8 /10 1 Votes
Language English Publication date 2008 Genre Historical Fiction Country United Kingdom | 4/5 Goodreads Series Brethren Trilogy Originally published 2008 Preceded by Crusade Publisher Dutton Penguin | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Media type Print (Hardcover & Paperback) Similar Robyn Young books, Historical novel books | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Requiem is a novel by Robyn Young set during the end of the ninth and final crusade. It was first published by E.P. Dutton in 2008.
Contents
Plot summary
Requiem, like Brethren and Crusade before it, follows Will Campbell, a Templar involved in a secret order known as the Anima Templi. After the fall of Acre, Will returns to Europe to find out that his order agreed to help King Edward I to conquer Will's homeland, Scotland. Will decides to leave the Templars and fight together with his people against English invaders. But after his return to Paris he must face an even bigger danger, a plot that will lead to the end of the Knights Templar.
Historical figures
The following characters in the book were real historical figures:
The following historical figures are mentioned in the book or involved with the plot, but do not appear as characters themselves:
Publication history
Requiem was first released in the United Kingdom in 2008. In United States and Canada it was released under the title The Fall of the Templars.
Reception
The novel received a mixed response from reviewers, with most citing the story's disjointed nature and disparity with the rest of the trilogy as the novel's shortcomings.
John Washburn, in a mostly positive review for Myshelf.com, found that "this is a different novel but still quite good". In a similar review for The Daily Telegraph, Toby Clements stated that "Young's prose is fine, and the plot is satisfyingly complex, but in the end this book lives or dies on your attitude to the Templars, and in particular, the much romanticised William Wallace.". A. Jurek, of Curledup.com, was more critical of this concluding novel, stating that "Campbell's story essentially meanders through historical events such as the rebellion of William Wallace, sometimes drowning beneath the surface other story lines and events as he writhes purposelessly for many pages" and, with respect to the novel as a whole, opined "all this is a disappointment because Young can write better; in Crusade, she sets a time bomb ticking in the very first chapter, and the book is a thrill to read. I wish she had done the same in The Fall of the Templars."