The Religion: A Novel [Bargain Price] [Hardcover]

Tim Willocks (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 15, 2007

Malta, in May 1565 - From the shores of the Golden Horn, Suleiman the Magnificent, Emperor of the Ottomans, has sent the greatest armada since antiquity to wipe out Islam's most implacable foe, the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, in their stronghold on the island of Malta. To the Turks the knights are known as 'The Hounds of Hell'. The knights call themselves 'The Religion'. Meanwhile, in Sicily, a disgraced and exiled Maltese noblewoman, Carla La Penautier, has been trying to return to the doomed island in an attempt to find the bastard son who was taken from her at his birth. The Religion have refused her every plea and a tormented Roman Inquisitor, Ludovico Ludovici, seeks to imprison her. But Carla recruits a notorious adventurer and arms merchant - Mattias Tannhauser - to help her evade the Inquisition and to escape on the last galley to run the Turkish blockade. As the ensuing apocalyptic conflict between Islam and Christianity becomes the most brutal and harrowing siege in military history, Tannhauser and Carla must survive the bloody inferno and track down a twelve-year-old boy whose face they have never seen and whose name they do not know. And neither of them reckon on the return of the avenging Inquisitor, Ludovico Ludovici..."The Religion" is an epic and exuberant tale of love and war, of intrigue and obsession, of politics and faith and high adventure. Against a rich and meticulously detailed historical backcloth, it tells of a small band of intrepid men and women who defy the madness of Holy War to realize their own vision of God and Eternity.

--This text refers to the Paperback edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Willocks, a novelist (Bad City Blues) and screenwriter (Sin), strikes gold with this epic account of the Turkish siege of Malta in 1565—the first of a planned trilogy featuring Mattias Tannhauser, the son of a Saxon blacksmith. Young Tannhauser is kidnapped by Muslim raiders and trained as a holy warrior before winning his release and settling in Sicily, where he becomes a prosperous arms dealer. His comfortable life is interrupted by the arrival of Contessa Carla La Penautier, a young widow who uses her considerable charms (and title) to recruit Tannhauser to help her find Orlandu, the bastard son she was forced to abandon at birth 12 years earlier. Arriving on Malta, where Carla believes her son is, Tannhauser and Carla get caught in the Turkish attack on the Christian enclave. Meanwhile, Orlandu's father, Ludovico Ludovici, a monk and feared inquisitor, has returned to Malta with hopes of bringing Malta under papal control. Tannhauser has to find Orlandu, unmask the scheming and unscrupulous Ludovici, survive vicious combat against the Turks, win Carla's heart and find a way to escape the "island of fanatics and fools." In Tannhauser, Willocks has created a dazzling hero whose debut will leave readers eager for the next installment. (May)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Bookmarks Magazine

The first in a projected trilogy, The Religion stirred excitement in some critics and distaste in others. Tim Willocks writes with visual detail (he's a screenwriter), but he also appeals to the other senses, creating what the Chicago Sun-Times described as "a thick stew of smells, colors, and sounds." Some reviewers, however, criticized florid writing, shallow characters, and a clichéd plot. Others found Willocks's prose cinematic, his characters complicated, and the plot thrilling. Fans of swashbuckling adventures will enjoy this work and undoubtedly overlook the book's flaws. But the novel is not for the faint at heart: all reviewers mentioned the blood and gore in every battle scene.
Copyright © 2004 Phillips & Nelson Media, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 640 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (May 15, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374248656
• ASIN: B0013TFC78
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.6 x 2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (89 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #589,980 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

45 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Salacious, Overwrought, and Bloody-Handed. (The perfect family gift!), July 22, 2007

By 

Bart King (Portland, Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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

THE RELIGION is intermittently salacious, frequently overwrought, and utterly bloody-handed.

It is, in short, a ripping good yarn.

The Booklist review above stating that "readers of unsubtle historical fiction will be hooked" cuts a bit close to the bone, but what redeems this story from being just another cheesy epic is Tim Willock's ability to memorably depict action, and his motley cast of characters. Is the book absolutely unbelievable? Yep. But like the unholy progeny of James Clavell and Robert E. Howard, Willock plunges into this story with so much gusto, it's almost impossible not to just pull in one's oars and get swept up in THE RELIGION's currents.

WARNING: The book's prologue is bereft of the humor that redeems much of the rest of the story, so don't judge the book on the introduction's merits alone. I nearly bailed out after reading it, but now I'm glad I did not.

WARNING II: Avert your gaze from the most unwholesome spectacle of the author's photo on the jacket sleeve.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A very bloody swashbuckler in the grand tradition, July 22, 2007

By 

Ralph M. Hitchens (Poolesville, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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

Suspend just a bit of disbelief about the "over the top" hero and villain, sexual exploits in a hot tub in the midst of a horrific siege, maybe a few other things, but relax and enjoy a long and gripping narrative about one of the more interesting military episodes of the 16th century. The heroic defense of Malta by the Knights of Saint John deserves an epic retelling and Tim Willocks is up to the job. Take it to the beach or onto the plane, anywhere you can lose yourself for hours. Highly recommended for those who enjoy top-grade action-packed historical fiction -- think Flashman or Aubrey & Maturin.

18 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars exciting swashbuckling look at a real sixteenth century religious war, May 16, 2007

By 

Harriet Klausner - See all my reviews
(#1 Hall OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

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

In 1540 in the Fagaras Mountains of Hungary, Muslim scarlet horsemen abduct twelve year old Mattias Tannhauser, the son of Saxon metal-smiths. They train him as a holy warrior whose entrance to heaven is to die in combat. However, he eventually obtains his release and settles in Sicily where Mattias taking advantage of having solid feet in the competing religious camps becomes a successful arms broker.

In 1565 widow Contessa Carla La Penautier arrives in Sicily to hire Tannhauser to find her illegitimate twelve years old son Orlandu, whom she reluctantly abandoned at his birth due to uncaring pressure. Unable to resist her siren's call, Mattias agrees to go with Carla to Malta at a time that the Turkish Ottoman Suleiman the Magnificent declares a jihad to eradicate the affluent influential Knights Hospitaller of St. John, a monastic order based in Malta. On the disputed Mediterranean island, Mattias and Carla struggle to survive when the Turks begin their assault on the St. John knights. However, even more dangerous to the pair than the war is the arrival of dreaded Inquisition monk Ludovico Ludovici, working under order of Cardinal Michele Ghisleri, who deviously plans to bring Malta under papal rule after he takes care of a certain twelve year old indiscretion that he sired on a teenage Carla.

This is an exciting swashbuckling look at a real sixteenth century religious war mostly from the perspective of the dashing hero who is one of the few people who seems to understand both sides of the conflict. The story line is action-packed, but it is the cast who brings to life 1565 Malta as the prime triangle (Mattias, Carla and Ludovico) seem genuine and the combatants fighting in God's name appear real. Readers will appreciate this terrific historical holy war thriller that grips the audience from the opening kidnapping until the final confrontation with more to follow.

Harriet Klausner