Surprise
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Tim Willocks being by no means an experienced historical novelist has completely caught me off guard with his book "The Religion".
As I had just recently moved to the UK, I spent hours in W.H.Smith looking with searching eyes at 100s of to me unknown authors. Hence it was no surprise that I walked by Bernhard Cornwell and straight to the top 10 seller shelf. And there it stood. Set in the time I was so greatly interested in, as I had just finished to of Alain Demurger's books on the templars. A story was it, I really needed to somewhat anchor the newly acquired knowledge on the 13th and 14th century.
As I had never before heard about the great siege of Malta in 1565, this book plunged me into hours of historical online research and made me sift through travel brochures for my next holiday destination.
Not only did I find the historical background well interwoven with fictional storyline but as well the characters and their believable development stuck to my mind for weeks and months after I had finished the book.
Some stories told I even now tell others on cozy evenings - like the one about why roses are red and nightingales sing so beautifully.
I won't spoil the fun - just do go and buy this book. It's worth it. And as I just now saw, it seems to planned as a trilogy as well. All the better for me.
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This book should be rated among the best literature ever written
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This is the only book I have read where I've had to have a shower after each sitting.
A phenomenal experience.
The plot is very well formed and the characters are credible and vivid, but it is the description of the Seige of Malta and the intensity of the combat which set this book apart from any before it, whether fact or fiction.
No other book I have read or have heard of has depicted fighting so realistically. And do not think that this realism detracts from the book's literary quality and readability - it forms it.
The searing heat, dehydration, terror, chronic exhaustion, wounds, and sickness are brought starkly into perspective. One of the best passages is one where the hero is involved in fighting off yet another attack, and the reader is introduced to his claustrophobic, armoured world, where he is reduced to thinking his physical movements aloud - block..breathe..step..breathe..thrust.. breathe..etc. - and another scene where two opposing fighters having to negotiate a temporay truce with each other so that they can regain their breath and strength before continuing to hack at each other.
I knew little about the Seige of Malta before reading THE RELIGION, but felt as though I'd learnt the entire history once I'd finished it.
A truly oustanding work. Make sure the hot water's on before reading.
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An Epic Struggle
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Tim Willocks' 'The Religion' is a tale of love and betrayal set against the violent and bloody backdrop of the 1565's Siege of Malta.
I was surprised on coming to write this review, that with 34 reviews already written, there hadn't been a single dissenter. Surprised, because I would have thought that, there would have been some people turned off by the heavy and elaborate prose, a few disturbed by the novel's extreme violence and some dismayed merely by the book's length. Finally, I had to wonder what I'd missed, because I found the book lacked anything to make it exceptional
There are a lots of positives in this novel and sections of 'The Religion' are second to none. Clearly Willocks has carried out extensive research, and the details of the siege and its two opposing armies ooze authenticity. The author also has an impressive command of the English language and there are paragraphs filled with delightful prose and sumptuous metaphors, which make for an enjoyable read. The battle scenes are particularly rich in description; I had never realised how many different ways there are of describing blood, gore and gristle.
For me though the novel in its entirety was disappointing. I found reading 'The Religion' like eating chocolate pudding; each individual battle scene is rich and enjoyable, but being forced to consume them one after another, rapidly diminished my enjoyment, until I felt sick, bloated and wished, never to read a fight scene again. The battles may be brilliantly described and lavishly orchestrated but there are just too many of them.
My second gripe is that the characters, although well described are somewhat derivative. We have the bold adventurer, quick with the sword, faster with his wit and seemingly without scruple, yet more honourable than everybody else in the novel. Next, the companion; a huge, strong and ferocious fighter, who eats a lot. An evil and corrupt priest and a cloistered noblewoman, who discovers her inner strength, make up a quartet of characters that could grace any number of fantasy novels that have far fewer literary pretensions.
Finally, a relatively small complaint. The book jacket implies that this book resonates with our times, presumably because it details a conflict between Islam and Christianity. Frankly, The Religion only pays lip service to the idea that religious conflict is futile and its assertion that power corrupts, is hardly earth-shattering.
Despite the characterisation not being entirely original, Willocks does make the reader care for his creations, and as the final days of the siege played out, I read gripped, wanting to know how each of the main protagonists would fair. After wading through mountains of blood and gristle to get there, the ending is both moving and compelling, if not ground-breaking. There is one truly gruesome twist at the end, which is possibly the biggest shock I have ever encountered in a novel, and that alone makes 'The Religion' worth reading. So overall, I would recommend 'The Religion', although not to the faint of heart or the short of time.
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Fan-bloody-tastic
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Not much to add to the below - suffice to say if you're an intelligent person, love history, love story telling, but also take a guilty pleasure in adventure, sex, and fantastic hand-to-hand fighting, then this is the book for you.
I enjoyed it as much as I did Green River Rising, and that's saying something
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Superb, miss it at your peril
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Fantastic read, must admit I found it had great similarities to Blood Rock (James Jackson), and the Sword & the Scimitar (David Ball), I found the whole book just as enthralling and struggled to put it down.
The strength and character of the Knights of St John and the Maltese people are vividly brought to life in this tale and the book places you right back in the blood, guts, violence and intensity of the period, a time of kill or be killed.
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