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Title: Ironfire : A Novel of the Knights of Malta and the Last Battle of the Crusades by DAVID BALL ISBN: 0-385-33601-2 Publisher: Delacorte Press Pub. Date: 30 December, 2003 Format: Hardcover Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.7 (10 reviews)
Rating: 3
Summary: Entertaining but Trivial
Comment: Given all of the garbage fiction published annually, this book is an entertaining read. Good for long flights and lonely hotel nights and beach vacations. However, not a scholarly pursuit and certainly not very enlightening historically. Too many modern-day and "politically" correct perspectives (e.g., critical of the Inquisition and Catholic Church, only Islam is accepting of diversity, powerful and rich are assumed to be malevolent, etc.). All in all, OK but forgettable; am not compelled to read other works by author.
Rating: 4
Summary: a sure fire adventure!
Comment: The Mediterranean in the sixteenth century is the hub where mighty civilizations wrestle for domination. There, lying squarely in the midst of the vital sea lanes between the Christian West & the Ottoman Empire in the East, & ruled by the ancient Order of the Knights of St. John, Malta is the stage upon which the fate of the known world turns.
Rebeccasreads recommends this tale of kidnapping, revenge & transformation in which a brother & sister are torn apart as youngsters. As they mature, in separate societies, each is filled with determination to survive & thrive from the wonders, intrigue, war & the passions of others.
David Ball has woven a fine, if long, historical tapestry in bold scenes, details & colors.
Rating: 5
Summary: David Ball does it again.....
Comment: Two previous books prompted me to snatch Ironfire, a tale of the siege of Malta, from the booksellers shelf the moment I saw it. The first was David Ball's novel Empire of Sand which I ranked here a resounding 5 stars. The second was the definitive non-fictional account of this harrowing conflict between East and West by Ernle Bradford entitled Great Siege: Malta 1565, another 5 star effort. Surely, this combination of epic event and talented storyteller would produce a second home run for Ball. Yet, I had some doubts in the beginning.
Ironfire doesn't actually arrive at the siege until roughly the last 100 pages of the book. Admittedly, I was impatient to experience anew the pulse-pounding battles, the unimaginable struggle, the sheer perserverence culminating in the elation, indeed the utter surprise, of victory. But, a novel requires some foundation and David Ball chose a fictional Maltese peasant family named Borg to provide his.
Ironfire is the tale of a brother and sister swept up in the 16th century conflict of Christian vs. Muslim, East vs. West, Empire vs. Empire. As european kingdoms squabbled among themselves and sought to quell the Protestant heresy, the Knights of St. John stood alone against the might of Suliemen and his Ottoman empire. Hardly a sympathetic lot, the Knights nevertheless win the admiration of the reader through their absolute refusal to bend before insurmountable odds. The siege of Malta is a tale for the ages and David Ball's account blends outstanding research and competent storytelling to, once again, hit the ball out of the park. 5 big stars.
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Title: Empires of Sand by David Ball ISBN: 0440236681 Publisher: Dell Pub. Date: 06 March, 2001 List Price(USD): $6.99 |
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Title: Heretic by Bernard Cornwell ISBN: 0060530499 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 07 October, 2003 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Shanghai Station by Bartle Bull ISBN: 0786713143 Publisher: Carroll & Graf Pub. Date: 09 January, 2004 List Price(USD): $26.00 |
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Title: The Last King : Rome's Greatest Enemy by Michael Curtis Ford ISBN: 0312275390 Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books Pub. Date: 15 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $24.95 |
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Title: Sharpe's Escape : Portugal, 1810 by Bernard Cornwell ISBN: 0060530472 Publisher: HarperCollins Pub. Date: 30 March, 2004 List Price(USD): $25.95 |
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