The Jester - Softcover

Patterson & Andrew Gross, James; Gross, Andrew; Patterson, James

Softcover

ISBN 10: 075530019X ISBN 13: 9780755300198

Publisher: Headline, 2003

Synopsis

Freedom - in eleventh-century France, it is a luxury enjoyed by only the King and nobility. For the serf, it is surely worth fighting for. But is it worth dying for?

Arriving home disillusioned from the Crusades, Hugh DeLuc discovers that his village has been ransacked and his wife abducted. The dark riders came in the dead of night, like devils, wearing no colours but black crosses on their chests, leaving no clue as to who they are. Knights they may be, but honour and chivalry are not part of their code. They search for a relic, one worth more than any throne in Europe, and no man can stand in their way. Until Hugh, taking on the role of a jester, is able to infiltrate the enemy's castle where he believes his wife is being held captive. And when a man is fighting for freedom - for his wife, and for everything he holds dear - he will prove a formidable opponent.

With the unstoppable pace and plot of a page-turning thriller, THE JESTER is a breathtaking, pulse-pounding adventure - one that could only be conjured by the mind of James Patterson, writing with his co-author of 2ND CHANCE, Andrew Gross. No one who has ever hoped for good to defeat evil or for love to conquer all will be able to stop turning the pages of this masterful novel.

About this title

Review

In The Jester James Patterson and his occasional collaborator Andrew Cross step across genre boundaries and produce a hectic historical adventure of distinctly mixed merit. This is a revenge story, mystery and love story across insuperable class barriers--the mixture is rich and the ingredients sometimes ill-combined. Part of the trouble is that the book wears its research too lightly. The inn-keeper hero Hugh reads a little too like a modern Californian time shifted into the eleventh century while the book's inventive plotting plays fast and loose with historical fact to a worrying extent: Hugh's life disguised as a jester combines elements from about five different centuries.

The account of the First Crusade is convincing enough and there are moments--Hugh's first sight of Byzantium--that are genuinely moving. The plot depends a little on Hugh's being obtuse--he takes forever to work out why the relic-hunting, sinister Tafurs (Christian shock troops with a taste for atrocity) destroy everything he loves. At the same time, the plot is genuinely exciting as Hugh is driven to take revenge for specific crimes and the general offence that feudalism often was; there is a real sense here of what medieval warfare might have looked and felt like that often makes up for specific inaccuracies. --Roz Kaveney

Review

Anyone who reads one page will be hooked (Publisher's Weekly)

'A fantastic action-packed adventure with a generous measure of good-versus-evil and love conquering all. In a word: thrilling' Herald Sun, Australia 5/4/03 (Herald Sun, Australia)

'From start to finish, this is supersmart popular fiction, slick yet stirring, packed with colourful details of medieval life, bursting with unforgettable characters and clever tropes and themes. Patterson's fans will adore this one' Publisher's Weekly 3/2/03 (Publisher's Weekly)

'Anyone who reads one page will be hooked' Publisher's Weekly 3/2/03 (Publisher's Weekly)

'A fast-paced action-packed tale of an ordinary man taking a stand against zealots and tyrants' West Australian 5/4/03 (West Australian)

About this edition

• Publisher: Headline
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 075530019X
• ISBN 13: 9780755300198
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 448