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Brethren (novel)
Encyclopedia
Brethren is a novel written by Robyn Young
set in the ninth and last crusade. It was published by Hodder and Stoughton in 2006. It took her seven years to write the novel where she was "intrigued by the idea of these medieval warrior monks".
The story of Will Campbell runs parallel to that of Baybars Bundukdari, a slave who rose to become Sultan of the Mamluk
s motivated purely by his hatred of the Franks
. In the earlier parts of the story, Will does not know that his father James Campbell is also part of the Anima Templi (or Brethren) and that there is a contact deep within Baybars' circle of trusted advisors who works with the Brethren to achieve long-lasting peace in the Holy land
and the reconciliation of the three dominant faiths of the West: Judaism
, Christianity
and Islam
.
The book has a sequel written by the same author. "Crusade" follows Will as he becomes further entangled in the Brethren and Baybars.
opined that the novel combines "rich historical detail, clever plotting and engaging characters" to "craft a historical thriller that will have readers turning pages and envisioning the sequel.". John Washburn, of on-line review site My Shelf praised Young's "steely depictions" of the action in the novel; her "silky style"; and her "engaging story filled with mystery, romance, courage, abandonment and deception.". Marie D. Jones, in a review for Curled Up commented that "you would think Young lived during the times she seems to grasp so well" and found the novel "an exciting read". Stephen Hubbard, writing for Book Reporter, praised Young's "perfectly crafted" characters, the "the strength of her narrative" in a mainly positive review, stating "The majesty, brutality and romanticism of that time are so beautifully painted on the page that it is often difficult to separate the fact from the fiction, and we as readers are dropped into the very center of history to experience the events from within.". Hubbard did, however, comment that he felt the novel sometimes supplied an "overload of information", though "these moments are extremely few and easily can be forgiven considering the strength of the remainder of the work.".
Eleanor Bukowsky of on-line reviewers Mostly Fiction, offered a more critical opinion of the novel. She states that "although she has the history part down pat, Young is less skilled in creating three-dimensional and believable characters. Her villains are dastardly and her young heroes are callow and long-suffering." and felt that "the book meanders a bit and the finale takes a long time to play out.". The novel was negatively reviewed by Boomtron, with the reviewer stating that the characters "sound awfully modern" and are "too aware of their history and that of other nations", given that "studying such matters was a luxury few could afford". In addition, the reviewer also criticised the novels levels of historical detail, stating that they found the "history lessons superfluous, out of character and quite annoying interruptions in the story.". The review did end on a more positive note, however, with the reviewer saying that "Young has written an engaging story at one level or I wouldn’t have suffered through 600 pages of it" and praising Larry Rostant's cover art.
Robyn Young
Robyn Young is an English author of historical fiction. She is most widely known for her Brethren trilogy, set in the Middle Ages...
set in the ninth and last crusade. It was published by Hodder and Stoughton in 2006. It took her seven years to write the novel where she was "intrigued by the idea of these medieval warrior monks".
Plot
The novel describes the fictional story of a young teenager by the name of William Campbell who starts out as a sergeant and later is promoted to a full Knight Templar. He is tasked with the search of the Book of the Grail which, if ever in the wrong hands, could potentially result in the downfall of not only the Anima Templi (a secret order within the Temple), but also the Temple itself. However, Will finds he's not alone in the search of the book. There are also Prince Edward and The Order of the St John's or the Hospitallers who want the Book as part of their plans to bring down the Temple.The story of Will Campbell runs parallel to that of Baybars Bundukdari, a slave who rose to become Sultan of the Mamluk
Mamluk
A Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
s motivated purely by his hatred of the Franks
Franks
The Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a...
. In the earlier parts of the story, Will does not know that his father James Campbell is also part of the Anima Templi (or Brethren) and that there is a contact deep within Baybars' circle of trusted advisors who works with the Brethren to achieve long-lasting peace in the Holy land
Holy Land
The Holy Land is a term which in Judaism refers to the Kingdom of Israel as defined in the Tanakh. For Jews, the Land's identifiction of being Holy is defined in Judaism by its differentiation from other lands by virtue of the practice of Judaism often possible only in the Land of Israel...
and the reconciliation of the three dominant faiths of the West: Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, Christianity
Christianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
and Islam
Islam
Islam . The most common are and . : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...
.
The book has a sequel written by the same author. "Crusade" follows Will as he becomes further entangled in the Brethren and Baybars.
Historical Figures
The following characters in the book were real historical figures:- Baraka KhanAl-Said BarakahAl-Said Barakah Al-Said Barakah Al-Said Barakah (1260–1280; original name: Muhammed Barakah Qan , royal name: al-Malik al-Said Nasir al-Din Barakah (Arabic: الملك السعيد ناصر الدين بركة) was a Mamluk Sultan who ruled from 1277 to 1279 after the death of his father al-Zahir Baibars...
: Son of Baybars. - Baybars BundukdariBaibarsBaibars or Baybars , nicknamed Abu l-Futuh , was a Mamluk Sultan of Egypt. He was one of the commanders of the forces which inflicted a devastating defeat on the Seventh Crusade of King Louis IX of France and he led the vanguard of the Egyptian army at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260, which marked...
: MamlukMamlukA Mamluk was a soldier of slave origin, who were predominantly Cumans/Kipchaks The "mamluk phenomenon", as David Ayalon dubbed the creation of the specific warrior...
commander, sultan of EgyptEgyptEgypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
and SyriaSyriaSyria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
from 1260 CE to 1277 CE. - Edward I of EnglandEdward I of EnglandEdward I , also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England from 1272 to 1307. The first son of Henry III, Edward was involved early in the political intrigues of his father's reign, which included an outright rebellion by the English barons...
: Prince, and then King, of EnglandEnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
from 1272 CE to 1307 CE. - Henry III of EnglandHenry III of EnglandHenry III was the son and successor of John as King of England, reigning for 56 years from 1216 until his death. His contemporaries knew him as Henry of Winchester. He was the first child king in England since the reign of Æthelred the Unready...
: King of England from 1216 CE to 1272 CE. - Hugues de Pairaud: Templar; son of Humbert de Pairaud.
- Humbert de Pairaud: VisitorVisitorA Visitor, in United Kingdom law and history, is an overseer of an autonomous ecclesiastical or eleemosynary institution , who can intervene in the internal affairs of that institution...
of the Knights Templar in FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. - Kalawun Al-AlfiQalawunSaif ad-Dīn Qalawun aṣ-Ṣāliḥī was the seventh Mamluk sultan of Egypt...
: Mamluk emirEmirEmir , meaning "commander", "general", or "prince"; also transliterated as Amir, Aamir or Ameer) is a title of high office, used throughout the Muslim world...
, high-ranking officer in Baybars' staff. In the book, he is secretly in contact with the Anima Templi, working behind Baybars' back to secure peace between the Mamluks and the FranksFranksThe Franks were a confederation of Germanic tribes first attested in the third century AD as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River. From the third to fifth centuries some Franks raided Roman territory while other Franks joined the Roman troops in Gaul. Only the Salian Franks formed a... - Khadir al-Mihrani: Baybars' soothsayer. In the book, he is former member of the Hashshashin Order of the AssassinsHashshashinThe Assassins were an order of Nizari Ismailis, particularly those of Persia that existed from around 1092 to 1265...
; in actuality, he was an IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
i sheikhSheikhNot to be confused with sikhSheikh — also spelled Sheik or Shaikh, or transliterated as Shaykh — is an honorific in the Arabic language that literally means "elder" and carries the meaning "leader and/or governor"...
who fled to avoid being punished for sleeping with a nobleman's daughter. - KutuzQutuzSaif ad-Din Qutuz, also spelled Kutuz, was the third of the Mamluk Sultans of Egypt in the Turkic line from 1259 until his death in 1260. It was under his leadership that the Mamluks achieved success against the Mongols in the key Battle of Ain Jalut...
: Sultan of Egypt from 1259 CE to 1260 CE. - Louis IX of FranceLouis IX of FranceLouis IX , commonly Saint Louis, was King of France from 1226 until his death. He was also styled Louis II, Count of Artois from 1226 to 1237. Born at Poissy, near Paris, he was an eighth-generation descendant of Hugh Capet, and thus a member of the House of Capet, and the son of Louis VIII and...
: King of France from 1226 CE to 1270 CE.
Reception
The book received a mixed reception from reviewers. In a positive review, Publishers WeeklyPublishers Weekly
Publishers Weekly, aka PW, is an American weekly trade news magazine targeted at publishers, librarians, booksellers and literary agents...
opined that the novel combines "rich historical detail, clever plotting and engaging characters" to "craft a historical thriller that will have readers turning pages and envisioning the sequel.". John Washburn, of on-line review site My Shelf praised Young's "steely depictions" of the action in the novel; her "silky style"; and her "engaging story filled with mystery, romance, courage, abandonment and deception.". Marie D. Jones, in a review for Curled Up commented that "you would think Young lived during the times she seems to grasp so well" and found the novel "an exciting read". Stephen Hubbard, writing for Book Reporter, praised Young's "perfectly crafted" characters, the "the strength of her narrative" in a mainly positive review, stating "The majesty, brutality and romanticism of that time are so beautifully painted on the page that it is often difficult to separate the fact from the fiction, and we as readers are dropped into the very center of history to experience the events from within.". Hubbard did, however, comment that he felt the novel sometimes supplied an "overload of information", though "these moments are extremely few and easily can be forgiven considering the strength of the remainder of the work.".
Eleanor Bukowsky of on-line reviewers Mostly Fiction, offered a more critical opinion of the novel. She states that "although she has the history part down pat, Young is less skilled in creating three-dimensional and believable characters. Her villains are dastardly and her young heroes are callow and long-suffering." and felt that "the book meanders a bit and the finale takes a long time to play out.". The novel was negatively reviewed by Boomtron, with the reviewer stating that the characters "sound awfully modern" and are "too aware of their history and that of other nations", given that "studying such matters was a luxury few could afford". In addition, the reviewer also criticised the novels levels of historical detail, stating that they found the "history lessons superfluous, out of character and quite annoying interruptions in the story.". The review did end on a more positive note, however, with the reviewer saying that "Young has written an engaging story at one level or I wouldn’t have suffered through 600 pages of it" and praising Larry Rostant's cover art.