Customer Reviews

Sword of Islam

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

 

 

An awesome book by a great author. It amazes me that this incredible story is out of print! It is one of the few books that shows Christians and Muslims on the same level, without playing the Arabs down. This historically correct story tells a tale of a Genuese captain in a fight against the Arab pirates of the mediterranean. He is torn between the loyaltyto his family, to his land, and to an oath to avenge his father death, inflicted on him by a fellow genuese, the best admiral of his time. The story is breathtaking and impossible to put down. It is highly recommended to anyone interested in history, in adventure and just in a good read.

The title of this book is somewhat misleading. The scenery is not the Empire of the Caliphs, but Genoa at the times of Andrea Doria and the Emperor Charles V.
The story is a bit more romantic and it's pace a tick slower than an 'average Sabatini', still I think it is one of his best books.

This is not one of Sabatini's better known novels nor is it quite as excellent as Captain Blood, Scaramouche, or Master at Arms. But if, like me, you love Sabatini, or if you are simply a fan of the historical swashbuckler, you will enjoy The Sword of Islam (1939). It has the same careful attention to historical detail, sparkling dialogue, humor, action, and surprising plot twists that once made the author a household name. The protagonist Prospero Adorno, a 16th-century Genovese naval condottiere serving under the great Admiral Andrea Doria, is not the typical cardboard hero rescuing a maiden in distress. In facing complex ethical crises that cause his name to be vilified and almost ruin his career, he grows morally and spiritually as a human being. Like Bellarion, another of Sabatini's heroes, Prospero wins by stratagem, rather than sheer guts and brawn alone. Even the villains are portrayed almost sympathetically as real human beings with real motivations. Throughout the novel Sabatini demonstrates his thorough mastery of the genre as well as his expert knowledge of Italian history. And leave it to an Italian to write so well in English! Sabatini had his potboilers, but this is not one of them. While not his best, it is still among his better novels.

This is not one of Sabatini's better known novels nor is it quite as excellent as Captain Blood, Scaramouche, or Master at Arms. But if, like me, you love Sabatini, or if you are simply a fan of the historical swashbuckler, you will enjoy The Sword of Islam (1939). It has the same careful attention to historical detail, sparkling dialogue, humor, action, and surprising plot twists that once made the author a household name. The protagonist Prospero Adorno, a 16th-century Genovese naval condottiere serving under the great Admiral Andrea Doria, is not the typical cardboard hero rescuing a maiden in distress. In facing complex ethical crises that cause his name to be vilified and almost ruin his career, he grows morally and spiritually as a human being. Like Bellarion, another of Sabatini's heroes, Prospero wins by stratagem, rather than sheer guts and brawn alone. Even the villains are portrayed almost sympathetically as real human beings with real motivations. Throughout the novel Sabatini demonstrates his thorough mastery of the genre as well as his expert knowledge of Italian history. And leave it to an Italian to write so well in English! Sabatini had his potboilers, but this is not one of them. While not his best, it is still among his better novels.

The Sword of Islam is middle-of-the-road Sabatini--certainly not one of his worst, but nowhere near the heights of Scaramouche or The Sea-Hawk. Prospero Adorno is a leading naval mercenary in Renaissance Italy whose feud with Admiral Andrea Dorea and his family leads to all sorts of complications. Prospero realizes this may all stem from a misunderstanding, but other forces--including pressure from his own family for revenge--keep that misunderstanding from being cleared up.

The Sword of Islam is the Barbary corsair Dragut, mentioned in passing in The Sea-Hawk (written much earlier). He really doesn't come into play until late in the book, but his raids play a role in resolving the conflict between Prospero and Doria.

The other reviewer mentioned the respectful treament of followers of Islam in this book; that's true of many of Sabatini's works, in which the greater criticism is leveled at hypocritical Christians who don't live what they preach (though I've not read his book on Torquemada, it seems from his other novels that Sabatini was contemptuous of the Inquisition, and Captain Blood contains a passage or two on the problems of a "Christian country" punishing those who practice "Christian charity).

Recommended with three of five stars.