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Saladin #3
Holy War
In HOLY WAR, the final book of the Saladin Trilogy, telling the story of the legendary war leader who united Arabia, Saladin recaptures Jerusalem from the Crusaders, and prepares for his ultimate battle against Richard the Lionheart. A full-blooded historical adventure novel for all fans of Conn Iggulden, Bernard Cornwell, Anthony Riches, Ben Kane, Robyn Young and Simon Scarrow.
While Saladin ruthlessly sets about uniting the whole of Arabia under his rule, the Kingdom of Jerusalem is torn apart by treachery and intrigue, and when the murderous knight Reynald of Chatillon raids a caravan heading from Damascus to Mecca and rapes Saladin's sister, the scene is set for war.
In June 1187, Saladin marches into the Kingdom with an army of over 24,000 and imposes a crushing defeat on the Crusader forces at the Horns of Hattin. It is only a matter of time before he marches on a panicked and demoralized Jerusalem.
But what about Saladin's longtime ally, the Saxon knight John of Tatewic? In the face of annihilation, is he friend or foe? It will take all John's knowledge of the man he calls his brother to negotiate a peaceful fate for Jerusalem - but this is not the end of the story. For in England the soon-to-be crowned King Richard has pledged revenge and a new Crusade . . .
While Saladin ruthlessly sets about uniting the whole of Arabia under his rule, the Kingdom of Jerusalem is torn apart by treachery and intrigue, and when the murderous knight Reynald of Chatillon raids a caravan heading from Damascus to Mecca and rapes Saladin's sister, the scene is set for war.
In June 1187, Saladin marches into the Kingdom with an army of over 24,000 and imposes a crushing defeat on the Crusader forces at the Horns of Hattin. It is only a matter of time before he marches on a panicked and demoralized Jerusalem.
But what about Saladin's longtime ally, the Saxon knight John of Tatewic? In the face of annihilation, is he friend or foe? It will take all John's knowledge of the man he calls his brother to negotiate a peaceful fate for Jerusalem - but this is not the end of the story. For in England the soon-to-be crowned King Richard has pledged revenge and a new Crusade . . .
388 pages, Hardcover
First published May 23, 2013
6 people are currently reading
221 people want to read
About the author
Jack Hight
13 books49 followersJack is a trained historian with a PhD from the University of Chicago. His first novel, SIEGE, explored the intrigues, romances, and epic battles behind the fall of Constantinople to the Turks in 1453. He is currently working on a trilogy about the Crusades.
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
November 14, 2021
Read this book in 2013, and its the 3rd and final volume of the wonderful "Saladin" trilogy.
This book starts in the year AD 1187, with Saladin and his forces marching into the Kingdom, and imposing a crushing defeat to the Christians at the Battle of Hattin.
His next traget will be Jerusalem, and its only a matter of time before he sets out to take it by force.
On the other side there's John with the Christians defending Jerusalem, and is John still a friend or now a foe to Saladin, a situation they will both find out at the negotiations for peace for Jerusalem.
What is to follow is a marvellous historical adventure, in which the achievements of Saladin are wonderfully pictured from start to finish, from boy to the undisputed leader of the Muslims, and where John of Taterwic is pictured as an inventive and courageous Christian human being, and all this in a Holy War that is filled with great battles, and that all in the name of Religion.
Highly recommended, for this is a terrific final volume of this amazing trilogy, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Magnificent Saladin Conclusion"!
This book starts in the year AD 1187, with Saladin and his forces marching into the Kingdom, and imposing a crushing defeat to the Christians at the Battle of Hattin.
His next traget will be Jerusalem, and its only a matter of time before he sets out to take it by force.
On the other side there's John with the Christians defending Jerusalem, and is John still a friend or now a foe to Saladin, a situation they will both find out at the negotiations for peace for Jerusalem.
What is to follow is a marvellous historical adventure, in which the achievements of Saladin are wonderfully pictured from start to finish, from boy to the undisputed leader of the Muslims, and where John of Taterwic is pictured as an inventive and courageous Christian human being, and all this in a Holy War that is filled with great battles, and that all in the name of Religion.
Highly recommended, for this is a terrific final volume of this amazing trilogy, and that's why I like to call this episode: "A Magnificent Saladin Conclusion"!
June 30, 2013
Holy War is the third and final book in the excellent Saladin Trilogy from historian Jack Hight—a relatively new author in the historical fiction genre. This book doesn’t disappoint and and continues where the second book in the trilogy, Kingdom left off, with Saladin’s humiliating defeat at Montgisard.
Peace returns to the Holy Land, yet all is not what it seems in the Kingdom of Jerusalem—the leper King Baldwin is dying. Would be successors to the throne are squabbling and bickering amongst themselves as to who should succeed him. They only succeed in splitting the Kingdom apart into rival factions in their grab for ultimate power. The Kingdom is divided.
In the meantime Saladin is busy unifying his people into one nation, with one avowed aim—to retake Jerusalem. To do so he amasses the largest army the Holy Land has ever seen and marches on the Kingdom of Jerusalem at the head of 24,000 men.
Saladin’s massive army meets and annihilates the combined Christian forces at the Horns of Hattin executing all of the surviving Templar and Hospitaller Knights. Even as Saladin’s army continues on to the virtually undefended City of Jerusalem, a new threat is emerging across the sea...
The soon-to-be crowned King, Richard, Coeur de Lion—the Lionheart, the greatest and most feared warrior of his generation has taken up the cross. An enemy the like of which Saladin has never faced before, the Lionheart is coming...
Hight really brings this fascinating period of history to life. Told for the most part through the eyes of Saxon John of Tatewic, an intricately drawn fictional character that binds not only the three books in the series together but also the two opposing factions—the Christian court of Baldwin and the world of Saladin and his family. Hight cleverly has this character frequently switching sides throughout the conflict so the reader gets a good feel for the cultures and customs of the Arabs and Christians at the same time.
What really fascinated me about the whole series is the way Hight paints the two opposing cultures and conclusions you draw from this are quite surprising and very much oppose popular belief. The Christians being shown as quite uncouth and uneducated to the sophistication and learning of the Arabs. Saladin being a portrayed as a highly moral, well educated family man who cares deeply about family values, religion and the welfare of his people. Despite having to take and enforce some regrettable decisions and sacrifices. The Christians and King Richard particularly being portrayed as warmongering power squabbling barbarians only interested in drink, plunder, rape, gold and land.
This series certainly put a new spin on the Crusades for me.
It’s very well written for the most part, there are a few niggles here and there which stretch believability but Hight keeps the story moving along at a terrific pace and you just want to keep turning pages to find out what happens next.
Very enjoyable read and highly recommended to anyone interested in fast paced historical fiction.
Peace returns to the Holy Land, yet all is not what it seems in the Kingdom of Jerusalem—the leper King Baldwin is dying. Would be successors to the throne are squabbling and bickering amongst themselves as to who should succeed him. They only succeed in splitting the Kingdom apart into rival factions in their grab for ultimate power. The Kingdom is divided.
In the meantime Saladin is busy unifying his people into one nation, with one avowed aim—to retake Jerusalem. To do so he amasses the largest army the Holy Land has ever seen and marches on the Kingdom of Jerusalem at the head of 24,000 men.
Saladin’s massive army meets and annihilates the combined Christian forces at the Horns of Hattin executing all of the surviving Templar and Hospitaller Knights. Even as Saladin’s army continues on to the virtually undefended City of Jerusalem, a new threat is emerging across the sea...
The soon-to-be crowned King, Richard, Coeur de Lion—the Lionheart, the greatest and most feared warrior of his generation has taken up the cross. An enemy the like of which Saladin has never faced before, the Lionheart is coming...
Hight really brings this fascinating period of history to life. Told for the most part through the eyes of Saxon John of Tatewic, an intricately drawn fictional character that binds not only the three books in the series together but also the two opposing factions—the Christian court of Baldwin and the world of Saladin and his family. Hight cleverly has this character frequently switching sides throughout the conflict so the reader gets a good feel for the cultures and customs of the Arabs and Christians at the same time.
What really fascinated me about the whole series is the way Hight paints the two opposing cultures and conclusions you draw from this are quite surprising and very much oppose popular belief. The Christians being shown as quite uncouth and uneducated to the sophistication and learning of the Arabs. Saladin being a portrayed as a highly moral, well educated family man who cares deeply about family values, religion and the welfare of his people. Despite having to take and enforce some regrettable decisions and sacrifices. The Christians and King Richard particularly being portrayed as warmongering power squabbling barbarians only interested in drink, plunder, rape, gold and land.
This series certainly put a new spin on the Crusades for me.
It’s very well written for the most part, there are a few niggles here and there which stretch believability but Hight keeps the story moving along at a terrific pace and you just want to keep turning pages to find out what happens next.
Very enjoyable read and highly recommended to anyone interested in fast paced historical fiction.
January 26, 2014
A fairly average conclusion to a trilogy, in that it is a palatable easily digested round up of the storyline, if one that doesn't actually make you stand up and go WOW!
If you're reading this review without having read the previous two books, stop reading now and go pick up the previous two books as I really don't see the need to explain the nuances and assets of Hight as a writer three books into a series.
Still here?
Good.
Hight deserves credit for being the first writer with Richard I in it who doesn't go down the same route of romanticising the man as this great partially flawed majestic King Arthur kind of character, and actually shows him as he probably was more like in real life. By that I mean the Lionheart in this book is more of a petulant bastard who redeems himself by having a magnetic charisma over his men and a notable reputation as a warrior.
The familiar simile of "Who were the real savages?", the Saracens were the real civilised people and the Europeans the savages' tack gets a little worn in places but for the most part it's enjoyable to read a book, and series, largely written from the point of view of the invaded rather than the invaders.
As far as Crusades themed books go, I would place this around the level of Angus Donald's couple of books set around the Third Crusade, but with a little less of the humanity in Donald's novels.
Rather than an explosive ending, this is more of a putting the lid on the coffin style of trilogy conclusion.
On a minor note, there's a sprinkling of typos and unnecessary coarseness at times - this from someone who can casually swear like a docker - where a more slick description would have sufficed. Add in to that the fact that a number of the significant events the author couldn't reasonably squeeze into the story were told through the medium of hazy recollection rather than descriptive flashback which was slightly irritating.
Also, forgive me if I'm wrong, but since when was the premise of these books that they were the chronicles of John of Tatewic? That itself seems like a cheap lazy last minute idea selotaped onto the story at the last minute. At least with the aforementioned Donald's approach, you knew from the start that his characters were being viewed from the point-of-view of one of the protagonists' chronicles, rather than it being almost an afterthought.
So, after that slightly twisting and turning review, I guess I'm saying that this book was okay really. Not a great advert for the authors talent and ability to completely immerse you into the subject matter as his other (only non Saladin) book Siege does so fantastically, almost effortlessly.
If you're reading this review without having read the previous two books, stop reading now and go pick up the previous two books as I really don't see the need to explain the nuances and assets of Hight as a writer three books into a series.
Still here?
Good.
Hight deserves credit for being the first writer with Richard I in it who doesn't go down the same route of romanticising the man as this great partially flawed majestic King Arthur kind of character, and actually shows him as he probably was more like in real life. By that I mean the Lionheart in this book is more of a petulant bastard who redeems himself by having a magnetic charisma over his men and a notable reputation as a warrior.
The familiar simile of "Who were the real savages?", the Saracens were the real civilised people and the Europeans the savages' tack gets a little worn in places but for the most part it's enjoyable to read a book, and series, largely written from the point of view of the invaded rather than the invaders.
As far as Crusades themed books go, I would place this around the level of Angus Donald's couple of books set around the Third Crusade, but with a little less of the humanity in Donald's novels.
Rather than an explosive ending, this is more of a putting the lid on the coffin style of trilogy conclusion.
On a minor note, there's a sprinkling of typos and unnecessary coarseness at times - this from someone who can casually swear like a docker - where a more slick description would have sufficed. Add in to that the fact that a number of the significant events the author couldn't reasonably squeeze into the story were told through the medium of hazy recollection rather than descriptive flashback which was slightly irritating.
Also, forgive me if I'm wrong, but since when was the premise of these books that they were the chronicles of John of Tatewic? That itself seems like a cheap lazy last minute idea selotaped onto the story at the last minute. At least with the aforementioned Donald's approach, you knew from the start that his characters were being viewed from the point-of-view of one of the protagonists' chronicles, rather than it being almost an afterthought.
So, after that slightly twisting and turning review, I guess I'm saying that this book was okay really. Not a great advert for the authors talent and ability to completely immerse you into the subject matter as his other (only non Saladin) book Siege does so fantastically, almost effortlessly.
January 23, 2018
It’s so hard to believe it’s over.
We followed two truly exceptional men through their lifetime; one who was actually real, and the other whom we could only wish he had been real. We saw the two sides in an unbiased way, each having their positive and negative features.
John was a man of honor even if he realized that in the end it meant nothing. His life fell apart in front of his eyes and only a life-long friend remained whom he could turn to.
And Saladin was a man, nothing more, nothing less. He was great in many ways, mostly in his ability to acknowledge whenever he had been wrong and tried to correct his mistakes. He was ready for peace, because he actually cared about his people. However, he was a man, and there is no man without mistakes. His emotions sometimes got the better of him, and he acted without thinking it through properly.
That is what war is like. I only wish we could have had some more glimpses about the life of the ordinary. Whenever an army was about to burn the crops or poison a well I couldn’t help but think about its long-term effect.
All in all, Saladin was a man with an extraordinary life, and it is well worth writing about, even – and especially – today. The question of Jerusalem is still unsolved after a thousand years since Saladin’s rule and injustice prevails.
We followed two truly exceptional men through their lifetime; one who was actually real, and the other whom we could only wish he had been real. We saw the two sides in an unbiased way, each having their positive and negative features.
John was a man of honor even if he realized that in the end it meant nothing. His life fell apart in front of his eyes and only a life-long friend remained whom he could turn to.
And Saladin was a man, nothing more, nothing less. He was great in many ways, mostly in his ability to acknowledge whenever he had been wrong and tried to correct his mistakes. He was ready for peace, because he actually cared about his people. However, he was a man, and there is no man without mistakes. His emotions sometimes got the better of him, and he acted without thinking it through properly.
That is what war is like. I only wish we could have had some more glimpses about the life of the ordinary. Whenever an army was about to burn the crops or poison a well I couldn’t help but think about its long-term effect.
All in all, Saladin was a man with an extraordinary life, and it is well worth writing about, even – and especially – today. The question of Jerusalem is still unsolved after a thousand years since Saladin’s rule and injustice prevails.
October 3, 2025
This is a solid trilogy based on the life of the Great Saladin, one of the central figures of Crusades.
Hight is a doctorate in history. He probably struggled a bit to write a completely fictional account of Saladin's undocumented early life in the first book. Due to that the first book is often rough around the edges, filled with far too many close combat sequences.
The author is in his elements in second & third books where he is able to draw on actual history. The best thing about these books is characterization of John & Saladin. Hight does a truly brilliant job in capturing their all too human doubts, flaws & internal conflicts. The character development is gradual & completely natural. The handling of historical figures like Saladin & Richard the Lionheart is reasonably balanced & there isn't a whole lot of hero worship.
My biggest qualm about this series is it's length. Given how eventful Saladin's life was, it should have been a 5 part series. So the fictional bits in first book are sometimes long drawn while some of the actual history in the later books are covered too briefly.
Hight is a doctorate in history. He probably struggled a bit to write a completely fictional account of Saladin's undocumented early life in the first book. Due to that the first book is often rough around the edges, filled with far too many close combat sequences.
The author is in his elements in second & third books where he is able to draw on actual history. The best thing about these books is characterization of John & Saladin. Hight does a truly brilliant job in capturing their all too human doubts, flaws & internal conflicts. The character development is gradual & completely natural. The handling of historical figures like Saladin & Richard the Lionheart is reasonably balanced & there isn't a whole lot of hero worship.
My biggest qualm about this series is it's length. Given how eventful Saladin's life was, it should have been a 5 part series. So the fictional bits in first book are sometimes long drawn while some of the actual history in the later books are covered too briefly.
June 15, 2020
First I really enjoyed the first 2 books of the Trilogy, great story telling grounded in history and the author is transparent about where creative liberties were taken. Truly amazing trilogy for anyone who likes history, especially of the region and period
That said, this final book was a bit of a letdown. The characters and the plot seemed somewhat unidimensional, e.g.
Saladin - tired King haunted by his past misdeeds
Richard the Lionheart - crazy tyrant that we need to hate
John - there to tell Saladin and Richard that they need to stop acting crazy and make peace
Others - very cursory roles just aimed at propping up the above tropes. This contrasts greatly with the previous novels where although there are obvious core characters, several others add a lot of richness to the storylines
These characters are fine themselves except the way they are communicated to the reader I feel are too blatant and repetitive.
That said overall I still enjoyed the Trilogy as a whole and still read it to the end as there's enough twists and an interesting setting to keep you interested.
That said, this final book was a bit of a letdown. The characters and the plot seemed somewhat unidimensional, e.g.
Saladin - tired King haunted by his past misdeeds
Richard the Lionheart - crazy tyrant that we need to hate
John - there to tell Saladin and Richard that they need to stop acting crazy and make peace
Others - very cursory roles just aimed at propping up the above tropes. This contrasts greatly with the previous novels where although there are obvious core characters, several others add a lot of richness to the storylines
These characters are fine themselves except the way they are communicated to the reader I feel are too blatant and repetitive.
That said overall I still enjoyed the Trilogy as a whole and still read it to the end as there's enough twists and an interesting setting to keep you interested.
May 21, 2019
Appropriately titled, this third book in the trilogy seems to be nothing but battle after battle after battle. I really enjoyed the first two books in this trilogy but the third one felt like an effort and consequently took me twice as long to read as all I had to look forward to was yet another battle.
Overall I would still recommended this trilogy It’s a good read. A simple overview of Saladin’s life and adventures
Overall I would still recommended this trilogy It’s a good read. A simple overview of Saladin’s life and adventures
July 21, 2023
Jack Hight makes the characters jump off the page first class writing
September 1, 2025
The best of all three parts.
May 23, 2023
First book was very good, second was good, third one is not as good as the first two. If viewed as a whole, the trilogy is very interesting, exciting and good written. Beautiful story of friendship, love and honour. Great read for history lovers!
February 27, 2014
So finally the trilogy ends. In book one I met a young boy with courage honour and kindness. In book two a man who's honour had left him. Thankfully in book three Salahuddin remembers what honour is. These books really got me thinking on how choices we make and situations we find ourselves make us into the people we are. How even the best of intentions can lead to the wrong decisions.
Was Salahuddin the man he wanted to be? Was it his fault he changed so much or were his reasons justified?
When I originally bought this set of books I expected to learn about the real Salahuddin, his life and his exploits. However these books are fiction so how could that really be possible. Yes parts of the books are based on fact but what really did I gain from these books?
A message. A warning. A wake up call.
For me to realise that no matter how good our original intentions. Or how we may mistakenly believe we are doing something for the greater good. If we make the wrong choices by not sticking to our morals then the only person we can blame is ourselves.
That it is never too late to change but to live without integrity is a life that can never truly be content.
Was Salahuddin the man he wanted to be? Was it his fault he changed so much or were his reasons justified?
When I originally bought this set of books I expected to learn about the real Salahuddin, his life and his exploits. However these books are fiction so how could that really be possible. Yes parts of the books are based on fact but what really did I gain from these books?
A message. A warning. A wake up call.
For me to realise that no matter how good our original intentions. Or how we may mistakenly believe we are doing something for the greater good. If we make the wrong choices by not sticking to our morals then the only person we can blame is ourselves.
That it is never too late to change but to live without integrity is a life that can never truly be content.
February 11, 2016
Historical novels are a small part of my reading habits. And so far I feel that lots of them fall into the same trap. Because they want to cover a to broad spectrum, or want to advance to the really interesting stuff to quickly, historical novels sometimes read like an accounting of historical events without the build up or story structure to support it. Basically, some parts of it reads like, and this and then this, and then this, etc...
This book is also a victim of that in some places. Also some of the characters don't have enough depth. But the redeeming quality of this book is that it has a very interesting setting (the second crusade) and has very nice descriptions of battles.
If you read and enjoyed the first two books in this series, there is nothing that should stop you to read this one. And this one has Richard Lionheart as well as Saladin :-)
This book is also a victim of that in some places. Also some of the characters don't have enough depth. But the redeeming quality of this book is that it has a very interesting setting (the second crusade) and has very nice descriptions of battles.
If you read and enjoyed the first two books in this series, there is nothing that should stop you to read this one. And this one has Richard Lionheart as well as Saladin :-)
July 28, 2014
And lo, the Saladin trilogy ends. Fairly decently written, even if Saladin's peace achieved at the end seems more of a by-product of not being able to win the war rather than a genuine desire for peace. Which kind of takes away the impact. The author does seem stuck on what he wants to portray about Saladin
August 16, 2016
Excellent storytelling
A brilliant story, well researched and written. An excellent conclusion to this trilogy, all three were a pleasure to read. The historical characters were brought to life as were the countries and the cities of that time.
A brilliant story, well researched and written. An excellent conclusion to this trilogy, all three were a pleasure to read. The historical characters were brought to life as were the countries and the cities of that time.
December 11, 2015
Good, but not as much thrilling as the previous ones
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews