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Sword And Scimitar (2012)

by Simon Scarrow(Favorite Author)

3.87 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

0755358368 (ISBN13: 9780755358366)

languge

English

genre

Historical Fiction

publisher

Headline Publishing Group

review 1: What happens when you*'re stuck in the Barcelona airport for 3 hours (and, therefore, most of the reading material is in Spanish) is that you pick up something terrible just because it's there and just because you've read the other book available in English. Anyway, you finish the book and you take it home and then your wife reads it because it's there and it cost 9€ and by god she's going to get her money's worth, but this book is terrible. So terrible. It's also readable, which makes it even more terrible.*by 'you', I mean my husband
review 2: This book was such fun to read! I had never read anything by Simon Scarrow but without doubt, I will now be looking out for more work by him, he certainly knows how to write historical fiction.I’ll kick off with my ... moreonly criticism;, I will be brutally honest – the cover was dreadful, it looked schmaltzy and really not the sort of thing I would enjoy; it looked like a 3 for 2 at Waterstones, which I usually walk past! However, once you get into the story you are left with little doubt – he writes so well and for once, I think the word ‘compelling’ would be appropriate to describe his fiction; he has an excellent ability to paint vivid scenes using words so cleverly that you can picture exactly in your mind what he is writing about. And on occasion, this is so unbelievably gory that it’s not such a good thing!The story starts with a brilliantly well-described battle at sea. This isn’t a genre that I have ever really read, but Scarrow’s narrative brought it to life and I could picture the fights, the fear, the excitement, extremely well. He really is talented! He tells the story of Sir Thomas Barrett, a Knight of the Order of St John who is brought in to fight against the Ottoman army in the Great Siege of Malta in 1565. Sir Thomas is completely in love with a woman he meets when they are both very young, Maria, and this is a major storyline throughout the book alongside the strategy and fighting that Scarrow depicts. I really don’t ‘do’ romances but admit that I was utterly engrossed in their story and found it a perfect foil to the more brutal fight scenes.We are taken through the machinations, politicking and fighting that was involved in the Great Siege and much of what was going on behind the throne in England at that time; we learn about how people fight for themselves and family when backed into a corner, we get to know characters, see them lost in battle, find huge sympathy and understanding for their motives – and ultimately – certainly for myself I was mulling over some of the threads from the story a fair few weeks later on! That speaks for itself, to be honest. This is not only perfect holiday fiction for the summer, it’s a great historical read, it’s a believable love story and above all, a great page turner! I would thoroughly recommend this book to anybody – and best of all – I got to see Scarrow at the Hay Festival, which was just a brilliant way to round it off! Lovely book, don’t hesitate to buy it for yourself or as a gift for somebody – it’s a knock out! less

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