The Last Crusaders: The Great Siege

The Last Crusaders #1

by William Napier

Previously published as CLASH OF EMPIRES: THE GREAT SIEGE.

1565: a small island in the middle of the Mediterranean stands gatekeeper between East and West. It is about to become the scene for one of the most powerful stories of bravery, battle and bloodlust: the siege of Malta.

Formed in the Holy Land in the 11th century, a small band of knights had long sought a home. Driven from their lands by Ottoman might, they came to rest in Malta from where they watched the Turks and corsairs raid the Spanish empire.

As word came from Constantinople that Malta was in the sights of the Ottoman Empire, all of Europe watched a force of over 30,000 men besieged the island - peopled by 500 knights and a few thousand local soldiers.

On that small rock an epic struggle will be played out - the story of individual men, warriors and slaves, but also the story of two worlds colliding.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, War, Historical

417 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 7, 2011

About the author

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

A pseudonym of Christopher Hart

Christopher Hart (born 1965) is an English novelist and journalist.

He was educated at Cheltenham College (expelled), Leicester University (dropped out), Oxford Polytechnic and Birkbeck College, London, where he completed a PhD on W.B.Yeats.

Under his original name he has written two contemporary novels, The Harvest and Rescue Me. Since 2001, he has written four historical novels under the pseudonym of William Napier, the last three a best-selling trilogy about Attila the Hun and the Fall of the Roman Empire.

As a journalist he has worked as Literary Editor of the Erotic Review (magazine folded) and Agony Aunt for Time Out (sacked.) He currently writes regularly for the Sunday Times, where he is lead theatre critic, and the Daily Mail.

Reviews

[Andy · Rating 3 out of 5]

A return to author William Napier who I started with an Attila the Hun series a whilst back although abandoned as the follow up book didn’t quite live upto the opener….. Ive heard so much about this siege but never read about it so here we are….. How did we do?

Our story opens up with a prologue which covers briefly the fall of Rhodes to the Ottomans in 1522 where the Hospitallers surrendered to save the lives of their people after Suleman had offered clemency, amongst this group are the young knights who we’ll be involved in the siege of Malta some 23 years later as the main players.

The story proper begins in Suleman’s court 1545 where the reader is brought upto speed with the history of the period along with Suleman’s dream of finally conquering the West as he enters his final decade, it was prophesised on his 70th birthday that he would live for another decade.

We then jump to the Christian side ending up in England following the lives of a family of persecuted Catholics who are visited upon by two knights! An event occurs, a death, a family torn asunder & the eldest son (Nicholas) of a once great knight becomes his father’s heir & it’s this side of the adventure that the reader follows for the first third of the book which includes an escape as fugitives from a protestant England who brand his family as traitors & disinherit him, along with a nautical skirmish which is full on & bloody with the nuances of the period fully endorsed in the storytelling, there’s no modern day vernaculars or sentimentalities in this read. I likes’ it!

All adventures of course lead to Malta & for the main part we follow the preparation & harsh realities of a siege & that of battle which is oft brutal in close quarters. No holding back in the retelling of this. The battles scenes are very good & take you into the heat of the action giving you an insight into warfare of this period with arquebus, cannon & sword. It becomes very brutal & desperate with the relentless assault, where heroes are born and die in the defence of their comrades & their faith. Stirring stuff indeed.

However, there were some downsides to the story, the main one being for me the characterisation of Mustafa Pasha, portrayed as some sort of evil pantomime villain from the start, the Turks also were not portrayed in an even light, it was very much a one sided clash told from the viewpoint of the defenders, very much a Christians are good, Muslims are evil vibe throughout. I would have liked to have read a little more from the Ottoman side to balance it out rather than a quick one liner or short paragraph telling us what was going on in response in the Ottoman camp.

I have to mention Nicholas too who is what you would perhaps call a “natural” taking to anything that comes at him (in only a matter of days) which may cause a few wry chuckles along the way I’m sure, but jus let it wash over you & enjoy the ride. I at least tried to for the most part but it did grate in places where his heroic deeds against fully grown trained warriors did became a little ridiculous at times….. for he is only a skinny yoof of 16 years.

I very much enjoyed reading about the history as it’s summit I’ve not covered before, the main characters are likeable for the most part. A decent yarn in the adventure mode with heroes aplenty & villains to boo hiss if that’s what you are after.

3.5 stars for me which could have been rounded either way ….. so a 3 in the end but it’s a decent 3. Not sure I’ll be continuing with the series as jus wanted to read about the siege of Malta plus I’m not sure I could take anymore of Nicholas’s heroic deeds, will bank this one here.

[Clemens Schoonderwoert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Read this book in 2011, and its the first of the 2 part "Clash of Empires" by the author, William Napier.

This tale is set in the years AD 1564-1565, before and during the Great Siege of Malta by the Ottoman Empire.

Residing on Malta are about 500 Knights, driven from the Holy Land by the Ottomans and seeking refuge here, accompanied with a few thousand local soldiers.

On its way to Malta is the Ottoman Empire with 30,000 men, to besiege the Island and annihilate the Crusaders, once and for all.

On this Island of rock an epic struggle will be played out between the defenders of Malta and Christianity against the Ottoman Empire, a massive and deadly struggle between men of various standings.

What is to follow is a massive Clash of Empires, where two worlds collide, and only one will survive and Christianity will remain what it was and what it remains to be, and for the other a huge defeat in their conquering the world and turn that world into a huge Muslim state.

Highly recommended, for this is a wonderful retelling of the Siege of Malta, and that's why I like to call this massive book: "A Brilliant Siege of Malta"!

[Olethros · Rating 3 out of 5]

-Cambiamos el protagonismo en los eventos para acercarlo al mercado, ¿no, William?.-

Género. Novela histórica.

Lo que nos cuenta. En el libro Choque de imperios (publicación origjnal: Clash of Empires. The Great Siege, 2011) y el día de Nochebuena de 1522, los caballeros de la Orden Hospitalaria de San Juan de Jerusalén y los habitantes de Rodas abandonan la isla tras rendirse a las tropas del Imperio Otomano, aunque alguno de los jóvenes caballeros espera tener la oportunidad de luchar de nuevo con los turcos. Tendrá la ocasión años después, porque los caballeros se desplazan a Malta y en 1565 Solimán el Magnífico mandará a sus soldados para conquistar la isla.

¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:

http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Whatever plot there is: pretty thin except the description of Malta and its people, the sieges of the fort of St. Elmo and of the city of Birgu. The first part of the story concerning an English teenaged lad, Nicholas--the son of a knight Hospitaller, his friend, Hodge, and two knights of that order, was pretty forgettable. It introduced them and got them to Malta. The novel improved as it went along. The two sieges were masterfully written. The author made out Nicholas as some kind of superhero; from knowing nothing about fighting in Part I, he became almost indestructible, learning four languages easily, and a terrible force to be reckoned with. I had never heard of the Grandmaster, Jean de la Valette, before. I suppose the non resolution of certain things paves the way for sequels. I liked the Epilog, explaining the further history of Muslim/Christian clashes of that period and la Valette's importance and epitaph. Plot: 2 stars; Malta and the Siege: 4 stars, averaging out to 3 stars

Recommended only with reservations. Part I may drive you away.

[Calzean · Rating 1 out of 5]

The siege of Malta in 1565 makes for a hair-raising read even in non-fiction form. But this novel really was disappointing. It takes nearly half of the book for the hero - the skinny 16 year old Englishman Nicholas Ingoldsby - to arrive at Malta and the siege to begin. Somehow Nicholas learns and exhibits the skills of sword fighting, countering and beating multiple enemies at once, is one of the few survivors of Fort St. Elmo, then also escapes from Senglea, causes the death of the Ottoman leader Dragut and insults Mustafa Pasha to his face and survives. His companions are two guffawing English knights and a servant who remains a servant no matter what he achieves. The Ottomans are pure evil and need to be stopped or else. And what Empires were clashing as the title states? Arghh.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Whatever plot there is: pretty thin except for the description of Malta and its people, the sieges of the fort of St. Elmo and of the city of Birgu. The first part of the story, concerning an English teenaged lad, Nicholas--the son of a knight Hospitaller, his friend, Hodge, and two knights of that order, was pretty forgettable. The novel improved as it went along. The two sieges were masterfully written. The author made out Nicholas as some kind of superhero; from knowing nothing about fighting in Part I, he became almost indestructible, learning four languages easily, and a terrible force to be reckoned with. I had never heard of the Grandmaster, la Valette, before. I suppose the non resolution of certain things paves the way for sequels. I liked the Epilog, explaining the further history of Muslim/Christian clashes of that period and la Valette's importance and epitaph. Plot: 2 stars; Malta and the Siege: 4 stars, averaging out to 3 stars.

Only recommended with reservations.

[Karla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Primer descalabro del año.
Tiene sus partes cómicas y se deja leer, pero me quedé con ganas de saber más sobre los acontecimientos. La única parte que me enganchó el es último cuarto del libro

[Charles · Rating 4 out of 5]

Today, there is no longer the clash of empires that has dominated history for about three millenniums or so. The culmination of World War 2 shattered all the remnants of imperial ambitions and empires, with one or two minor exceptions. Today, there is the phenomenon of the clash of cultures instead, especially with the rise of illegal immigration to the West. But at its roots, the Great Siege of 1565 on the tiny island fortress of Malta manifested a lot of the same thorny issues we are facing today, one of the most apparent being West, founded on Judeo-Christian concepts, Vs East.

Napier provides an excellent summary of the fundamental historical facts which resulted in the Great Siege of Malta, described by the novelist James Jackson as "history's bloodiest siege." Suleiman, Napier hypothesizes in his novel, probably realized the strategic importance of capturing Malta, the gateway to the Mediterranean and to the West, and that it should result in the elimination of his old enemy, the Knight Order of St John, made it all the more savoury to his taste:

"This barren rock is the key to the Western Mediterranean."

AND

"If Malta should fall, the balance of power in Europe will be for ever changed. Suleiman will have complete mastery of the sea. And he who rules the sea, rules the land."

I agree that that was probably the cause of the Great Siege, otherwise what could have compelled Suleiman to invest such a huge proportion of his military might just to capture one small island? In terms of money, the siege must have emptied all of Suleiman's coffers. Just to transport the siege weapons from Turkey is a significant feat, let alone the thousands of troops along with them. Napier also highlights the differences between the two sides, from the chivalry of the Knights to the ruthlessness of the Turks, without being one-sided. There is a degree of fanaticism on both sides, for example, even if nothing compares to the fundamentalism of the crazed Bektasis, who, like the members of ISIS and so many other terrorist organizations, long to 'die' (killing as many as they can in the process) so they could join their prophet in paradise.

With regards to the rest of the novel, its most redeeming quality is Napier's adherence to the historical sources, even if his protagonist, Nicholas Ingoldsby, is fictional. However, he spends too much time on that character, which detracts from the epic nature of the war. But I liked the humour interspersed throughout the novel, which serves as much-needed comic relief, and all of Napier's characters based on real figures. He breaths new life into them like few others can, especially of the young French knight Bridier de la Gordcamp, who is tragically cut down at Elmo.

'Clash of Empires', because of some minor defects, like certain glaring grammatical errors, is not a piece of classical literature. But I enjoyed Napier's story-telling, which exhibits a lot of potential, and I do recommend it for historical fiction afficionados.

[Beorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

This could and should have been so much more pleasurable a read. It is rich in detail, evocative and very well written, yet is let down by an almost tangible sense of aloof snootiness that prevents you from empathising with any of the characters. It's this snootiness combined with a plot that moves along so slowly it's practically tectonic that lets down what otherwise would have been an amazingly good read.
As it is, it ranges from rare occasions of riveting to more common tedium and annoying pomp. There's also an annoying presumption that every reader will automatically know what specific warfare specific terms like 'reconnaitre' will mean as if it's as common a word as surveillance or such.

Rather than march steadfastly along, it tends to more amble and meander sedately. Even when battle begins and blood is shed, you still find yourself almost frustrated as just how slow it feels. Ironically one of the traits the lead character supposedly has it that when he is in the middle of an attack is that the world around him slows down while he stays at normal speed, which is how it feels a great deal of the time reading this book with the setpieces seeming more like an strategist describing it rather than feeling it.

Overall a good way of killing a few days/hours etc but far from essential reading.

[Jason Blackwell · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real surprise for me...Napier's previous books have been solid well researched historical fiction...but a little on the stodgy side...
I found this a gripping page turner...
Great setting and created a very evocative atmosphere...
Obviously the flipside is the focus on a small group of English characters in what would primarily have been a Latin engagement...giving it a slightly less than realistic edge...but it did give it a more exotic feel as the characters themselves were outsiders in an unfamiliar environment coming to terms with the heat...the dust...the food...the culture...
Good battle scenes, good characters and I felt I was "there"...
All in all...keep me awake late at night as I read "just one more chapter"

[Tomás Sendarrubias García · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bueno, este libro lo doy por concluido, aunque más que terminado, ha sido abandonado, y es que he llegado hasta la página 130 y de ahí ya he pensado en no seguir. Me apetecía mucho leer esta novela, la situación de Malta en el Mediterráneo y la historia de la isla me resultan muy interesantes, y vi esta novela hace algunos años, pero le perdí la pista, y cuando la recuperé, me la encontré en el Corte Inglés de rebajas, así de sopetón, así que pensé que era una señal y me la compré. Pues debía ser una señal equívoca.

Con una cuarta parte del libro más o menos leída, Malta aún no ha aparecido por ningún sitio, y todo lo que he visto han sido los tópicos más habituales de cualquier novela, con el joven noble británico y su criado, que se ven arrojados de forma injusta a la pobreza y emprenden un largo viaje hacia Malta, y en su camino, se van formando como guerreros, con más tópicos por el camino. Y me he bajado del viaje en Cádiz, la verdad. Porque me veo que les van a atrapar los piratas o algo así, y al final el asedio de Malta va a quedar reducido a una excusa para contar de nuevo una historia que ya se ha contado varias veces.

Nada nuevo en el horizonte.

[James Sparks · Rating 3 out of 5]

The title says it all for this book. Reading it felt like "one long great siege". That doesn't mean I didn't necessarily enjoy it though. It was a good read; it just felt like a long time was focussed on the siege itself and perhaps that's actually a true reflection? I felt it needed more of a sub plot.

Characters were well formed and likeable. Nicholas, Smith, Stanley and La Valette all had good basis, background and interest to keep me entertained.

I would consider picking up the next one in the series from Napier but it will need more variation in the story line to convince me to continue with the journey of Nicholas and Hodge. Overall, worth a read but be prepared to feel the weariness of siege towards the end.

[pablo j socorro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro imprescindible

Cualquiera interesado en la rica historia europea y su parto entre guerras de conquista y soberanía, debe tener este magnífico libro en su biblioteca de referencias. Una lección de historia que se lee como la gran novela que fueron los convulsos siglos XIV y XV.

[White Knight · Rating 1 out of 5]

No es muy bueno, los libros que recomienda la final son mejores.
Los personajes los vuelve vulgares, dando una perspectiva errada de los caballeros de la orden de Malta, también siendo herejía blanca, excusando como una pena y pobres los musulmanes que estuvieron en tal guerra.

[isabel undurraga · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great history novel

This novel portraits the siege of Malta as if you wee there. You suffer, you take sides, you believe. Amazingly written !

[John Somers · Rating 3 out of 5]

12/20.

[JOS · Rating 4 out of 5]

europeos luchan contra el imperio turco en Malta.

[Brian Carrigan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good story

[Juan Carlos · Rating 2 out of 5]

Divaga una enormidad. No se dónde está la parte histórica

[Fernando Alegria · Rating 4 out of 5]

novela historica

Muy interesante para conocer la historia de Malta y los Hospitalarios.
Seria bueno que el autor agregara algunos mapas de referencia

[Ricardo Castillo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excelente

Encantado de encontrar esta obra. Cautiva al lector de principio a fin en una excelente narración de este intento de toma de Malta.

[Paco De la Peña · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing book. I love history and this types of books are the best way to learn about it. It is an amazing story narrated by an amazing author

[Robin Carter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I bought this title with some trepidation, William Napier started what seemed like a great series about Attila the Hun, the first book was a breathlessly breakneck paced book With well written characters and a great plot, then it was followed up with book 2 of the series, that had a Tom bombadil effect of making me think he had been smoking weed when he wrote it, it oozed bizarre mysticism and spoiled the type of series it had started out as, it was like book one had miss advertised the series.
Book 3 recovered it a bit but not totally.
So Clash of empire....fantastic, well written, great plot, great pace and a subject that's not swamped right now in the genre. I loved it, and really recommend it i just hope this isn't going to be a repeat, lets keep it as is, blood guts action story and great writing.

Well recommended

Product Description (from back of Book)
1565: a small island in the middle of the Mediterranean stands gatekeeper between East and West. It is about to become the scene for one of the most amazing stories of bravery, battle and bloodlust: the siege of Malta. Formed in the Holy Land in the 11th century, a small band of knights had long sought a home. Driven from their lands by Ottoman might, they came to rest in Malta from where they watched the Turks and corsairs raid the Spanish empire. As word came from Constantinople that Malta was in the sights of the Ottoman Empire, all of Europe watched as a force of over 30,000 men besieged the island - itself only peopled by only 500 knights and a few thousand local soldiers. On that small rock an epic struggle will be played out - the story of individual men, warriors and slaves, but also the story of two worlds colliding

[Jo-anne Atkinson · Rating 3 out of 5]

1565 and the great Sultan Suleiman, ruler of the vast and powerful Ottoman Empire has set his sights on conquering Western Europe. The gateway to the Western Mediterranean is the island of Malta with its excellent harbour. Malta is overseen by the Knights of St John, old enemies of Suleiman but he defeated them in Rhodes and can defeat them again, in order to make this happen he assembles the greatest war armada ever seen. Aware of the impending crisis the Knights send word across Europe asking for support and rallying their former allies and colleagues. In Protestant England the young Catholic Nicholas Ingoldsby has just seen his father killed and his family ruined but, finding that his father was a former Knight of St John, he travels to Malta to aid the cause.

This is the second book I have read this year about the siege of Malta after Tim Willocks' 'The Religion', both are very much about war and battles rather than any engaging fictional narrative. In this case the plot (outside of historical fact) is clumsy, Nicholas abandons his sisters to the poor house, leaves the country and from then on there is no further mention of them. Similarly the 'romance' seems very contrived. In addition we are led to believe that Nicholas is a skilled fighter, outstanding swimmer and brilliant at picking up languages, straight from the get-go. However that's where my cynicism stops...as far as a contribution to the genre goes, this is a thrilling depiction of war and the triumph of the few over the many. A jolly escapist romp.

[Nora · Rating 1 out of 5]

readable, keeps the reader interested. It is obvious on which side the author sympathies are, even if both parties did the same - it is good dead if done by the Knights, evil dead if done by the Turks. However, I think it is unfair to describe the Turks as punch of cowards, if they run away from battles the way it is described in the book, Constantinople would have never been taken, and Ottoman Empire never existed. The book would had been more interesting if it was told from both poind of view.

However, what irritated me was the "super hero" Nicolas - who first appeared as an unexperienced young boy, and couple of pages later he is a fierce fighter who learns new languages just by hearing them!!! and the best came in the end: he just disappeared in a tavern for a drink, and we do not know if he got back to England, proclaimed his father innocence, got back his property, collected his sisters from the orphanage,... why we had to go through all this if it was not closed in the end?

Why does Western Civilization always need "super heroes" in books or movies? Heroic deeds are done by real people who have no supernatural talent, but have the courage to make the right decision at the right time. Malta did not defeat the Turks with super heroes, but with pure determination and willingness to die by the "normal" people and Knights.

Too bad, the subject could had been handled in much better way.

[Saam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This historical fiction book tells the story of 40 thousand Ottomans attacking the small island of Malta which is under garrison by 400 to 500 knights. Nicholas's father was a knight of St John but was retired. An unfortunate accident happened and Nicholas's dies and he is left as an orphan with his sister and with his servant. He finds two other knights who are looking for volunteers to defend Malta. Nicholas and his servant join those two knights and they are trained by them on the way from England to Malta. Will Nicholas survive through the bloody war or will he die as a knight? I found this book very interesting because it is a mix of real history with a bit of fiction in it. It was a page turner; I couldn't let go of the book. It also has some suspense in it which made me impatient and skip a few pages to finally find out what had happened. I would recommend this book to readers who enjoy reading historical books and readers who enjoy books about war. I do not recommend this to children because of some of the content inside it.

[Aeseyman · Rating 4 out of 5]

Historical fiction that grabs you and doesn't let you go until the last page. Forty-eight years after Martin Luther nailed his theses to the door of Wittenberg Church, Christianity, and Europe, is split between Protestants and Catholics, playing right into the hands of Suleiman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Turkish Ottoman Empire, who sets his sights on capturing the island of Malta that commands the major east-west Mediterranean shipping lanes. Oh, and, of course, Malta is where the ancient enemy of Islam, the order of the Knights of St. John who fought in the Crusades, relocated after being driven from the island of Rhodes earlier in Suleiman's career. The defenders of Malta are few, but mighty of heart. The slaughter is terrible, but they hold out far longer than expected. Napier deftly brings these knights to full life. The deep friendship between the duo of Stanley and Smith is particularly touching and delightful. I can't wait to read more of Napier's books.

[Helene Harrison · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review - My favourite element of this book was the characterisation: I thought Nicholas's frame of mind was very interesting and his development throughout the story was the centre point and cleverly done. It had some really good elements. The battles were described in just enough detail to be understood, without being overwhelming.

Genre - Historical / Drama / Action / Adventure

Characters - Nicholas Inglesby / Francis Inglesby / Hodge / Stanley / Smith / La Valette / Sulimann

Setting - St Elmo & Birgu (Malta)

Series - Last Crusaders #1

Recommend - Yes

Rating - 14/20

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great story well told. Starts a bit slow but really gets underway with the Seige of Malta. His two heros are young enough not to be compared with other more established stars of historical fiction and have plenty of promise for future outings. The action during the Seige is well written and brings out the horror of the fighting without being too gross, but worth remembering that this was a particularly nasty campaign. Overall well worth the read.

[Jacobo García · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excepcional