Ironfire: A Novel of the Knights of Malta and the Last Battle of the Crusades [Hardcover]

David Ball (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The Ottoman Empire's vicious 1565 assault on the island fortresses of Malta, and the vigorous defense of the island by the Knights of St. John, a military religious order dedicated to preserving Christendom from the Muslims, serves as the backdrop for Ball's second historical epic (his first novel, Empires of Sand, chronicled France's efforts to expand its North African empire in the 1870s). Amid bloody land and sea battles, four protagonists struggle to survive in a world of disease, brutality and religious persecution. Nico, a young Maltese boy, is captured by Algerian corsairs in a pirate raid and taken to North Africa, where he serves as a slave to a shipbuilder. To save his life, he converts to Islam and becomes captain of one of the sultan's war galleys. Maria, Nico's sister, vows to find and rescue her brother, but priests, knights and her own desire for revenge thwart her plans. Christien Luc de Vries is an unwilling Knight of St. John who prefers studying medicine and surgery to butchering Muslims. Father Giulio Salvago is an Inquisitor determined to stamp out heresy through torture and fear, but whose own guilt over past sins torments him. All four characters confront lies, broken vows and unexpected twists in their efforts to vanquish their enemies and save themselves during the massive Turkish siege of Malta. Ball's bold, gruesome descriptions convincingly evoke the savagery of this 16th-century religious war and the treachery and zealotry of Muslim and Christian authorities alike.
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From Booklist

Cultures clash and fates converge during the siege of Malta in 1565. Kidnapped by Algerian slavers as a young boy, Nico Borg holds out hope that the Order of the Knights of St. John, sworn to protect his native Malta from Muslim and Jewish infidels, will one day rescue him. When that does not happen, Nico becomes increasingly torn between his Christian roots and his Muslim lifestyle. After witnessing her brother's abduction, Maria Borg is more determined than ever to escape from a life of poverty and despair. Though pledged to the Knights of Saint John as an infant, Christien Luc de Vries longs to defy his father's wishes and ignore his distinguished pedigree as the son of a count. These three lives intersect as a furious battle is waged for Malta, a barren outpost prized for its strategic location as a crossroads between the East and the West. Ball brings the tail end of the Crusades to life in a substantial piece of historical fiction that sizzles with action, romance, and drama. Margaret Flanagan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 688 pages
• Publisher: Delacorte Press (December 30, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0385336012
• ISBN-13: 978-0385336017
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #1,140,138 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Compelling history, fast action, January 11, 2004

By	Ron Franscell, Author of 'The Darkest Night' - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ironfire: A Novel of the Knights of Malta and the Last Battle of the Crusades (Hardcover)

If walls could talk, would they tell stories of the past, present or future?

While exploring Malta for "Ironfire," author David Ball rented a small room overlooking the Grand Harbor and its ancient battlements of St. Elmo and St. Angelo -- 16th century fortresses made legendary in the final conflict of the Crusades.

"At night, when it's quiet enough, and if you're listening carefully," Ball says today, "you can still hear the walls [of the forts] whispering their tales."

Perhaps they spoke to him of knights and pirates. Or perhaps something bigger: A world where West and Middle East might never set aside two millennia of discord.

Ball's third novel is one of those sweeping historical epics that encompasses diverse cultures and decades in a part of the world -- and human affairs -- that is still scoured by the crosswinds of conflict. His history is concrete, but a novel is not merely a history textbook. It must engage the reader with characters, literally individual humans with dreams, losses, flaws, quests, regrets, fears, faith and misgivings. Pasternak did it. So did Clavell, Michener and Jean Auel.

Comes now David Ball, who has built an action-packed, often erotic and always sensual epic-adventure around a handful of well-developed characters swept up in the maelstrom of 16th century holy wars between two different worlds. Merely developing three-dimensional characters in modern publishing is a rare notion; sustaining a reader's interest in them over nearly 700 pages is the literary equivalent of finding weapons of mass destruction in Baghdad. It might happen, but it's damned hard to do.

But in 1552, there are no weapons of mass destruction. Battles are fought with blades, pikes, crude firearms, armor and horses. There is no such thing as an air war, and navies are powered by slaves and wind. There is no shock nor awe, only sieges that can last months or years.

One of the truest tests of a good historical novel is how inextricably fiction entangles with fact. "Ironfire" is marbled with real historic figures such as the near-mythic Muslim pirate Dragut Rais; Jean Parisot de la Valette, the Grand Master of the Knights of St. John whose name was given to Malta's capital city; and even Father Jesuald, a heretic priest burned at the stake in Malta for advocating priestly marriages.

And infusing every action is the pungency of smoldering religious fires, not just Islam and Christianity, but Judaism, too. In that combustible mix of passions alone, Ball captures the essence of a modern catastrophe.

If walls could talk, they'd eagerly tell their stories to Ball.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great epic historical fiction, February 11, 2004

By	Mary Reinert (Nevada, MO) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Ironfire: A Novel of the Knights of Malta and the Last Battle of the Crusades (Hardcover)

After what I thought was a weak start and a bit "over the top" especially regarding the character of Nico, I found myself drawn into the time, cultures, and conflicts of the Knights of Malta. Even Nico as he evolved into Asha became a fascinating character and a great look at what becomes of individuals who are torn from their culture and injected into another one especially when they are young. The character of Christien Luc de Vries was especially interesting. His struggles with the expectations of his father, his fascinationg with surgery, and his place among the Knights of Malta make for interesting internal conflicts. And of course, the juxtaposition of Islam, Christianity, and Judaism on one small island gives a great background for the struggles we are still facing. Overall, a great read.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Siege of Malta: Mediterranean History & Fiction at Its Best, January 23, 2006

By	Pat W Jusuf "Book Fanatic" (Jakarta, Indonesia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ironfire: An Epic Novel of Love and War (Paperback)

The same novel by the same author was also titled under the novel name of "The Sword and the Scimitar."

If you like:
the Mediterranean history, the Crusades, the Ottomans & Bernard Cornwell, then surely you will enjoy this book.

It is a story of 3 main protagonists: Nico Borg, Maria Borg & Christien deVries with a background of historical places in the Mediterranea, mainly in Malta. Circling around the romances and conflicts between these protagonists and between the Church and Islam, the author deftly manipulates the plot in a way one cannot put down the book.

The main plot evolved around the Crusaders, i.e., the Hospitalers, last stronghold in Malta with its arch-nemesis Ottoman empire in the East, i.e., in Turkey, to be precise. During the last few decades of the Crusade spirit, the last bastion of the Roman Catholic empire was challenged by the Ottomans. In the tick of this intrigued, Nicolo Borg was stuck between his European decendant-Christian belief and his newly found future in the Ottomans.

Barbarossa was even discussed in quite some details by the writer, since during many European-Ottoman clashes involved the Mediterranean sea battles, piratings, hijackings and kidnappings. Many parts of the plot involved locations situated on or nearby the sea.

There was also a steel-hearted girl-lady, Maria Borg. She endured a lot since childhood all the way to her adult years, even during the Malta besiege and war between two entities she hated the most, the Crusaders/the Church and the Ottomans.

The historical representation is amazingly acute, for I am an avid history buff myself. Do not judge this book by its cover or title, read it by yourself! Leaking more plots in this book I cannot do, for reading it is a must. I hope David Ball writing finesse will continue in his future endeavours. A must read book for history fanatics. Bravo!