Rating: 
Summary: Jest don't take it seriously
Review: The Jester is a fast-moving adventure tale, undemanding but enjoyable, feeling more like a Robin Hood or medieval Indiana Jones movie than a serious historical novel. While it lacks any unambiguously fantastic elements, it's a pure good-versus-evil yarn of a literate and canny peasant who prevails by using his wits, charisma, acting talent, and street-fighter's combat tactics. There's even a hint of Nazgul or Sith Lord in the novel's black-clad Tafurs, especially in the battle between Hugh and Black Cross. Hugh, Emilie and the other good characters are so likeable, and the villains so self-righteous and cruel, that it's hard not to cheer as Hugh's search for his wife eventually turns into a full-scale peasant uprising with him at the head.Hugh's narrative is told in thoroughly modern language ("Damn, you're good." "Professional courtesy." "Knock 'em dead." "scorched his own earth"), with occasional bursts of humour, and in chapters so short that the it feels as though the authors had attention deficit disorder. The plot is rather predictable, though not without some diverting twists and surprises on the way. The historical setting, though interesting, is mostly used as a backdrop rather than a real part of the story: while some of the characters are motivated by religious fanaticism, most seem very modern in their attitudes. Hugh himself is particularly cynical (even about himself), with scarcely a trace of superstition. If you want an authentic and entertaining history of the Crusades, watch the Terry Jones video. If you just want a fast-paced action-packed tale of an ordinary man taking a stand against zealots and tyrants, this is worth your time.
Rating: 
Summary: A New Low for Historical Fiction
Review: I've read hundreds of historical novels and this has to be the worst. The book is set during the First Crusade - about 1100 A.D. - but contains dialogue such as "Bug off" and "I guess I have you to thank for these duds [clothes]." The period detail is thin, though not as thin as the characterization. Truly awful.
Rating:
Summary: Interesting, Entertaining, and a Pleasant Surprise!
Review: I enjoyed this book although it's unlike anything I've ever read from Patterson before. Set in France in a time of castles, kings, and tyrants (1096), an unlikely innkeeper becomes a jester, a war hero, and a great leader of men. You'll love the main character Hugh de Luc and enjoy all the unexpected twists and turns his life takes. The book is a great adventure.
Rating: 
Summary: Reads like a......
Review: ...Steven Spielberg movie script. The characters are 2 dimensional and not developed enough. The ending is too predictable and too "Hollywood".
Rating:
Summary: Unusual and violent medieval tale stretches belief
Review: Patterson and co-author Gross have certainly crafted an unexpected offering, set literally 1000 years before Alex Cross, Lindsay Boxer, and the gang come along. A French innkeeper, and our leading man, Hugh de Luc, leaves his wife Sophie and his hometown to seek ultimate freedom from his life of servitude. He joins the Crusades in 1096; then we wade through many chapters of violence and gore as men on both sides of the argument die brutal deaths. Using laughter to save his life, and precursoring his role as a Jester (hence the title) through much of the book, Hugh returns home (actually as a deserter) only to discover his wife was abducted by the evil duke. He sets out for revenge and eventually assimilates into the staff of the evil lord. He is helped along by a noblewoman named Emilie, itself an unlikely scenario, only to stir feelings in both akin to his love for his own wife. This lack of fidelity (although not consummated until after his wife's ultimate death) seemed incongruous with the undying love expressed throughout the first half of the book -- yet these feelings rapidly transfer right onto Emilie with little further provocation. Before it's over, Hugh "the fool" leads a ragtag band of farmers and other common folk to overthrow not one but two fiefdoms, with such total success that he becomes the darling of the people and starts a movement toward the abandonment of the serf system. What's tough to accept out of all this is the odds against which this lowly guy survives and flourishes, his role in finding a cherished religious relic, the love affair with the noblewoman, his success against organized armies (and other evils), etc. While Patterson's usual story-telling abilities are in full evidence, the early-on gore and the relatively unbelievable premises we are asked to swallow, one after another, make for a quick but only mildly entertaining read. While we applaud the author's departure from the norm, we need about half of the unbelievable wrinkles removed to give this book a facelift worthy of a more serious look.
Rating: 
Summary: Light, forgettable, but nontheless a thrilling adventure!
Review: The first events of this book move exceptionally swiftly. All within about 50 pages, our 'hero' Hugh deLuc's village has been attacked by a group of Knights, he trundles off to the crusades, becomes disillusioned by the horrific acts being carried out in the name of God, and returns, only to find his wife abducted by a group of marauding knights, to punish him for leaving for the crusades with a band who were not the local Duke's men. These Knights, tunics daubed with black crosses, were also searching for something very valuable. A Holy Relic more valuable than anything else in the Kingdom'and they come to believe that Hugh might know where it is. So Hugh sets off to Tours - to infiltrate the castle where he believes his wife is being held, and rescue her - dressed only as a mere jester. However, that is still only the beginning of this sprawling historical adventure' You must hand it to the authors, this is undoubtedly a rip-roaring adventure story. The historical detail ' whether correct or not I cannot say ' certainly adds colour to an already ebullient tale, and the characters are a vibrant and entertaining bunch. The only one with any real depth at all, though, is Hugh, but that matters little as the story moves so fast that creating fully developed characters would likely be a wasted effort, because the reader wouldn't have time to appreciate it anyway! In true Patterson style, this lightning-paced book is packed full of short chapters (there are 150 plus of them here, and roughly 100 more pages than most of his novels, which is good to see, as several of his recent books have been growing slimmer and slimmer') and the pages flick by as if blown by the breeze. The quality of the prose is also getting better, closer to that of his first Cross novel, but I expect much of that is down to Gross. Patterson fans are likely to be very pleased with this. Even though it is almost instantly forgettable, it has all the action of his thrillers, plus its set in an interesting time period which the authors utilise well. Certainly, read it, if only for the wonderful escapism it provides.
Rating:
Summary: andrew gross is no peter de Jonge
Review: if james patterson insists on letting other people write his books he should at least give them some free reign. maybe someone can take it into a less predictable direction. Except for "The Beach House" and "First to Die" all Patterson's books are basically one plot with the same hollow characters.
Rating:
Summary: Wow - what fun!
Review: We bought this book for a long car trip, hoping that it would ease the monotony of the interstate. We were completely engrossed - so very, very entertaining. Since our trip was only 6 hours or so, we still had more of the book to go. Now, we can't wait to get into the car to listen what happens next to Hugh. We talk about Hugh and his adventures like he's a member of the family. I don't want this book to end. I always love a story about people rising way above their circumstances by way of a good brain, and a great heart.
Rating:
Summary: You;ll love this wonderful Novel
Review: Wonderful story of justice and injustice inflicted on all, love lost, love found, friends found and lost. Loyalty, bravery. Its quite an adventure. But first you must begin, you'll step back in time 1300 years!
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste your time or money!
Review: This is one of the worst books I have ever read. James Patterson is usually one of my favorite authors, but I can only read about so many dead children before I just have to stop. I am only halfway through, but am giving up the ghost. I normally have no problem with any amount of violence or profanity in books, but the gratuitous infanticide and the out-of-place modern-day profanity could have been left out. It still wouldn't have made this enjoyable, but it would have at least been readable.
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