Official Review: Beasts of the Seventh Crusade

[literaturelover]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Beasts of the Seventh Crusade" by Mark Butler.]

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2 out of 4 stars

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The Seventh Crusade ( The Crusades Book #4) by Mark Butler

The Seventh Crusade, follows the Coquet Family in Medieval France during the reign of King Louis IX. The book centers around Francois, the youngest son of Raul Coquet and his older brother Artois. It is compromised of 2 parts and 31 chapters, although the chapters are fairly short so don't be intimidated. The family lives in the french countryside and make a living as bounty hunters using dogs to track down fugitives. The book opens as the men are tracking a wanted fugitive with their dogs. The author is very good at describing scenery and I felt like I was actually watching these men track down a fugitive as I read along. After catching the fugitive, the men return him to the village jail and are awaiting payment when news arrives of the King's Call to Arms and his announcement to the peasantry that another Crusade has begun.

The Coquet's aren't sure where their loyalties lie and in an effort to find out more information, Raul makes the decision to seek out his estranged brother Toulouse. This is where the book becomes a little unclear. On their way to Toulouse they stumble upon a strange village and are quickly tasked with hunting a dragon. This seems to come out of nowhere because prior to this there isn't any talk of supernatural/fantasy/or magic. For all intents and purposes the book is a medieval historical fiction piece; then wham! A dragon quest is thrown in. I'm still intrigued by the men's journey as they deal with their task and go about their merry way. Once they do what needs to be done in the strange village they move on to Raul's home in search of answers. The dragon isn't mentioned again and the book carries on as another regular historical piece.

After spending a month in Toulouse, the men ultimately decide as a family, to join the King's Crusade and Part II of the story begins. The men seem to acclimate quickly to military life and are all excelling at their assignments. Francoise has become a medic, Artois is honored as part of the King's personal guard, and Raul and his brother have become sergeants in the infantry. The Author is very good at describing the ins and outs of military life and what it would be like to travel on a ship during the 13th century (not something I'm keen to sign up for anytime soon). This part of the book focuses on the siege of the coastal city of Damietta and the after effects of Louis IX's ill fated campaign. The story ends rather abruptly but with all storylines tied up satisfactorily.

I would give this book 2 out of 4 stars. I gave this rating simply because the book had a few minor issues. The characters dialogue seemed to slip back and forth from period speak to more modern terms (ie the brothers referred to Raul as "Dad" not sure that was widely used in 13th century France), and the female characters were very casual when it came to intimacy (again not sure if this was widely practiced in medieval France) with men.

I enjoy historical fiction and the premise of this book was off to a great start, I just feel that it needs a bit of polishing. The story is a bit hard to follow because there is so much jumping around between character story lines. I also feel that there should be a bit more background information written on the characters to make them more likable and well rounded.

All in all I feel this book would be a good fit for people who like reading about the Crusades or Medieval Times. The author does know his medieval history and has a firm grasp on the facts of the time period.

I enjoyed the Historical Notes at the end of the book very much!

Thanks for the opportunity to review this book
Congrats to the Author for all the hard work put into it!

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Beasts of the Seventh Crusade
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Like literaturelover's review? Post a comment saying so!

[gali]

Nice first review! I hope you will enjoy your next book more.

[literaturelover]

Thank you. I'm looking forward to it

[CzechTigg]

Hi, for me a historical novel can sometimes not be marred by more modern dialogue. The same way I don't mind American accents for a foreign group of people in a show.

Nice review. Keep them coming.

[CCtheBrave]

Nice review, I appreciate that you gave such an honest opinion. Whenever I'm reading historical fiction, I pay a lot of attention to period details like speech patterns and location names, etc.

[Heidi M Simone]

Nice review! Sorry this wasn't your cup of tea. Hope you enjoy the next one you do!

[literaturelover]

Thanks for the feedback! You guys are wonderful!

[anonanemone]

This is a really great first review! I would expect language during that time period to be a bit more formal too (e.g. use of 'father' 1instead of 'dad'). Otherwise, it sounds like a lot of good research and details went into this book.