The Book of the Lion (Crusader Trilogy #1)
Edmund, an apprentice, is seized by the king's men and thrown in jail for his master's crime of counterfeiting. Then Edmund is unexpectedly released into the custody of Sir Nigel, a knight in search of a squire. Edmund will train as a squire and accompany the knight on a journey to fight alongside Richard the Lionheart on the Crusades. As they travel across Europe, Edmund is fascinated by all he sees, but he fears for his safety in the days that lie ahead. How can he possibly prepare for the...
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Edmund, an apprentice, is seized by the king's men and thrown in jail for his master's crime of counterfeiting. Then Edmund is unexpectedly released into the custody of Sir Nigel, a knight in search of a squire. Edmund will train as a squire and accompany the knight on a journey to fight alongside Richard the Lionheart on the Crusades. As they travel across Europe, Edmund is fascinated by all he sees, but he fears for his safety in the days that lie ahead. How can he possibly prepare for the untold horrors of war?"This is a pulse-pounding tale, vivid and visceral." -Booklist "Fans of history and adventure will devour this well-crafted, dramatic quest." (Publishers Weekly, starred review)Publishers WeeklyEdmund, 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.
\ From Barnes & NobleIn 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 WeeklyEdmund, 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.\ \ \ Children's Literature\ - Children's Literature\ Edmund's life as a moneyer's apprentice takes a terrifying turn when he is thrown in jail for counterfeiting the King's money. Waiting for death in a cold dungeon, Edmund is surprised to learn that Sir Nigel, a knight, has spared his life. Taken in as a squire to the knight, Edmund must learn the responsibilities and expectations of his new life. Despite his lack of training, he joins with Richard Lionheart's forces on a Crusade to deliver the Holy Land. As he journeys by ship and by land, Edmund learns much about courage and determination from his companions. Whether plunged into the depths of the sea or sword fighting on the plains of Acre, Edmund realizes that courage comes from within. Sharp-edged details mixed with compassion for innocence reveal both the cruelty and the misguided intentions of the twelfth century Crusades. The Book of the Lion allows readers to gain a new perspective on war as they journey with a protagonist who wishes to do the right thing for the right reasons. Cadnum himself explains that he hoped to illuminate the "terrible paradox" of war with a novel showing good people engaging in senseless acts of violence. 2000, Viking, Ages 14 up, $15.99. Reviewer: Leah Hanson\ \ \ \ \ KLIATTTo quote KLIATT's May 2000 review of the hardcover edition: Young Edmund is an apprentice to a moneyer, a man who mints coins for King Richard in medieval Nottingham. But when the man is discovered to be cheating the king, his hand is chopped off—in a most gruesome scene—and Edmund, considered guilty by association, must run for his life. Salvation comes in the form of a knight, Sir Nigel, who is seeking a strong young squire to accompany him on a Crusade, a trip to the Holy Land "to fight for the True Cross."...In this gritty, gory, exciting tale, Cadnum, the author of In a Dark Wood and other YA novels, conveys the flavor of life in medieval times, replete with carefully researched details of daily life as well as armor and weaponry. It's not a tale for the faint-hearted, with its descriptions of "eyes and privy parts gouged, bellies swollen in the sun," and its realism makes the reader all too aware of the awfulness of battle and the harsh character of life in medieval times. But it certainly offers a new perspective on knights and the Crusades for readers who want a sense of what it might really have been like to be alive then. A 2000 National Book Award finalist. Category: Paperback Fiction. KLIATT Codes: JSA—Recommended for junior and senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2000, Penguin Putnam, Puffin, 204p., $8.99. Ages 13 to adult. Reviewer: Paula Rohrlick; KLIATT SOURCE: KLIATT, March 2002 (Vol. 36, No. 2)\ \ \ \ \ School Library JournalGr 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.\|\ \
