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.