Perdition: The Crusaders' Last Stand

by James Jackson

Almost two hundred years have elapsed since the Crusader armies took Jerusalem. Now it is the turn of the Saracen to seek revenge and send an overwhelming force against the last Christian enclave in the Holy Land. In Acre, the defenders await their fate. Knight and bishop, mercenary and merchant, all will be tested and all may perish. For this is the endgame. No quarter will be given and no mercy shown.

William of Beaujeu, Grand Master of the Templars, will stop at little to secure the city and preserve his legendary military order. He knows that final judgement is approaching and that time is running out. But among the garrison are allies - the adventurer de Flor, Theobald, the young Hospitaller, the court dwarf Amethyst, the camel master Selim and the orphan boy and spy Benedict - who must stay alive in the chaos to be unleashed. In their midst prowl the feared Assassins and sinister enemies from among a rabble army of Italians. Deserted by the pope and the princes of Europe, it seems as if Acre faces annihilation - but perhaps something can still be salvaged from perdition . . .

Genres: Historical Fiction

369 pages, Paperback

First published January 5, 2012

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Previous books published under the name of James H. Jackson.

James Jackson has a postgraduate degree in Military Studies and is a consultant in military risk. He is the author of The Counter-Terrorist Handbook and lives in London.

Reviews

[Robin Carter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Have to say i didn't like it.
With so many very very good titles out there these days by authors who are natural Story Tellers, eg Christian Cameron, Ben Kane, Iggulden etc. I feel my reading requirements and standards to be higher.
The plot is there, its just slow, the characters are there but in 2D i don't care anything about them, they can all die of the plague and i would not mind, and the battles felt stilted and wooden.
In Summary the book is technically excellent, the research (for all i know) is spot on, but there is no style / substance and true real story telling.

Not one i would recommend, and I'm not sure i will buy another James Jackson again...

(Parm)

Product Description
Almost two hundred years have elapsed since the Crusader armies took Jerusalem. Now it is the turn of the Saracen to seek revenge and send an overwhelming force against the last Christian enclave in the Holy Land. In Acre, the defenders await their fate. Knight and bishop, mercenary and merchant, all will be tested and all may perish. For this is the endgame. No quarter will be given and no mercy shown.

William of Beaujeu, Grand Master of the Templars, will stop at little to secure the city and preserve his legendary military order. He knows that final judgement is approaching and that time is running out. But among the garrison are allies - the adventurer de Flor, Theobald, the young Hospitaller, the court dwarf Amethyst, the camel master Selim and the orphan boy and spy Benedict - who must stay alive in the chaos to be unleashed. In their midst prowl the feared Assassins and sinister enemies from among a rabble army of Italians. Deserted by the pope and the princes of Europe, it seems as if Acre faces annihilation - but perhaps something can still be salvaged from perdition . . .

[Ruth · Rating 1 out of 5]

2012: Grrr - guess who didn't read the synopsis properly. The rating reflects my dislike of the plot - not the quality of writing that was good - but not good enough to draw me in to liking the protagonists - especially when the outcome of this particular episode of history is so well known. I am getting very peeved at the number of books that I have read over the last 6 months that have a young person - and I'm talking about either pre-teens or early teens -as the protagonist. Its almost as if the various authors are finding it easier to tell the story from a young viewpoint so as to be able to tell/describe the background for the reader - very much like a young sidekick that provides the opportunity for the "elder" of the protagonists to explain some of the complicated plot details. It is an overused plot device and I am getting some what annoyed with this laziness. Rant over. At the end of the book, the author does explain his choice of protagonist ie "This book is essentially about Freddie any other youngsters caught up in war throughout the ages. They should be remembered." Sadly, the characters were exactly that and, for me, did not develop into people. Perhaps, despite the violence portrayed and hinted at, the book should have been classified as YA instead of His. " FWFTB: Crusader, Saracen, defenders, boy, annihilation. FCN: Benedict, Selim, Hazzim, Roger de Flor, Peter of Sevrey.

[Simon Gosden · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely stunning account of the fall of Acre in 1291. Acre was the Crusader's last major foothold in the middle east and the battle for Acre was a truly monumental struggle. James Jackson's book captures the atmosphere of the time superbly. It is brutal, bloody but a hell of a story.

[David Stubbings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyed it, hope Benedict survived for a sequel