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Brethren Trilogy #1-3
The Brethren Trilogy: Brethren, Crusade, Requiem
From the burning plains of Syria to the filthy backstreets of Paris and London, the Brethren trilogy is the story of Will Campbell, coming of age in a time of conspiracy, passion, politics and war.
Will has been brought up from boyhood in the ways of the all-powerful Order of the Knights Templar. With a tragedy in his past that looms over his future, he faces a long, hard apprenticeship to the foul-tempered scholar Everard, before he can have any chance of becoming a Knight. As he struggles to survive in the harsh discipline of the Temple, Will must try to make sense of many things: his own past, the dangerous mystery that surrounds Everard, and his confused feelings for Elwen, the strong-willed young woman whose path seems always to cross his own.
Meanwhile, a new star is rising in the East. A ruthless fighter and brilliant tactician, the former slave Baybars has become one of the greatest generals and rulers of his time. Haunted by his early life, he is driven by an unquenchable desire to free his people from the European invaders of his homeland.
With page-turning suspense and thrilling action, the Brethren trilogy brilliantly evokes that extraordinary clash of civilizations known in the West as the Crusades. Robyn Young portrays a rich cast of characters, reflecting on each side greed, ambition and religious fanaticism, as well as courage, love and faith.
Will has been brought up from boyhood in the ways of the all-powerful Order of the Knights Templar. With a tragedy in his past that looms over his future, he faces a long, hard apprenticeship to the foul-tempered scholar Everard, before he can have any chance of becoming a Knight. As he struggles to survive in the harsh discipline of the Temple, Will must try to make sense of many things: his own past, the dangerous mystery that surrounds Everard, and his confused feelings for Elwen, the strong-willed young woman whose path seems always to cross his own.
Meanwhile, a new star is rising in the East. A ruthless fighter and brilliant tactician, the former slave Baybars has become one of the greatest generals and rulers of his time. Haunted by his early life, he is driven by an unquenchable desire to free his people from the European invaders of his homeland.
With page-turning suspense and thrilling action, the Brethren trilogy brilliantly evokes that extraordinary clash of civilizations known in the West as the Crusades. Robyn Young portrays a rich cast of characters, reflecting on each side greed, ambition and religious fanaticism, as well as courage, love and faith.
676 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 24, 2013
About the author
Robyn Young
38 books490 followersRobyn Young is the Sunday Times bestselling author of the BRETHREN and INSURRECTION trilogies and the NEW WORLD RISING series. She also writes crime thrillers as Erin Young.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 11, 2019
The Crusades come back in the 21st century with this trilogy. We relive the times long forgotten about an Order that set out to fight the Holy War against the Muslims. William Campbell, a young servant has the wish to become a Templars Knight, after his father. In his quest to become a bearer of the white cloak he makes and loses friends, loses his girlfriend, takes lives and discovers a secret Order within the Order. A small group of men, fighting the war in the middle east, secretly trying to make peace between the camps, are hindered by rage and greediness originating from different sources. A book written by one of this secret Order's members is stolen and the truth is threatened to be unveiled. The kind of England gets involved, the book is burned, but it seems that the King's ideas are quite different from the Templar's Order.
In Crusade, the story continues about Will and his work for the secret Order, the Anima Templi. The English King uses monies to fund attacks on surrounding countries to create a bigger empire. Sultan Baybars dies, and his throne is taken by one of his advisers, the new Mamluk leader Kalawun. The Muslim relic, the Black Stone, is almost stolen and peace hangs in the balance. As Will keeps his duties and missions a secret for his girlfriend and later wife, she grows frustrated and cheats with Garin, a former friend of Will's, who sees it as his task to destroy the Templar Knight's life. Garin and Elwen's daughter Rose is born and raised by Will, unknowing that she is not his. The treaty and peace Kalawun and Will have been after for years is threatened when Kalawun dies after years on the throne and his place is taken by his son. An attack is ordered on Acre, the last stronghold of the Templars in the Middle-East. After months the city falls. The Templars have lost their last city. During the siege Garin forces Rose and Elwen into a room and sets it on fire. He then saves Rose, but Elwen is lost to the flames. Will is forced to flee back to Europe to continue his duty for the Anima Templi, after finding out that all Garin's actions were forced upon him by the English King. Garin does not make it to the ships, as he is killed in a last fight with Will.
The Middle-East has fallen and Europe is in chaos when King Edward decides to forge a bond with the Templars to attack Will's homeland. Will decides to desert the Order and travel to Scotland to save his family. Will is captured by a group of rebels opposing the English king and Will joins there forces. After his escape, Will moves back to France where he joins the French king. There, he finds his daughter who seems to be caught up in a love affair with the king. Pregnant and left alone, she is forced to flee, together with twenty Templars, accused of heresy, taking the Order's wealth with them to a place unknown to be hidden from the French King's greediness. A year of torture follows when Will is interrogated into the case of heresy. Hundreds of knights do not survive the torture. Even though the Order is never convicted of the heresy, its reputation is damaged to such an extent that the Pope decides to disband the most powerful and wealthy organization in Christendom. Will moves in with his family, catches up with Rose and watches his grandson become a boy.
It has been a while since a book sucked me into the story as this one did. Characters are well described. Love, hatred, pain, and rage are common but well told. With the storyline being unfolded from the different camps over a time frame of about 60 years, not only allows the reader to learn about events, fights and meetings but also sees the characters change, die, grow older, wiser and more experienced in the game of life. The Brethren Trilogy is based on facts and true characters. Brethren was Young's debut over ten years in the making. The result is a very well written, thrilling story about popes, knights and kings all fighting their own wars. If this an authors' debut, better works must follow, which is why I will read all Robyn Youngs' other books.
In Crusade, the story continues about Will and his work for the secret Order, the Anima Templi. The English King uses monies to fund attacks on surrounding countries to create a bigger empire. Sultan Baybars dies, and his throne is taken by one of his advisers, the new Mamluk leader Kalawun. The Muslim relic, the Black Stone, is almost stolen and peace hangs in the balance. As Will keeps his duties and missions a secret for his girlfriend and later wife, she grows frustrated and cheats with Garin, a former friend of Will's, who sees it as his task to destroy the Templar Knight's life. Garin and Elwen's daughter Rose is born and raised by Will, unknowing that she is not his. The treaty and peace Kalawun and Will have been after for years is threatened when Kalawun dies after years on the throne and his place is taken by his son. An attack is ordered on Acre, the last stronghold of the Templars in the Middle-East. After months the city falls. The Templars have lost their last city. During the siege Garin forces Rose and Elwen into a room and sets it on fire. He then saves Rose, but Elwen is lost to the flames. Will is forced to flee back to Europe to continue his duty for the Anima Templi, after finding out that all Garin's actions were forced upon him by the English King. Garin does not make it to the ships, as he is killed in a last fight with Will.
The Middle-East has fallen and Europe is in chaos when King Edward decides to forge a bond with the Templars to attack Will's homeland. Will decides to desert the Order and travel to Scotland to save his family. Will is captured by a group of rebels opposing the English king and Will joins there forces. After his escape, Will moves back to France where he joins the French king. There, he finds his daughter who seems to be caught up in a love affair with the king. Pregnant and left alone, she is forced to flee, together with twenty Templars, accused of heresy, taking the Order's wealth with them to a place unknown to be hidden from the French King's greediness. A year of torture follows when Will is interrogated into the case of heresy. Hundreds of knights do not survive the torture. Even though the Order is never convicted of the heresy, its reputation is damaged to such an extent that the Pope decides to disband the most powerful and wealthy organization in Christendom. Will moves in with his family, catches up with Rose and watches his grandson become a boy.
It has been a while since a book sucked me into the story as this one did. Characters are well described. Love, hatred, pain, and rage are common but well told. With the storyline being unfolded from the different camps over a time frame of about 60 years, not only allows the reader to learn about events, fights and meetings but also sees the characters change, die, grow older, wiser and more experienced in the game of life. The Brethren Trilogy is based on facts and true characters. Brethren was Young's debut over ten years in the making. The result is a very well written, thrilling story about popes, knights and kings all fighting their own wars. If this an authors' debut, better works must follow, which is why I will read all Robyn Youngs' other books.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 16, 2019
I really liked this book. Basically it is telling about a secret group within the Templars called the Anima Templi. The purpose of the Anima Templi is to create peace between the Jews, Muslims and Christians. Through the story you get tot know the Templars but also the live of the Muslims in the holy land, the live at the french court, and the war between Engeland and Scotland. There is love, faith, learning about what is really important for people, learning about having peace within yourself. Really great. I Will not tell what the book is about. But if you like an historical story this really is a good choice.
August 13, 2023
A hugely gripping book which brings the Crusades brutally to life. I found this book on a doorstep being offered for free and was curious - I only picked it up because it had a shield on the cover but I am so glad I did.
It brought this gory time in history vividly to life and I couldn’t put it down!
It brought this gory time in history vividly to life and I couldn’t put it down!
February 20, 2020
A great read. You'll need a bottomless cup of tea, sarnies and goodies at the ready as you sit back and get lost in the drama of the Crusades. Unputdownable.
February 23, 2025
A great Templar trilogy! I'm a Templar Knights aficionada and I must say that I really enjoyed this medieval history, following the path of William Campbell. I highly recommend this work by Robyn Young! It has a great plot and historically correct characters, events, and places!
Al
Al
May 7, 2016
I'm a big fan of Robyn Young, and not just because she said she liked my book. I'm a fan of her works, Brethren, Crusade, and Requiem because they are damn good books that bring together an interesting time period and a mythical back story. Add to this interesting characters and a good narrative and it is no wonder she's been so successful. The only negative thoughts I have about these books are that there is possibly a slight modern view of how some of these men may have thought. I would've liked there to be more barbaric intentions but apart from that each one of these books is a fun read with enjoyable characters, who you cared about and at the end of the day that's all that really matters in writing.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews