Customer Reviews

Blood Red Horse (de Granville Trilogy)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(8)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This book is about a horse named Hosanna during the age of Richard the Lionheart. Her owner, William, is from a long line of a good family, the de Granvilles. William has an older brother, Gavin, whom he hates. He is also a friendship with a girl named Ellie. William, Gavin, and their father go to fight in the Crusades with King Richard.

Then you are transported to the Holy Lands with the Sultan Saladin and his adopted son, Kimal. Kimal wants revenge on the Crusaders because his family was killed by the Christians. Kimal captures Hosanna from William.

This book has everything: adventure, romance, excitement, and deeper meaning. You see the Crusades from both sides, how it affects the Christians and the Muslims, the people who fought and the people they left behind. It is written so you understand the characters, their motivations, and how they feel, and you feel for them. This is a FANTASTIC book!

I wasn't really into historical fiction when my mum bought me this book, but I decided to have a crack at it anyway. About two chapters in, I was completely hooked and refused to put it down.

It is an exciting story about the commitment and hope of four people during the crusades of the Richard the Lionheart's early reign and the horse that binds them all together. No one expects much of Hosanna, an undersized warhorse, when William de Granville choses him from his father's stud to be his destrier; but when the crusade is called and William and his brother Gavin must leave their home and Ellie- Gavin's betrothed and William's best friend; Hosanna becomes a symbol of hope among the Christian troops.

The book is not just told from a Christian point of view, but Kamil, the same age as William and one of Saladin's closest advisors is also bound to the "Red Horse" Hosanna.

William, Gavin, Kamil and Ellie must all overcome hardships in their many forms as they grow up, all turning to Hosanna for a constant symbol of hope. Not only is it historical fiction, it has morals we can take into our own lives today- Ellie doesn't give up on Gavin even after what happened to him, and William and Kamil learn to trust each other through Hosanna.

Just because the title has the word in, you don't need to be a horse lover to enjoy this book, there is something for everyone and it is an absolute must if you are looking for something "set apart from the rest!"

I had been looking forward to this book - despite reading about it in one of the most scathing newspaper reviews I've ever read. I'm glad that I did read it, because I have come to the conclusion that the reviewer was most unfair. It suggested that this book was written as some kind of comment on parallel wars being fought in recent times. Knowing the timescales involved in writing and publishing, I knew this was impossible - but I was curious to see what kind of slant the author had put on the history of the Crusades. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the view presented was impartial and balanced. We learn about this historical event from both sides: from King Richard and his men as well as the Sultan and his Saracen army.

The story is well written and has a definite sense of period - yet without resorting to 'olde worlde' dialogue that would swiftly weary the reader. The three main characters: Will, Gavin and Ellie, are well drawn and have real depth. The reader follows their growth from children to young adults. As they age it becomes ever clearer that there is a romantic triangle of sorts here - Ellie is clearly attached to Will, yet must marry Gavin the oldest. How their emotional stories progress (whilst together and far apart) really holds the story together.

Despite its merits, I felt the story had a few flaws that kept it from being a truly perfect children's novel. It seemed to have a very slow start; on a number of occasions whilst reading the first few chapters I was half-tempted to abandon the book, as it seemed rather pedestrian and dull. I also found the earlier segments about the Sultan and his son distracted me from the story of the three main protagonists, and felt tempted to skip them. I pressed on, however, and gradually my affection for the story and characters grew.

Bizarrely, I found the least well-rounded and convincing character to be the 'Blood Red Horse' himself. I never truly understood what was so very special about 'Hosanna' that captivated everyone who came into contact with him. Apart from his attractive appearance, ability to move well, and a certain steadfastness - I couldn't see what all the fuss was about. I read continually about how everyone utterly adored him (to the rather uncomfortable point of idolization), including the entire Hartslove estate, King Richard, and the Sultan's son. Yet despite this, I couldn't see one single heroic deed or action that prompted their devotion - and as such, I never really bonded with the horse or cared enough about it, in the way that I did about Will, Gavin and Ellie. True, at one point he stubbornly refuses to join in with a mass slaughter - but this subtle distinction of what was honorable seemed unconvincing, especially when he played an active role in many other bloody scenes.

When first told of this story, I had understood that it was a story about the crusades as told from a horse's point of view - so I kind of expected a historical 'Black Beauty.' Sadly, this was not the case. For me, the central character of Hosanna has practically none of the emotional impact of Black Beauty, because we never really get to know him, his thoughts, feelings, etc. This is especially unsettling when he seems to switch his allegiance midway and focus his affections on the Sultan's son, with little evidence of missing his previous owner. This may be how a 'real' horse would behave perhaps, but for me, this central character just didn't work in the way he should. Maybe if we had 'heard' from Hosanna (got inside his head), this story might have had a real emotional impact and might have become a true classic instead of a rather standard historical adventure with a horse that everyone obsesses over thrown in for good measure. Perhaps it all works so much better for lovers of all things equine - but the gruesome deaths of so many of the other horses (though historically accurate), might be distressing.

A sterling debut novel - but it could have been so much more!

My daughter checked this book out of her school library and enjoyed it so much she suggested I read it. I found it to be a great book with entertaining and likeable characters. It held my interest throughout and I am now eagerly awaiting the next book, hence the reason I was here on Amazon looking to see if it was out!

I think anyone who knocks the book for it having inaccurate historical references or the fact that it didn't give an accurate portrayal of the Crusades or their horrors needs to remember that this isn't touted as a historical reference book but a novel about two boys, one girl and the adventure of a lifetime. It's fiction, meant to be entertaining and fun to read. If people want to learn about the Crusades I would recommend an encyclopedia or their local library. If they want to spend an afternoon or two reading a good, fun book about two boys, one girl, an incredible horse and the adventure of a lifetime then read Blood Red Horse,and then get in line for Green Jasper :)!

Blood Red Horse hooked me from the first page. K.M. Grant does an excellent job in describing the Crusades, while adding a horse called Hosanna to make the story flow. As a horse lover and rider, I was intigued on how the author adds a horse into the story about knights and the crusades (more to the story but can't list it all)! The one thing that I didn't really like, is that Hosanna is such a "great horse" and does so many good deeds, though in real life this most likely wouldn't happen. Grant does an excellent job in describing the places and adventures that happen during the book. Blood Red Horse is very well written with rich details that move the story along perfectly. Grant does a great job in giving happiness and sadness in the story making the book seem so realistic! In the other reviews, people said they were dissapointed on how the story wasn't realistic in the terms of using Old English. I think that writing the story using Old English would be really confusing, so I disagree with that point.
Will, Gavin, and Ellie's adventures were adressed well, though I'd like to see more about Ellie in the story. Another dissapointment about Blood Red Horse, is that in some parts of the story I had to force myself to continue on. I still think it was worth continuing, for the story is really interesting!!!! Anyway, those parts were not that long (only one or two short chapters) and they didn't take away from the rest of the story. Otherwise that, I think it was a terrific novel, and I can't wait to read Green Jasper, the sequel to Blood Red Horse, in the de Granville Trilogy.

This very well may be the best book ever to entrall me in a way almost unimaginable! As a 12-year-old reader, I can honestly say that the crusades did not interest me in the slightest. I picked up this book and after 4, sparcely separated hours, my views were changed, I needed Green Jasper! Page after page I fell in love with Gavin, then Will, then even Ellie. I began to despise Kamil for his inhuman blood-lust. In this story I gasped, cried, and laughed aloud. * * * * *

I was excited about this book initially, but unfortunately such great potential was never truly realized. The story and action were mainly glossed over, saving the most time and attention for displaying the static perfection of Will and his horse, Hosanna. Will is, at very best, a very boring male Mary Sue, who makes the right decisions and serves as the story's moral focus through the horrible climate of the Crusades. His horse is essentially an equine version of him, and while they go through their trials and tribulations, rest assured that they do it with a little too much dignity and divine favor. There was so little character growth for Will that he never grabbed my attention, as how could he? Perfection is never interesting. After a while, I couldn't help favoring Gavin, the flawed older brother, Will's foil. Mostly, Gavin is a collection of dishonorable mistakes and human reaction to war, but in this book it's displayed in a way that is less than desirable. You're supposed to love Will, but Gavin showed the sparks of personality, and it would be expected given that almost every major plot point affected him, whereas Will kept skipping along, perfect as ever, totally annoying, praising his horse like he's second only to God. Then there's Kamil, the Muslim version of Will. Sure, his attitude is blood thirsty through most of the novel, but with a little trial and error Kamil turns out to rival Will's squeaky clean boredom by the end.

A weird historical novel, probably a little too politically correct (A Christian knight randomly asking a Muslim enemy where Mecca is in order to pray for the life of a horse in the middle of a battlefield? Is this at all likely?), and very two dimensional. The villains slink and twirl their mustaches, the hero could never possibly be tarnished, and the most interesting guy (Gavin, but then that's just my opinion) gets the short end of the stick because after Will there can be nothing left for him. Unlikely, vaguely irritating, could have been much better.

Current events and the movie Kingdom of Heaven have increased interest in the Crusades which makes this book very timely.

Gavin, Will and Ellie, their father's ward, have been raised together on the DeGranville estate. Gavin is the oldest and loutish in his treatment of his younger brother. Ellie is very close to Will and sides with him against Gavin even though she senses a streak of kindness in the older brother.

Will has a gift with horses so when it is time for him to choose a Great Horse he forgoes a large destrier and selects the smaller "blood red" horse named Hosanna. The horse emanates a sense of well being to everyone it encounters.

The landscape shifts to the Holy Land when Gavin, Will and their father answer King Richard's call for a crusade. Will and his horse lift the morale of an army that is suffering from terrible battle loses and hardships.

Meanwhile, Kamil, the ward of the Muslim leader Saladin is seeking revenge for the death of his father at the hands of a Crusader. Saladin counsels him to abandon his hatred and follow his faith. Will and Kamil's paths inevitably cross and Hosanna is captured by Kamil. Hosanna presence works its magic on Kamil and Saladin's army too.

War changes everyone and everything. Gavin, Will, Ellie and Kamil must learn to live with loss and survive.

Christianity and Islam are represented very respectfully. A faithful Muslim, Saladin's generosity to King Richard's army is heart-felt and based on fact. The Crusaders' pilgrimage to Jerusalem to see the True Cross is very moving and underscores the religious fervor behind the Crusades.

The horse Hosanna is presented more as a mystical talisman instead of a full fledged character (my standard for horse books now is Seabiscuit) but this story is about young people coming of age and the human characters are very well developed.

The army's trip to the Middle East by ship and the reality of battle are accurately depicted. The descriptions are grim but not grisly, PG-13 not R.

This is Book I of a trilogy. I will anxiously await the next book. I want to know how these kids are doing.

When I decided to write a review for this book, I planned something very brief. It would, essentially, have said: I really enjoyed this book. I work in the Children's and Young Adults' sections of a bookstore and get a lot of my reading material there. I like audio books, it keeps me from spending all day every day reading. Audio books are incredibly dependant on the reader and Maggie Mash does a great job. The Middle Ages have never been my cup of tea, and what I had read of the Crusades didn't make me partial to historical fiction set against that back drop. I was surprised that the book didn't show the Crusades as glorious. At one point we suddenly switched from the English characters, Will and Ellie, to whom I had become attached to an unattractive young Saracen. I was displeased, but slowly, as the story continued, he became a real person, good and bad together. Gavin, the older brother on the English side is similarly a difficult mixture. When an author can get me to care about characters with so many faults I have to applaud. This is the where the review would have ended, but having read the other 17 reviews I feel the need to add my opinion on some other points.

I thought that the history was well mixed in. Ms Grant doesn't come out ant say that girls in this time period were generally chattel, but from Ellie's thoughts you realize that she really doesn't think about whether she loves Will or his older brother Gavin. She knows that what's important is her inheritance and that her money means she will marry Gavin. Many people have only one name and if they have a second there's a good chance it's related to their business in life such as John Keeper who is in charge of the de Granville stud. It's clear that God and the King are simply a part of everyone's daily life. She hasn't prettied up the table manners of the time, nor does she emphasize them. History is about people and I believe that the author does a great job of rounding them out. So many good people make bad mistakes. Bad people can become better and good people can become worse, just like real life. They can even go from good to bad to good depending on circumstances. The Middle Ages my not be my favorite time frame, but I come from a family with an interest in history, so I studied history, and I paid attention. From a non-scholars point of view I think she got more right than wrong.

I expected this book to gloss over the injustice of the Crusades, it didn't. Jerusalem has historic significance for three different religions. I don't believe that one has a higher religious claim than the others. I won't go into the fact that Christians going on Crusade had to cross oceans and the people they were fighting were indigenous. More than one reviewer suggests that the author paints Islam too gently, but if you read the Koran, you'll find that it has gentle and brutal sides, just the way the Bible does. I wanted to know what Ms Grant's qualifications were so I did some research on her. She come from a family which views history as people centric, particularly since her family has an aural history still told today of the good and bad sides of their ancestors behavior. This prompted Ms Grant to study history when she went to college. She researched the period before she wrote, and if you disagree with her fictional characters, well, if two people research an event which happened last year, they may well come up with different answers, so why not agree to disagree on interpretations of events of more than 800 years ago.

By: Kevin 12-7-05

Title: Blood Red Horse

ISBN: 0-8027-8960-9

Blood Red Horse by K.M Grant "You need three things to become a brave and noble knight: a war horse, a fair maiden, a just cause." When reading this book I found out that this quote is important because the book is about the knights. William De Granville gets a beautiful and red colored war horse named Hosanna. He has a fair maiden Ellie, but she is suppose to marry Will's older brother Gavin. The cause is a great crusade to the Holy land. Blood will be shed, lives will be taken. In this historical fiction book you will travel with and you will see the lives of the De Granville's, the Father and the two sons, and what they went through in the crusade. Why the knights went on the crusade is that they were called on from King Richard the Lionheart, also they were promised that they would go to heaven if they died in battle.



Blood Red Horse was a page turner for me. I was interested through it all; it is a great story of the brothers of De Granville and the character Kamil linked to Saladin the enemy of the Christian knights. For me I connected to William De Granville the best, because I am like him in a way. When I love something so much I can't stand losing it. In this story it happens twice to Will, his father and also when Kamil takes Hosanna Will's war horse. The genre was historical fiction. I like reading historical data and books so anyone like me would probably like reading this book or anyone who wants a good book to read. My mind didn't wander off when I was reading this book. Something that shocked me when I was reading this book was during the end of the book when the two armies faced off outside of Jaffe. Hosanna was struck by an arrow and Will was shocked, he started to pray with Kamil, Gavin, and Hal. They got Hosanna to a stable and revived the Great War horse that was inspiration for the Christian army. All in all this was a great book that should be read.