The Religion
The Tannhauser Trilogy, Book 1
by Tim Willocks
The Religion is a huge novel, and not just because dropping it on your foot would be a really bad idea.
Willocks has put an incredible amount of research into 1565 and the siege of the Isle of Malta by Suleiman the
Magnificent. Malta is held by the Knights of John the Baptist, who call themselves "The Religion." Not
surprisingly, this doesn’t set too well with the Inquisition, evilly represented by the scheming Ludovici, who
has plans for bringing The Religion in line. All that and we haven’t even met the main character yet - Mattias
Tannhauser, a larger than life soldier of fortune with experience in the world of the Muslim as well as the
Christian. Mattias wants no part in The Religion’s battle, until a beautiful Countess asks for his help in
finding her son on Malta.
The Religion seeps with intrigue and more intrigue. It also paints a bleak picture of the times, when
the good guys and the bad guys were hard to discern as each practiced horrifying violence and torture. This is
not a novel for the squeamish. Though is has a romantic triangle (actually two), there is nothing romantic about
the novel -it’s harsh, violent, and seriously slow going in spots- but if you want to understand the time period
and the people who did horrifying things for religion, this is an excellent place to start. The story is
compelling, pulling you back in even when the prose has slogged it down a bit, making it ultimately a satisfying
read. |
The Book |
Farrar, Straus and Giroux |
May 2007 |
Hardbound |
0374248656 / 9780374248659 |
Historical Novel |
More at Amazon.com |
Excerpt |
NOTE: |
The Reviewer |
Jan Fields |
Reviewed 2007 |
NOTE: Reviewer Jan
Fields is the editor of Kid Magazine Writers emagazine and has written dozens of
stories and articles for the children's magazine market. |
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