Hollywood made him a blacksmith; Arab chronicles said he was "like a king."He served a leper, but defied Richard the Lionheart.
He fought Saladin to a standstill, yet retained his respect.
Rather than dally with a princess, he married a dowager queen—and founded a dynasty.
He was a warrior and a diplomat both: Balian d’Ibelin
Balian has survived the devastating defeat on the Horns of Hattin, and walked away a free man after the surrender of Jerusalem, but he is baron of nothing in a kingdom that no longer exists. Haunted by the tens of thousands of Christians now enslaved by Saladin, he is determined to regain what has been lost. The arrival of a vast crusading army under the soon-to-be-legendary Richard the Lionheart offers hope -- but also conflict, as natives and crusaders clash and French and English quarrel.
This is Part III of a biographical novel about Balian d'Ibelin. The first two books in the series, Knight of Jerusalem and Defender of Jerusalem, were both BRAG Medallion honorees. Defender of Jerusalem won the 2016 Chaucer Award for Historical Fiction set in the Middle Ages and was also awarded the Silver (second place) for Spiritual/Religious Fiction in the 2016 Feathered Quill Book Awards. It was a finalist for the 2016 M.M. Bennetts Award for Historical Fiction.
This book was an "OnlineBookClub.org Book of the Day".
My reviewEnvoy of Jerusalem is the third book in the historical fiction genre series about the king Balian d’Ibelin. He had surrendered the Holy kingdom of Jerusalem and was set free by the Sultan. But he is determined to take control of the kingdom as soon as possible. His thoughts are always about the people of the land and how to evade those people from being slaves of the Sultan Salah ad-Din.
A fight to get back the land they had called their own some days ago before the attack of Salah ad-Din. Balin was able to free himself and was able to free the people who were able to pay the ransom. But there are many who can’t afford the ransom and were held captive till, Balin finds a way out.
The story tells us a tale of Lord Balin and the wars that he has fought, which makes the historical fictional book interesting. I just fell I love with the narration and how the author has used his writing skills to get the attention of the reader, just making him spell bound with the plot. I had a great time reading the book though I was very confused with the characters in the story. At one point of time I lost track of the where the story was going to, as the characters kept changing on every page.
I would love to see a movie made out of the story. A picture says more than a thousand words, so a movie will do justice to the story and its characters.
A great book that you will keep you engaged till the very last page.
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