Crusader the [Paperback]

Eisner Michael (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2002

Thrilling, grittily real historical novel set during one of the mo; Set during the late 13th century, when Christian Europe once again sought to prise the Holy Land and the jewel at its heart - Jerusalem - out of the grasp of the Infidel, 'The Crusader' tells the story of one of the last and bloodiest crusades as experienced by a young Spanish nobleman, Francisco Montcada. He is the hero of the novel, but his story is recounted by a former friend of his, a somewhat self-aggrandizing and ambitious Cistercian monk, Brother Lucas. Francisco has returned from the Levant a broken and seemingly possessed man. Now under the jurisdiction of the Inquisition, it falls to Brother Lucas to exorcise his tortured soul. Horrified and repelled by the condition in which he finds Francisco - in chains, emaciated, filthy, mad and utterly silent, the monk begins to coax the once-impassioned young man's story out of him. Through Lucas' increasingly questioning eyes and ears we learn of Francisco's story, of how he took up the Cross in order to redeem his beloved brother's memory and how, instead of the glory and redemption he so earnestly believed he would find at the gates of Jerusalem, he came face to face with the fear and the fury, the horror and the bloodshed of one of the most ignominious and brutal adventures ever undertaken in the name of Christendom...In the Year of Our Lord 1275...In the latter half of the thirteenth century Christian Europe once more sought to prise the Holy Land out of the grasp of the Infidel. Tens of thousands took up the Cross. Some for the greater glory of God, others for baser motives - driven by lust for power, for riches, for revenge. Here then is the story of the seventh and last Crusade, as experienced by a young Spanish nobleman, Francisco de Montcada. And while Francisco is the hero of this novel, his tale is told by his former friend and fellow acolyte, a venal and moderately trustworthy Cistercian monk named Brother Lucas. For Francisco has returned from the Levant a broken and seemingly possessed man. The Inquisition decree that his tortured soul be exorcized and the task falls to Brother Lucas. Eschewing the Inquisition's more usual methods, the monk sits with the silent, emaciated knight in his cell and talks to him. Slowly, tentatively, Francisco begins to tell his story: of how he set out to free the soul of his dead brother; of the fierce friendship with his cousin Andres, and his love for that great warrior's sister Isabel; of his fellow knights - his noble, battle-hardened commander Ramon, and the treacherous Don Fernando; of the heady triumph of the battle of Toron, and the courageous but ultimately doomed defence of the great crusader castle of Krak des Chevaliers. It is the story of how an honourable man found not the glory and redemption for which he'd yearned but instead unimaginable cruelty, barbarism and bloodshed. Set against a thrillingly recreated historical backdrop, this rousing, wonderfully crafted novel of religious fervour and human passions, of greed and betrayal, and love and war brings an extraordinary, tumultuous era brilliantly to life.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

This engrossing tale about one Spanish knight's experiences in the Crusades during the latter half of the 13th century is a first-rate historical novel, richly imagined and plainly written. After his brother Sergio drowns along with 500 other knights while sailing from Barcelona to the Holy Land, Francisco de Montcada dedicates himself to the Cross. Reported dead after the siege of the Crusader castle Krak des Chevaliers, Francisco returns to Spain mute and seemingly possessed, and is chained in the dungeon of a Cistercian monastery for his own protection. There, Cistercian monk Brother Lucas attempts to get him to speak of his experiences, and in the process earn the reward Francisco's father has offered for his son's recovery. Francisco's tale, when he begins to speak, involves the ghost of his brother, his warlike cousin Andres and Andres's intelligent sister Isabel, with whom Francisco is just beginning to fall in love when he goes off to train with the knights of Calatrava in preparation for their journey to the Holy Land. Artfully balancing Francisco's reminiscences with Brother Lucas's framing narration, Eisner smoothly turns the tables on the reader by slowly revealing that the real question of salvation does not concern the knight alone, but the monk as well. Brother Lucas, justifying his dreams of glory and renown with dogma and doctrine, must weigh his beliefs against the hypocrisy of everyone from promiscuous abbots to the evil Don Fernando, the bastard son of Spain's King Jaime, whose encounter with Francisco at Krak des Chevaliers is the centerpiece of the novel. Meticulously researched and artfully told, this is a historical novel that illuminates as it entertains, and proves Eisner to be a promising writer.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

When Eisner, a specialist in international law, visited the medieval fortress of Krak des Chevaliers in Syria, he came away inspired to write this novel. Here, an ambitious priest is asked to exorcise the demons of a former acolyte, a powerful aristocrat just back from the Crusades.
Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 319 pages
• Publisher: Doubleday (January 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385602995
• ISBN-13: 978-0385602990
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (44 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

28 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars In a league with Pressfield's "Gates of Fire", October 26, 2001

By 

Baddyo - See all my reviews

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This review is from: The Crusader: A Novel (Hardcover)

A fan of historical fiction, I consider Steven Pressfield's "Gates of Fire" the standard of the genre from which all others are measured. I have searched for several years to find a book that approaches the flavor of Pressfield's work. With his first novel, Michael Alexander Eisner approaches that level. I was pleasantly surprised when I found that the 'advanced praise' on the back cover supplied by Mr. Pressfield; he could not have picked a better book to endorse.

Similar to "Gates," "The Crusader" is narrated through the eyes of another. A Cistercian monk is tasked with the exorcism of Francisco Montcada, a knight from the Spanish order Calatrava returning from his crusade "haunted by demons." As Francisco's confessor, the monk is taken on this adventure that begins with a detailed look at the training proferred by 'Uncle Ramon,' the leader of the Knights of Calatrava. Once trained, Francisco and 140 Knights of Calatrava embark on their journey to the Holy Land. Eisner takes us graphically through two major engagements, one a success, the other a dismal failure. Francisco ends up in The Citadel, the infamous Muslim prison you may remember from the opening scene in Kevin Costner's "Robin Hood." Ransomed, Francisco returns to Spain a broken man.

The timeliness of "The Crusader" has an uncomfortable sense about it. As I journeyed with Francisco on his mission to recover the Holy Land from the infidels, the US mission in Afghanistan continued to surface in my mind. I perceived similarities between the Crusades and America's war on terror. Eisner writes often of the Muslim mentality, and it was too close for comfort.

I cannot speak for the historical accuracy of "The Crusader." I have a strong sense that Eisner did his homework. With that conviction, I finished the novel (in short order as it was extremely difficult to put down) and felt that I had received a layman's education in an area of history and with events that I was previously only vaguely familiar with.

Right or wrong, I often base my recommendations on whether or not I could see this novel unfold on the big screen. Frankly, as I wait for Michael Mann and George Clooney to pick up their pace with "Gates of Fire," I am anxious for someone to move forward with this novel and bring it to life.

"The Crusader" was extremely interesting and fast-paced. Eisner does a fine job with his character development. Many I loved, others I hated. In the final analysis, if you, like I am, are a fan of historical fiction, you must read "The Crusader."

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A map of the soul..., August 3, 2005

By 

Luan Gaines "luansos" (Dana Point, CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: The Crusader: A Novel (Paperback)

In 1275, Francisco de Montcada returns to the Monastery of Santes Creus after years of fighting and imprisonment in the Holy Land, his soul burdened by his deeds. Sent by Archbishop Santo of Tarragona, Brother Lucas assumes the exorcism of his friend, who has been chained to the cell for his own protection. Francisco has been in the care of Father Adelmo, an exorcist who claims more than one thousand successes: although they did not survive, these victims were able to achieve salvation before they died.

For all their prayers and penitence, the monks exhibit the casual brutality of the 13th century, prior to the conflagration that would follow with the Spanish Inquisition. Seasoned by the use of extreme cures for spiritual ills when battling for a soul, fatal wounds are commonly inflicted to enable salvation. When Brother Lucas takes over, Father Adelmo has exhausted every means short of a deadly cranial incision to release Francisco's evil spirits. Trained by the more moderate and psychologically inclined Brother Vial, Brother Lucas is sympathetic to Francisco's temperament and holds the knight in high regard. Only with time does Brother Lucas draw out Francisco's "confession".

Brother Lucas' tongue-in-cheek narration of his actions on behalf of the Lord exposes the many flaws of power joined to worship. The purchase of favors, indulgences and position belie the very humility exhibited by powerful bishops and abbots. Even the Cistercians, seeking to redress the worldliness of the Benedictines, indulge in their petty grievances. As he climbs the ladder of success in the religious hierarchy of the monastery, Brother Lucas explains the self-serving details of each promotion: "I never lost faith that the Lord or one of His illustrious servants would recognize that quality and reward my fealty."

Francisco de Montcada never craves the Sword or the Cross, but when his brother, Sergio, the heir, falls in love with God and is called to the Cistercian Order, their father convinces Sergio to go on Crusade instead. A tragedy leaves Francisco the only son; distraught, Francisco dreams that he can redeem his brother by taking his place. In the heart-rending saga of Francisco's dark journey of the soul in the Holy Land, Christians slay Infidels, honor betrayed by the horrors of the battlefield and the excesses committed in the name of righteousness. With his cousin, Andreas Correa de Girona, at his side, the men march into the mouth of hell. Bearing the weight of his own self-judgment, Francisco cannot forgive himself or the rampages of the Christian soldiers against the helpless survivors. Eventually, Andreas' cousin, Isabel de Correa, travels to Santes Creus to aid in Francisco's recovery, where all three, monk, knight and maiden are beset by unexpected dangers once more.

This novel is reminiscent of Jean-Christophe Rufin's The Abyssinian, covering similar territory, observing and weighing the differences in cultures. Eisner reveals the hypocrisy inherent in the Crusades, the urgency of garnering honor from the defeat of Infidels on foreign soil, a balanced account of this great clash of civilizations and the extremes of fanaticism, eerily familiar in modern times. No participant is without stain and Francisco, an honorable man, is faced with the reality of conflict and the evils men perpetrate upon their enemies in the name of honor. The Crusader contains chivalry, swordplay, savagery, solidarity, honor, deceit, damaged souls and finally, hope and a return to forgiveness. Historically accurate and engrossing, The Crusader brings this bloody and tempestuous era to life. Luan Gaines/2005.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars much more than a swashbuckler, November 18, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: The Crusader: A Novel (Hardcover)

The jacket blurb refers to Michael Alexander Eisner's new novel, "The Crusader," as a "thinking man's swashbuckler." The OED defines this word as "Swaggering, blustering, ostentatiously daring" - characteristics that are nowhere apparent in the character of the protagonist of the novel. The book is more, and very different from this assessment; thinking women can apply, as well. The era of fin-de-treizieme-siecle Spain, with knights, castles, bishops, treachery, greed, assassination, indulgences, exorcisms, might seem to call for Sir Walter Scott, and seven hundred pages of text. "The Crusader" is less than half that length - leanly written - and derring-do is not the main event in the book. Neither are the Arabs, who are referred to only as "infidels" without profile or position.
What Eisner deals with, without being didactic, are the institutions of religion and rule, and their administration. He does not question items of faith and dogma, but - by illustration - calls into question behavior that runs the gamut from venal to murderous, with every possible stop in between. No character is without some taint, and some are so inflated by their station, so estranged from fellow-feeling that they inspire horror in the reader. Man's inhumanity to man is all over the 300-plus pages. Faith and belief should be at the core of a religious undertaking; instead, they are a convenient reason for horrendous activities that belie completely notions of brotherhood, humilty, and love. I didn't count, but I would guess that each of the seven deadly sins is amply illustrated on these pages, all in the name of rectitude and service to the Church.
It is clear that Eisner has done panoramic research, from clothing to food to principles of military training, to battle strategy (with very specific descriptions about boiling oil, garrotting, catapulting, and the like), not forgetting the rigors of long-distance travel - and this is a partial list. (At times, one had the feeling that facts and minutiae were stuffed into descriptions like apricots into a Christmas goose.) His writing style is clear, no-nonsense (it does seem that Eisner has never met an adjective that he doesn't like), and grammatically on target (how refreshing to read a new work that does not use "like" as a conjunction!); in fact, it has a kind of patina of having been translated from the original . . . what? Latin? I would deep-six the occasional incomplete sentences (usually descriptive) that occasionally crop up (mostly with a gerund as the verb, if there is one), and seem rather artificial.
The book resounds long after the finis, and who could ask for better? (Some of the echoing is on the front pages of the daily newspapers, of course.) I admire the non-sentimental ending, too. So, "The Crusader" not anywhere in the Errol Flynn column; it's much more, and entirely worthwhile.