Crossed: A Tale of the Fourth Crusade (Paperback)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: kalenda maya, lute man, travel altar, Milord Boniface, Holy Land, Gregor of Mainz (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The unnamed hero of this epic historical adventure, an itinerant musician from Britain, joins the Fourth Crusade in Venice where his fate becomes inextricably linked with those of Gregor of Mainz, a steadfast German knight; Gregor's father-in-law, marquis Boniface of Montferrat, leader of the Crusade; and Jamila of Alexandria, an Arab princess the musician rescues, unaware that she is really a Jewess who is trained in the healing arts. Unable to finance the massive undertaking, the Crusaders are continually diverted from their goal—the liberation of Jerusalem. As mercenaries, they first sack the Christian city of Zara and lay siege to Constantinople. The musician, Jamila and the increasingly disillusioned Gregor try to do good, but find themselves thwarted by the villainous Boniface and the tragic inevitability of 13th-century realpolitik. Despite characters that fail to engage fully and dialogue that fails to sell the period, the novel still succeeds in being a true guilty pleasure, a rousing shout-out to those past masters of bestselling historical fiction, Frank Yerby, Samuel Shellabarger and Lawrence Schoonover. (Feb.)
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Review

"A clever novel of courtly love . . . entertains with a flourish." -- Publishers Weekly

"A tasty fictional stew, mixing elements of twelfth-century culture together skillfully to produce a veritable reading feast . . . .The combination of vicious politics, mysterious doings, betrayals, and double-dealing, added to a leisurely but engaging plot, will keep those pages turning." -- Booklist

"A tasty fictional stew. . . . A veritable reading feast." -- Booklist on Revenge of the Rose

"A wallop of a first novel—entertaining and engaging." -- San Francisco Chronicle on The Fool’s Tale

"[A]t once an idiot’s guide to the tangled geopolitical landscape of 13th century and a clear and stern indictment of contemporary events...Thick with delectable historical details." -- Martha's Vineyard Times on CROSSED

"[A]ttention to detail and humor keeps the novel both exhaustive and hilarious...Nicole Galland is exceptionally well versed in the fine nuances of storytelling and illustrating the combustible nature of mixing religion, commerce and war." -- St. Petersburg Times (Florida)

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Product Details

• Paperback: 672 pages
• Publisher: Harper Paperbacks; First edition. edition (February 5, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006084180X
• ISBN-13: 978-0060841805
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.3 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #516,652 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointing, April 23, 2008

By	M. Clarke "Jane Eyre Nut!" (the Midwest) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I loved Nicole Galland's two previous works, but I was sadly disappointed in this one. It is very slow and dry, although I could have dealt with this if she didn't put so much political innuendo in it. I got to page 80 (bored to tears), and flipped to the reader's guide to see if I felt it was worth reading any further. It wasn't. An interview with Ms. Galland was included and she spoke a lot about how this book is a parallel to the war in Iraq. I read historical fiction as an escape from the modern squabbles of our society, not to be emersed in them. Bad show on Ms. Galland's part.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Not to be missed, April 16, 2008

By	Gruken (Canberra, Australia) - See all my reviews

Nicole Galland is an author whose books should be anticipated with relish! Always surprising, never dull, well-researched, and extremely original, Galland is fast becoming my new favorite author of all time. I can't wait for her fourth book.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This book disappointed me a bit, April 2, 2008

By	K. Huff (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Crossed is a complicated novel about the failed Fourth Crusade of 1202-4. Featuring an unnamed British musician and jack-of-all-trades as part-narrator, Gregor of Mainz, a religious knight whose diary also makes up the narration, his brother Otto, and a mysterious princess named Jamila, the novel begins in Venice, when the Briton saves Jamila from an unpleasant fate. The reader then accompanies the Crusade across Europe, from Venice to Zara to Constantinople.

I found it tough work to get through Crossed. There were times when my attention flagged. There's not much of Nicole Galland's trademark wit here, and I felt that sometimes the narrative was missing pieces here and there. Galland knows the world of the thirteenth centuryl, and perhaps a little too well. Both of her previous books were set in this time period, and I'm afraid that she's fallen into a little bit of a comfort zone. We get a lot of political history here, but it's a little dry and bland.

I didn't really like any of the characters, and by the end I found that I didn't really care what happened to them. This novel was a bit of a disappointment to me, because I really like Nicole Galland's writing style in general and the way in which she treats her historical period. I'd love to see her branch out a bit in her writing.