The Jester

Rating:
Summary: The Jester
Review: As an historical novel, this is a deplorable attempt. As an entertainment, it's so fake, falsely cheery, and insincere that it's barely readable. What in heaven's name has happened to James Patterson lately, anyway? His "letter" novels have been not bad but not nearly as good as the Alex Delaware ones, and now this??!!?

Rating:
Summary: I personally loved this book!!
Review: I just read a great book called "The Jester". When I found out it
was a period piece set in France during the Crusades I didn't think
I would enjoy it, but I really liked the book enough to read it all
in two nights. It's a different kind of book for Patterson, but a
really good one.

At first it starts out with these archeologists finding something
that was buried underneath were they were building a strip mall.
Then they start telling the story of the Jester.

At first the Jester was actually an innkeeper along with his wife.
The innkeeper was raised on the road and learned many tricks. He
came to a town in which lived the woman he intended to marry, he
came to visit her each year on his travels until one day he made her
agree to marry him.

Together the innkeeper (he is not truly a Jester at this point) and
his wife run the inn and they are incredibly happy, except for the
fact that they are unable to have a child. One day a band of
travelers come by, they are on their way to the Crusades. The
innkeeper wants to join along with the travelers, but his wife holds
him back.

Well, later on the same night riders come through town, they are
knights from the lordship Baldwin, the town is under his rule. The
riders wanted to know about the travelers from the Crusades and who
had joined along with them. The riders wreak havoc on the little
French town. The innkeeper is inspired to join with the Crusades.

The innkeeper dreams of being free from Baldwin's rule and he feels
that the Crusades will help him do just that. Even though he is not
a religious man he thinks that the fighting on the side of the
Crusades is the side of the right, though he soon finds out that
they are just as blood thirsty as the Turks that were fighting. He
becomes disgusted by all the horror and blood, he deserts and makes
his way back home.

The innkeeper had been gone three years and when he returns he finds
only more horror. More riders came through the town after he had
deserted, his inn had been burned to the ground. His wife had been
beaten and raped and then dragged away. Also, he learns even more
horror because he had impregnated his wife on his last night there
and they had a son. The son didn't live past two years because one
of the riders threw him into the fire that was the inn.

The innkeeper promises vengeance and wants to bring his wife back.
It is a fool's quest but he goes on anyways. It is a story of the
weak trying to overcome the strong. I won't tell you anymore about
it, so that I don't go too far and ruin the ending, but it just gets
better from here.


Rating:
Summary: eh
Review: The plot is okay, the characters are okay, the writing is okay... nothing is particularly memorable. There are a lot of better books out there, but this is not bad, worth reading if you want to distract yourself for a few hours.

Everyone has his own tastes, but I'm a little surprised by some of the other reviews. 'Phenomenal' is not a word I'd use to describe this. Sure, it sucked me in, but go try China Mieville or Chris Moore if you want some really good writing. 'Realistic' also surprised me--maybe try Jack Whyte or even Harry Harrison's Hammer and Cross series for more realistic historical fiction.

If you've read Patterson's Alex Cross books, the writing style here is similar but different enough that it's not just a Cross novel set in the twelfth century. As with any collaboration, you don't know who wrote what, but seems that Andrew Gross contributed at least enough to the style to make it unlike the other Patterson stuff I've read. I'd have to say I like this a little better in terms of quality of writing.

I might try another Patterson/Gross collaboration but I'll probably do what I did for this one--get it from the library. It's not really a book I'd read over and over so I probably wouldn't buy it.

Rating:
Summary: The Jester
Review: I saw this book in the supermarket, read the summary in the back and put it down right away....Having just finished "1st. To Die, I was on a bit of a Patterson kick...two days later I was back at the market and found myself looking at the book again..Year 1089, the crusades, medevil times....??--oh what the heck on a whim I bought it and enjoyed every minute of it..Yes I cut throught it like a hot knife thru butter..and like many other reviews stated some of the "modern terms" used seemed a bit out of place, but to me at that point your so engrossed in the story, you kinda glaze over it .I loved the story and rooted for Hugh from the beginning, his determination, his strength.. My opinion of this book is if its set in medevil times, written in a way that has a modern tone and you still can picture the country side and characters it has done its job...and it did a dam good one at that :-)