Rating: 
Summary: Promising plot poorly executed
Review: This is the only Stephen Lawhead book I have read. It was good enough that I read it to the end, but it wasn't really very well done. A careful editor could probably clear much of the muddle fairly easily. The work as it stands now seems something like a first draft (OK, maybe second draft). It's too bad the author or publisher didn't take more time to polish it. I hope I'm not being too harsh - the book has lots of well done parts and a host of interesting characters - it just seems a shame that its overall potential wasn't reached.
Rating:
Summary: Promising plot poorly executed
Review: This is the only Stephen Lawhead book I have read. It was good enough that I read it to the end, but it wasn't really very well done. A careful editor could probably clear much of the muddle fairly easily. The work as it stands now seems something like a first draft (OK, maybe second draft). It's too bad the author or publisher didn't take more time to polish it. I hope I'm not being too harsh - the book has lots of well done parts and a host of interesting characters - it just seems a shame that its overall potential wasn't reached.
Rating: 
Summary: A travelogue of days gone by
Review: This is the second novel from Lawhead about the crusades, lost relics, dangerous liasons, and the family Murdo. All-in-all, a very nice piece of mystery and suspense.Our main character is named Duncan. Like his father, Murdo, he is pulled from his native Scotland into a web of intrigue and suspense that lands him in the heat of the conflict of the crusades, political tangles, and all over the middle-eastern map. In some sense, these books continue to suggest the sort of roaming and travelogue storylines of an "Indian Jones"-type story. But Lawhead grounds his characters in their faith, their families and an earthy sense of history as it could have happened. I think the one thing I most appreciated was the fact that Lawhead really pulls us into the landscape, allowing us to feel the grit in our snadals, smell the soup boiling, and view whole cities with luxurious color and details. My only major complaint is that a few of the characters seem a bit wooden. Duncan's friend Padraig, his "anam cara", seems to play the part of Duncan's conscience instead of his friend. The relationship never becomes anything more than a role. I would have liked to have seen or known more of this friendship. Other characters also seem to be bit-players, used mainly for what they have to offer the plotline. The real character here is Duncan, which seems to be most appropriate, as it is a diary of sorts. This book has a few startling scenes, but nothing like we saw in the "The Iron Lance"--for better or for worse. Lawhead has toned back the violence somewhat and instead focuses on the landscape, giving us a rich travelogue of color and history. Probably most poignant is the last phrase of the book which reminds us that we are all indeed tied together and tied throughout history.
Rating: 
Summary: Couldn't put it down!
Review: This was another amazing work on the part of Lawhead, a book you can't put down and yet you are sorry to finish it. Rich with historical detail, I found this book even more exciting than The Iron Lance. In all, the adventures of Duncan are believable as well as thrilling. I will agree with other readers that Duncan's relationship with Sydoni wasn't as well developed as it could have been, but that is my only complaint, if you can call it that. One little thing Lawhead can do like no one else; describe a feast! Never read a Lawhead book, this one included, unless you have food readily available. Along with studying history he must have studied the culinary arts! Can't wait for the third book!
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