Stephen R. Lawhead is an internationally acclaimed author of mythic history and imaginative fiction. His works include the first two books of the Celtic Crusades, The Iron Lance and The Black Rood, Byzantium the Pendragon Cycle, The Song of Albion, and Dragon King trilogies, as well as the science fiction novels, Empyrion I and II and Dream Thief.
"Action-packed adventure...Lawhead knows how to spin a tale."-- "Booklist""Intriguing...steeped in historical detail...should appeal to Lawhead's growing audience."-- "Library Journal""An absorbing saga" --"Time Out (UK) ""Powerful and deeply moving... An engrossing read" --"Starburst ""An enjoyable read" --"SFX (UK)""Here, in the story of a great gift and an even greater journey, is summoned all the magic and splendor, the brutality and the innocence of a lost era the not-so-Dark Age when faith ruled men's hearts." --"Smash ""Engrossing, with plenty of plot twists. . . . Worthwhile for Lawhead regulars and historical-fantasy fans alike." --"Kirkus Reviews ""Not merely a gripping yarn and it certainly is that this is also a novel about faith and the tests life plants in its way. Lawhead, author of the popular Pendragon cycle of fantasies, here makes a sure move into mainstream historical fiction." -"-Booklist ""This is a rip-roaring adventure story; the pace rarely flags. There's scheming, murder and betrayal aplenty." --"Interzone Magazine "Historical fantasy and first of a generational epic, '' so the publisher informs us, from Lawhead (Byzantium,1996, etc.), etc. Things get off to a poor start as Lawhead employs a trite, clumsy framing device. In 1899 Scotland, lawyer and member of a mystical secret society Gordon Murray is proposed for initiation to a higher degree. He accepts the test, and soconfused, drugged, and lowered into a lightless cavernhe stumbles upon the weapon of the title. Touching its cold pitted iron grants Murray visions of the distant past. There, in the late 11th century, young Murdo, son of Lord Ranulf of Dyrness, Orkney, must stay at home and mind the storewhile his father and brothers march off to join what will become the first Crusade. But soon the king of Norway's lackey Orin Broadfoot (with the collusion of the Church) dispossesses Murdo of his estate, then hastily disappears to join the Crusade himself, before Murdo can remonstrate with him. Murdo vows to follow Orin and force him to make amends, and pledges to return to his beloved Ragna. Meanwhile, another narrative strand details the doings of the Byzantine Emperor, Alexius I, who, having requested warriors from northern Europe to fight the Turks, receives instead a peasant rabble headed by Peter the Hermit. These sections merely reiterate the progress of the Crusade, treading the same ground as Susan Shwartz's Crescent and Cross (1997). Eventually, we learn of Murdo's exertions, the fate of lawyer Murray, and the identity of the weapon that inspired the whole business. Familiar fare for Lawhead fans, watery gruel for outsiders or newcomers. --"Kirkus Reviews"
"Action-packed adventure...Lawhead knows how to spin a tale."-- "Booklist""Intriguing...steeped in historical detail...should appeal to Lawhead's growing audience."-- "Library Journal""An absorbing saga" --"Time Out (UK) ""Powerful and deeply moving... An engrossing read" --"Starburst ""An enjoyable read" --"SFX (UK)""Here, in the story of a great gift and an even greater journey, is summoned all the magic and splendor, the brutality and the innocence of a lost era the not-so-Dark Age when faith ruled men's hearts." --"Smash ""Engrossing, with plenty of plot twists. . . . Worthwhile for Lawhead regulars and historical-fantasy fans alike." --"Kirkus Reviews ""Not merely a gripping yarn and it certainly is that this is also a novel about faith and the tests life plants in its way. Lawhead, author of the popular Pendragon cycle of fantasies, here makes a sure move into mainstream historical fiction." -"-Booklist ""This is a rip-roaring adventure story; the pace rarely flags. There's scheming, murder and betrayal aplenty." --"Interzone Magazine "Historical fantasy and first of a generational epic, '' so the publisher informs us, from Lawhead (Byzantium,1996, etc.), etc. Things get off to a poor start as Lawhead employs a trite, clumsy framing device. In 1899 Scotland, lawyer and member of a mystical secret society Gordon Murray is proposed for initiation to a higher degree. He accepts the test, and soconfused, drugged, and lowered into a lightless cavernhe stumbles upon the weapon of the title. Touching its cold pitted iron grants Murray visions of the distant past.
There, in the late 11th century, young Murdo, son of Lord Ranulf of Dyrness, Orkney, must stay at home and mind the storewhile his father and brothers march off to join what will become the first Crusade. But soon the king of Norway's lackey Orin Broadfoot (with the collusion of the Church) dispossesses Murdo of his estate, then hastily disappears to join the Crusade himself, before Murdo can remonstrate with him. Murdo vows to follow Orin and force him to make amends, and pledges to return to his beloved Ragna. Meanwhile, another narrative strand details the doings of the Byzantine Emperor, Alexius I, who, having requested warriors from northern Europe to fight the Turks, receives instead a peasant rabble headed by Peter the Hermit. These sections merely reiterate the progress of the Crusade, treading the same ground as Susan Shwartz's Crescent and Cross (1997). Eventually, we learn of Murdo's exertions, the fate of lawyer Murray, and the identity of the weapon that inspired the whole business. Familiar fare for Lawhead fans, watery gruel for outsiders or newcomers. --"Kirkus Reviews"
This massive historical-fantasy novel about the First Crusade begins a family-saga trilogy recounting the story of a mysterious mystical order founded upon the discovery of the spear that pierced Christ's side as he hung on the cross. The narrative is framed as a series of visions by a Victorian Scots lawyer, who begins by seeing his ancestors leaving the Orkneys on the Crusade, except for the youngest brother, Murdo, who remains behind to watch the family holdings. When fraudulent clerics take those lands, Murdo attempts to rejoin his family. In describing the young man's journey to the Holy Land, Lawhead displays considerable historical scholarship, some talent for depicting picaresque adventures and verbiage in such excess that the emotional impact of the climax‘the discovery of the lance‘is diminished. Lawhead is known for his ability to combine Arthurian and Christian fantasy, as in his Pendragon Cycle, blending disparate elements into engaging if frequently overlong tales. But here the historian overwhelms the storyteller. The novel fails to meet Lawhead's usual standard, let alone that of other time-binding fantasies such as the novels of Diana Gabaldon. Agency, William Morris. (Dec.)
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