspense and camaraderie. There’s wit throughout, and readers are fully committed to liking Tristan and being excited about his life and his world, so different from our own. The whole Christian-Arab conflict is tamped down, by the way – with the true villains fellow Christians in Tristan’s experience, and the introduction of Maryam, an Arab, who by the end of the book has become a sympathetic character, leaving with Tristan (entrusted with the Holy Grail – no, not Mary Magdalene’s child) and Robard to sail back to England and safety. We’ll see. Terrific adventure, which even younger YAs can follow as they learn something about a totally different world.
~ KLIATT, September 2008
So there you have it! If you haven’t read an excerpt of The Youngest Templar: Keeper of the Grail you can do so right here.
Meanwhile back to work for your authorness!
