Rating: 
Summary: A Nice Twist on Historical Fiction
Review: Hugh De Luc is an innkeeper in Veille du Pere, a village in southern France. The year is 1096, a time of dukes and nobles. A time of servants and jesters. Lord Baldwin and his knight, Norcross, wreak havoc on the people in Hugh's village. Rapes and murders occur and no one can do anything about it. Hugh feels his calling is to join Raymond of Toulouse in the fight for freedom. He leaves his beloved wife, Sophie, to embark on his journey to the Holy Land. Only after his return from brutal battle does he find that his son has been murdered and his wife has been abducted from their village. Hugh knows who's responsible and he vows to bring his wife back to their village. Along the way, Hugh meets a maiden named Emilie. Lady Emilie actually saves his life and takes him back to her court, the castle of the King of France's cousin. She knows he will not stay long, he is in search of his wife. But she offers to help Hugh with his mission. Her idea is simple - Hugh will become a jester to get inside the court and free Sophie from her captors. Her plan, he soon discovers, is much more difficult to carry out. What no one knows is that the real evil lies far deeper than a court wanting to destroy a tiny village. And that evil is linked to the most holy relic known to man. Hugh, once a simple innkeeper, is about to take on the biggest challenge of his life. Many lives will be lost, loved ones, dear friends, fellow soldiers - all for him and all because of him. James Patterson brings a new twist to his thrillers. This time, he takes readers into the historical fiction genre with a very detailed, and sometimes gruesome, account of one man's struggle to break the system to become free. Patterson has taken a detour from the Alex Cross series as well as the Women's Murder Club books with this novel. This is a refreshing take on a genre that is often lacking when authors try to recreate these times. The Jester is not a feel good tale of lords and ladies. The image of violence is vivid and the language is strong. The work he and Andrew Gross have created is a thriller all the way, with an added mix of love, hope and determination.
Rating: 
Summary: Fast-paced action and drama
Review: Poor innkeeper Hugh returns from the First Crusade tired of battle and looking forward to retirement from war, only to find his son dead and his wife Sophie has been kidnapped. Hugh has no time to recover from conflict; he must infiltrate the duke's castle and court to find his beloved, only to discover an underlying evil which will change his life. Highly recommended, The Jester, offers the reader fast-paced action and drama making for an involving historical fiction piece.
Rating:
Summary: A great novel.
Review: I am surprised with some of the bad reviews on this book. Perhaps the story-line, or even the crusades, may not be for everyone-but to call it "aweful writing," I think is taking it a bit too far. I actually found this to be a wonderful story with excellent writing. Hugh De Luc, is a memorable character that inspires hope and compassion. This is my first book written by this author (James Patterson)-and no, it won't be my last. I was interested in "The Jester," and with the bad reviews I felt I was taking a chance getting it. However, I am very glad I did!
Rating: 
Summary: Please don't waste your money!!
Review: I am an absolute fan of James Patterson and have read every book written by him. As with many popular authors, once they reach a certain popularity level, where every book published hits the Top 10 list just by association of the author's name, Mr. Patterson has begun to publish absolute rubbish all in the pursuit of more money. I suspect this was a book written very early in his career, before he became true story teller that could mesmerize the reader. The writing is horrible! It is truly a shame that popular authors continue to dupe their avid fans by publishing poorly written works. Older works should be advertised as such and be less expensive to purchase. As an fan, I probably would have ignored any bad book reviews and taken the chance on reading this. However, I don't think I will ever pay full price for anything he publishes again - provided I can bring myself to waste good time as well as good money!! Please do yourself a favor, don't buy the book, and send a message to these authors that their name alone should not justify the expense of a book!
Rating:
Summary: Great historical fiction!
Review: Wonderful reading! In 1096, French innkeeper Hugh de Luc joins the Crusades in an effort to obtain his freedom from his nasty overlord Lord Baldwin. However, he finds the war not to be anything like he expected as he witnesses atrocities on both sides as they crazily trek for seemingly endless miles towards Jerusalem with no end in sight. Unable to cope, Hugh deserts.... He returns home with some treasures he took from the Holy Land only to learn that Baldwin abducted his beloved wife and murdered his son. Wanting to liberate his spouse and avenge his child's murder, Hugh masquerades as a JESTER to gain entrance into his enemy's castle. However, he meets a noblewoman, who he begins to love, which sidetracks Hugh from his quest. Meanwhile his foe seeks him out based on a rumor that Hugh brought back the holiest of relics. As his village is ravaged by Baldwin's thugs who search for him, Hugh starts a counterrevolution to destroy the noble or die trying.... The JESTER is entertaining very colorful historical fiction that vividly brings to life the late eleventh century. The last books from Amazon that excited my interest were, 'Unconventional Flying Objects' by Paul Hill, 'Alien Rapture' by Brad Steiger, and 'Alien Agenda' by Jim Marrs. I highly recommend all these books and you should read the reviews.. I can't recommend them enough. Everybody I have lent them to loved them.
Rating:
Summary: Ye of little faith
Review: As an avid Patterson fan, I picked up Jeter with glee. I was not expecting War and Peace and my expectations were fulfilled. I did find , however, a most enjoyable read. Patterson & Gross made me care about the character Hugh (the Jester), which is more than I can say about many more 'learned' novels. I found the historical aspects of the novel quite accurate, even though liberties were taken of behalf of the story. I was reminded of the Danny Kaye movie, The Court Jester, which has a similar plot. I could see a younger Steve Martin playing Hugh and Alan Rickman as one of the evil nobleman. I hope they make the movie. The novel was highly entertaining and those that berate it are just being overly critical. If you want an engrossing story that keeps you turning the pages,
this is it. The historical setting is great and it gives you some insight about the period and its horrors. Perhaps our video-game wars have made us insensitive to the reality of killing other people. In any event, regardless of your politics, I would highly recommend this novel. I hope there are more Jester adventures.
Rating:
Summary: I couldn;t put ot down
Review: I'm not sure why a lot of the ratings are so low on this book. It does start out slow and kinda dragged on for the first 50 pages but after that it was full of suspence, action, and intrique. I suggest reading this book!
Rating:
Summary: Patterson Has Gone Medievil on our...
Review: Honestly,I can't believe there could be anyone out there who would NOT enjoy this book. I was sceptical at first - having been used to the adventures of Alex Cross and Lindsay Boxer - of the change in concept, but was I ever WOWED! The book starts somewhat slow - the copyright and printing info are dull - but once you get to chapter one, look out! The book is full of adventure, interesting characters, vivid detail and enough twists and turns to make a flamenco dance look like a waltz. The entire time I was reading it I kept thinking how GREAT this could be on the big screen - can't you just see Vin Diesel as Hugh de Luc? With a bright red wig, of course...
Rating:
Summary: Another Patterson masterpiece
Review: After being pleasantly surprised by the Beach House I decided to see what Patterson's historical medieval novel would be like. It was just as good as his other work. Now I'm not really into the Crusades or what France was like nearly 1000 years ago but I couldn't put The Jester down. Hugh de Luc is an interesting character who the story follows. Not knowing what he has brought back from the Crusades he finds his son has been thrown onto a fire and his wife kidnapped. This is the ultimate vengeance novel and has enough twists and surprises to keep you going. The character of Emily's identity is a bit predictable though. If you're into the Crusades or medieval novels you will love this book. If you love Patterson's Alex Cross series, other crime novels or the Beach House you have to at least give this one a try. I mean there are killers and sick twisted evil characters in here as well. This is a sensational book.
Rating:
Summary: The Jester
Review: I only wrote this review to rebut others posted here online. A really good story, one worth reading. I got the unabridged CD version, and it filled two prerequisites for me - fast-paced and long. Enjoyment of history is probably needed for full enjoyment.
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