Blood of the Cross

Medieval #1

by K.M. Ashman

AD 1270

Antioch has fallen, Tripoli is under siege and Sultan Baibaars targets his Mamluk hoards against Krak des Chevalier, the Crusaders’ greatest stronghold in Syria. The Holy Land is in turmoil and desperately awaits the arrival of Edward Longshanks and his relieving army of French and English Crusaders.
This is a time of brutality, an age of chivalry. A time of strong men with stronger hearts, an era with no place for the weak.
Yet a thousand miles away, a fourteen year old boy learns a disturbing secret that drives him on a Crusade of his own. A quest to avenge his family, save his brother and in the process recover the holiest relic in the history of Christendom.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Medieval, Fiction, Historical

336 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2013

About the author

Kevin Ashman is the author of twenty-six novels including the best-selling Roman Chronicles and highly ranked Medieval Sagas.

Always pushing the boundaries he found further success with the India Sommers Mysteries as well as three other stand-alone projects, Vampire, Savage Eden and the dystopian horror story, The Last Citadel. These cross-genre books have now been added to by the two Sci-fi novels, The Legacy Protocol and The Seventh God.

Kevin was born and raised in Wales in the United Kingdom and now writes full time having been signed by a major publishing company. He is married with four grown children and enjoys cycling, swimming and watching rugby as his hobbies.

Recent works include the Blood of Kings trilogy and the follow-up books, Warrior Princess and The Blade Bearer.

The most recent project is a five-book series about the Templars during the 12th century. Templar Steel, Templar Stone, Templar Blood and Templar Fury are already on sale and Templar Glory is due for release in Oct 2021.

An exciting project is also underway, a three-book series chronicling the years leading up to and beyond the Battle of Hastings.

Reviews

[[ J o ]]

(a lot of punctuation errors but the story seemed fairly intriguing, plus Crusades. A quick one for some rainy day.)

[Blair Hodgkinson · Rating 4 out of 5]

As I began this novel, I found myself very soon comparing it to the Ridley Scott film "Kingdom of Heaven". The similarities near the beginning of this book are so numerous as to be distracting. The following remark may be a mild spoiler, but as it pertains to events very early in the novel, ought not to truly damage the experience. We begin with a character who discovers that he has a hidden heritage of higher birth and station than he has led to believe as he is thrust into an adventure that compels him to leave his burned out smithy to seek redemption and a new life in the Holy Land, taking lessons to become a fighting man of his times. Sound familiar?

Fortunately, the more obvious similarities to the film become fewer in number as the story proceeds. Ashman unfolds his story against the 13th century backdrops of Wales and the Holy Land, just as the Christian kingdoms there enter their final decline. We meet interesting characters from history, like Sultan Baibars and Edward Longshanks and their presence serves the story well, rather than gratuitously. Our hero's quest proceeds through dangers rising not only from the landscape but also from the rivalries of different Christian and Muslim factions and sects and are very capably handled by the author. He writes action well and his dialogue is simple and believable. His villains are suitably detestable and his heroes are likeable, and not without flaws that make them seem more human.

While I may have found it hard to swallow that a youth ignorant of his knightly heritage could find acceptance in knightly society, Ashman seems to have been aware just how unlikely such a situation might have been. He confronts his character with enough difficulties to increase the plausibility of the challenge. In the end, I was won over.

There are a few odd word choices and passages of dialogue that seemed to have been left a little rough in the editing and I couldn't help thinking there was the odd place where one more pass in editing might have cleared these up. Nothing major.

Final result: good action, interesting history, plenty of adventure, compelling characters. I will certainly follow up with further purchases from Ashman's sagas based on this purchase. Recommended.

[David Campton · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am only giving this 2 stars to acknowledge that behind some of the worst dialogue I have ever read, glaring typos, and historical mistakes is a half decent storyline that at least kept me reading (but then on holiday I will read almost anything). For a relatively short book it took an inordinately long time to get the "quest" element underway, partly because of the ill-handled multi-point narrative, in which time frames were mangled and stories were clumsily resolved. Actually, I am not even sure why I am wasting all this time on this review. I certainly won't be wasting any time or money on other books in this series...

[Aastha · Rating 1 out of 5]

At least it was free.

[james irvine Bell · Rating 5 out of 5]

As Good As Ellis Peters or Peter Tremayne.

If you like your Historical Novels to be associated and connected with actual events then you will not be disappointed. The story for a change is partly about the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem, i.e. the Hospilators and about ### #( read it yourself).

[antony · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has what it takes, and that is a great story. Playing out against a gigantic sweeping historical background the action and intriguing rushes forward until the very last chapter.

It was so engaging I ready it in two long sittings. This is only book one, what the hell is going to happen next, there are at least two books worth of stories in this one alone.

I just downloaded book two.

[Nicholas Quenet · Rating 5 out of 5]

the holy land

This was a very interesting story based on true events during the middle crusades of the late 1100s to early 1200s. I can not wait for book two & the coming of Edward Longshanks. How does anyone not like this book. A great story line mixed in with some historical facts & there are 3 more books in the series.

[Julia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love my history and especially medieval. This is my first to relate to the crusades and I loved it. Not too heavy a read and not bogged down with great lengthy battle descriptions. I really enjoyed this and look forward to reading the next in series.

[Hollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Slow start but a great read!

The start moved slowly and I didn’t expect adventures in the holy land! The stories summed up well and left nothing to wonder except how the next adventures in the series will go.

[William Thornhill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting and a good read. I will be reading the next book in the series in the next couple of days.

[Mr Geoffrey Hopkins · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gripping

Excellent read,believable characters and a great story. It has it all, hero's villains and a good finish with all made right. Loved it.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great tale

Another great story of a great time in history. I can’t wait to read the next one! All books by this author are excellent!

[Dr Ian M Newington · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good but not the best of Ashman that I've read.

[Jkane · Rating 4 out of 5]

A solid medieval novel of the crusades and Jerusalem, that was pleasantly a full novel, and not just a placeholder in a trilogy.

[Dave Broadbridge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Griff

[Robert · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting Story

I liked the story as it kept you wanting to read more. As someone who enjoys history I would recommend this book to anyone.

[Jerry Goebel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Amazing Writer

This is my second series of books from Mr. Ashman. What a great storyteller. I hope he keeps writing more!

[Jim Galford · Rating 3 out of 5]

Light reading, but historically fairly accurate. Set in the Holy Land during the Crusades, it covers the sultan's push to drive the Europeans out.

[Estela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Once again, Mr. Ashman takes known historical information and creates a fictional story that breathes life into the actions that are on record. I look forward to the next book in this series.

[Jack · Rating 2 out of 5]

I think with medieval books, they have this foreboding that kinda puts me off. That feeling that everyone is going to die screaming or something terrible is going to happen because they're all peasants.

Terrible things did happen in this book, but it wasn't bad as my mind was making them up to be. The story was okay, and one of the better swordie books out there. Not really focusing on the terribleness of the world he created was a relief, but if you like that stuff it's still slightly there but not so much.

It has a happy ending in this book, not much action, but I think it was a great way to pass the time.

[Ashleigh · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book, I had previously read a K.M. Ashman book and liked his style and how he tells stories which made me want to read more of his books. As far as I am aware the historical basis of this novel is quite accurate and the characters he has placed in his story are ones you can really end up liking. The story is intriguing and, I fell, keeps you interested. I also think it is a nice easy read that you will not want to put down, I know I didn’t want to put it down.

[Mischief · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this series. The stories take place during the Welsh uprising between Madoc Ap Llewellyn of Wales and Longshanks, King Edward I of England. There are 4 books in the series and at the centre are two brothers Garyn and Geraint ap Thomas and their involvement in the conflicts and how external events affect their family life. Much of the narrative is based on historical events but brought very much to life.

If you like good historical novels, I can recommend this series of books.

[Pat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Totally Enjoyable

Solid historical background with relatable characters and interesting plot.
Great book for snowy days for history buffs. I'm looking forward to next book in series.










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[C. Coleman · Rating 5 out of 5]

An engaging story that does, indeed, take the reader to the crusading age with a good sense of reality. The romantic element was a bit cliched, and it needs copy editing, but as a story, it's well worth reading.

[Robert · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not a bad read

A lot. Of people had nwegfative comments about character development and so on. I am looking for a reasonably well written story. This was one that keeps you engaged if u likelightreadimng

[M L Evans · Rating 4 out of 5]

an excellent storey with historical context

a very enjoyable read with a good storey line throughout, the authors notes at the end were a welcome addition that helped to set the historical narrative.

[Clayton Collins · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a pretty good book. I fond I was drawn into the story and was anticipating what was going to happen next.

[Susana · Rating 5 out of 5]

A fantastic book, enthralling story, couldn't put it down till the end.

[Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good book but got free on the Kindle lending library and didn't get a chance to finish it. Easy to read and looked like it was about to get interesting - I was about 15% into it.

[Pamela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was an excellent story that really kept me engaged.