Customer Reviews

Green Jasper (de Granville Trilogy)

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

When I picked up The Blood Red Horse a year ago, I did not know what to expect. I found myself dropped into the world of The Crusades and cheering for three young people caught up in those turbulent times.

Green Jasper continues the story of Will and Gavin De Granville and the heiress, Ellie. Home from the Crusades, Gavin is uneasily settling in as the new lord of the manor. The loss of his arm is difficult to handle. His younger brother, Will, has been gifted a title and lands by King Richard. Although closer to Will from childhood, Ellie has agreed to marry Gavin as they have been betrothed since she was very young. In the middle of the marriage ceremony, she is kidnapped by the vile Constable deScabious. DeScabious is Prince John's man and John is making his move for the throne of England as King Richard has not returned from the Holy Land.

Meanwhile, in Palestine, the dying sultan, Saladin, orders young Kamil to take a message to King Richard. Against his will, he must travel to Europe to find Richard who is a captive in Austria. Richard charges Kamil with a new mission, to take the news that he is still living to the DeGranville brothers as their loyalty to the king is certain.

Loyalty and the bonds of brotherhood between kin and between cultures set the stage for the action that follows. The throne of England and their lives are at risk. As a stranger in Europe, where will Kamil's loyalties lie? Hosanna, the amazing horse trained by Will and briefly owned by Kamil will have a role to play.

Grant richly evokes the times but the history never overwhelms the story. I have truly enjoyed reading these books.

3.5 or maybe even 4 stars overall, but compared to Grant's previous novel? Closer to 3.

I found "Blood Red Horse" amazing because of Hosanna, the almost mythical horse who travels the world, befriends all who gaze upon him, and yet remains a true horse. When the "bad guy" mounts up and we think Hosanna, Will's loyal steed, must refuse to budge, only to be reminded that he is, after all, a horse: he gallops off under the pressure of the man's inch long spurs, away from Will.

"Green Jasper" is, in my mind, a poor continuation of Hosanna's tale. The story focuses more on the human characters introduced in the first book (and some new ones), with Hosanna only the glue to hold the bits together. He has also evolved into a "super horse," knowing what is right or wrong and how to act for the best. I am a firm horse enthusiast, but seeing Hosanna regress into a mere fictitious miracle-pony left me saddened and unfulfilled. I had waited months for this sequel, only to have it disappoint.

The second in the de Granville trilogy is still a decent book, it just cannot compete with the magic introduced in its predecessor. Granted, that is from the perspective of one who was reading it for the horse. If you loved Will, Gavin, and the others as much or more than the blood red horse, "Green Jasper" may be gold. I still plan on reading the third when it comes out, though somewhat reluctantly.

I would advise borrowing this one from a library before spending money for a hardback copy, or at least going with the cheaper paperback version.

I really think that Green Jasper is a very good continuation of Blood Red Horse. It doesn't focus on Hosanna that mush but is a very good book. This book is probably the worst in the series but i still love it.

Having read Blood Red Horse prior to recommending it to my grandson, and finding it one of the best young person's novels to come along in recent years, I was eager to read the rest of the trilogy. Green Jasper is still better than most of the books aimed at young readers, but doesn't measure up to Blood Red Horse. It's action-packed, all right, but lacks the depth of the first book in the trilogy. I appreciate the nuance of Grant's treatment of what England endured as Henry II's sons fought over the crown and neglected or exploited the people. But Will, Gavin and Kamil seem mere sketches of the full-bodied characters we met in the first book. Two elements of the story are not believable: that Prince John has contact with the Old Man of the Mountain and his assassins somewhere in the wilds of the Middle East, and that Hosanna survives so many near-death experiences; he is a horse, after all, not a cat with nine lives.

I will certainly finish the trilogy, hoping the third book matches the first in quality, and I will pass Green Jasper on to my grandson, who has been anxiously waiting for it since he finished Blood Red Horse two days ago. But I'll bet his reaction will be similar to mine -- he may be ten years old, but he's a savvy reader.

Just like its predecesor, this book blew me away. I felt scathing anger and extreme loathing toward the once trusted Piers de Scabious. That vile creaton was no better than the black horse; a coward he shamed himself to be. In my opinion, he should have been hanged after Prince John arrived. I admire Gavin's thorough thought and William's bravery; however it seemed senseless for Will to go off in such a hurry and for Gavin to lag so far behind. Ellie did truly love Gavin, but to say it in the way she did was witless. If she ever hoped for a future with Will, why on Earth should she tell Will in such immense detail?!?

This book created true emotions within me; more real than any other book has.
The only sorrow in me that Green Jasper evoked was merely that this is a trilogy, and I only have one more book to enjoy before I reread the trilogy until I can recite every line by memory.

This is an excellent sequel to The Blood Red Horse! It was great fun for my children and me to read it to one another. There is so much excitement. It keeps you anticipating on each page!

I have to begin this review explaining that I am an AVID reader.... I have been reading one book a day since second grade...I was reading His Dark Materials by fourth grade.....the point I am trying to make here is that I read ALOT....and Green Jasper, is a book that AMAZED me..I know that alot of people think that I'm crazy, but I dont understand how somene can NOT love this book.....Ellie, Will, Gavin, Kamil and Hosanna's emotions, are expressed very well, and the events that take place aren't unrealistic. The very real events that occured during the time such as the crusades, only help you immerse yourself in the story. All in all, this is an AMAZING buy....as is Blood Red Hose, the first book in the DeGranville Trilogy

I started reading this at bedtime and couldn't put it down - it kept me up all night in the end. It's a really exciting story about friendship and intrigue during the Crusades, and just gets better and better as you go along. I can't wait till the next one comes out!

I saw the Green Jasper in the book store and thought that it looked like an exciting book. I liked the story, but it felt too modern. The phrasing sounded much like something someone would say today. I don't expect to read old English but it should feel like I am in that time period. It didn't have a lot of strong details by the end of the story I didn't know what the characters looked like (in fact I am not sure they were described at all in the beginning) other than Gavin was missing a hand which was referred to a lot. Overall, the story was good, but I've read better like the North Kingdom by Jordan N. Danniels and Pirates by Celia Rees.