The Crusader

September 10, 2001
This engrossing tale about one Spanish knight's experiences in the Crusades during the latter half of the 13th century is a first-rate historical novel, richly imagined and plainly written. After his brother Sergio drowns along with 500 other knights while sailing from Barcelona to the Holy Land, Francisco de Montcada dedicates himself to the Cross. Reported dead after the siege of the Crusader castle Krak des Chevaliers, Francisco returns to Spain mute and seemingly possessed, and is chained in the dungeon of a Cistercian monastery for his own protection. There, Cistercian monk Brother Lucas attempts to get him to speak of his experiences, and in the process earn the reward Francisco's father has offered for his son's recovery. Francisco's tale, when he begins to speak, involves the ghost of his brother, his warlike cousin Andres and Andres's intelligent sister Isabel, with whom Francisco is just beginning to fall in love when he goes off to train with the knights of Calatrava in preparation for their journey to the Holy Land. Artfully balancing Francisco's reminiscences with Brother Lucas's framing narration, Eisner smoothly turns the tables on the reader by slowly revealing that the real question of salvation does not concern the knight alone, but the monk as well. Brother Lucas, justifying his dreams of glory and renown with dogma and doctrine, must weigh his beliefs against the hypocrisy of everyone from promiscuous abbots to the evil Don Fernando, the bastard son of Spain's King Jaime, whose encounter with Francisco at Krak des Chevaliers is the centerpiece of the novel. Meticulously researched and artfully told, this is a historical novel that illuminates as it entertains, and proves Eisner to be a promising writer.

June 1, 2001
When Eisner, a specialist in international law, visited the medieval fortress of Krak des Chevaliers in Syria, he came away inspired to write this novel. Here, an ambitious priest is asked to exorcise the demons of a former acolyte, a powerful aristocrat just back from the Crusades.

Copyright 2001 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

September 15, 2001
Brother Lucas is a Cistercian monk with ambition. Born a bastard to a monastery servant, he has managed in his short life to claw his way up the religious hierarchy to the post of prior. Although his mercenary soul could use a little work, his future as an abbot, perhaps even a bishop, seems well within reach. Then Brother Lucas is summoned to the side of an old friend back from the Crusades. Francisco de Montcada, heir to one of Spain's wealthiest families, has returned from the Holy Land supposedly possessed by demons and tells tales of horrendous atrocities committed in the name of faith. First novelist Eisner uses the story-within-a-story device to great effect here, as Brother Lucas transcribes Francisco's confessions, thereby shifting the scene from Spain to the 1271 fall of the great fortress of Krak des Chevaliers. Francisco's stories of battle and imprisonment are the strongest part of this novel and also the best researched. There are a few glaring historical errors here, such as people drinking tea, a beverage not found in Europe for another good 300 years. Overall, though, this rousing read will please fans of Evan Connell's Deus lo Volt! (LJ 3/1/00) and Stephen Lawhead's "Celtic Crusades" series. For all public libraries. [Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 6/1/01.] Wendy Bethel, Southwest P.L., Columbus, OH

Copyright 2001 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from August 1, 2001
Eisner's debut novel is an adventure story in the purest sense of the word, complete with a brooding hero, the beautiful woman he loves, and a despicable villain. But another character brings a layer of complexity to the story: the narrator, Brother Lucas, a not-quite-trustworthy monk who is constantly trying to balance his fierce ambition with his conscience, which might be stronger than he would wish it to be. Lucas first meets Francisco, the son of a very wealthy nobleman, at the monastery Santes Creus. The hypocrisy at the monastery troubles Francisco, but he befriends Lucas, and they form a bond that is still strong when, 11 years later, Francisco returns from the Crusades, apparently possessed by the devil. It is up to Lucas to exorcise the demon, but once he gets Francisco to talk to him, even Lucas is disturbed and horrified by his story. Francisco gradually reveals everything to Lucas: the battles against seemingly insurmountable odds; the increasing tension between their commander, Ramon, and the king's illegitimate son, Don Fernando, who delights in torturing helpless innocents; and even his love for his beautiful, opinionated cousin Isabel. As the story draws together, Lucas is ultimately forced to choose between his ambition and the loyalty he feels toward Francisco. Thrilling and gripping, " The Crusader" is everything an adventure story should be.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)