The Crown Rose
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- $23.99
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- $23.99
Publisher Description
The Crown Rose tells the story of Isabelle of France, born heir to the throne: her life from childhood to her later years; a life of turmoil and strife and longing.... The year is 1240. It is the reign of King Louis IX. Knighthood is still honored, though the traditions are beginning to fade. This will be the last generation of knights as we understand them. It is a time of intense chivalry and faith; religious orders such as the Templars, the Franciscans, Dominicans, and the Knights of Malta are springing up everywhere. And it is a time of conflict between nations struggling and warring to form their own identities and their own destinies. The Crown Rose portrays the mystery of one man who enters Isabelle's life at several key moments, becoming her icon, her soul's other half, and her destiny... a man who may, in fact, be much more than an ordinary man. His bloodline goes back to the Holy Land, and he is far, far older than he appears. The Crown Rose weaves its tale around the actual events of the time, blending historical realism with a hint of the fantastic, drawing upon extensive research to make the story as accurate as possible. It is a tale of chivalry, knighthood, romance, and war; of lost secrets and hidden mysteries; of honor, duty and sacrifice; and the power of a few dedicated people to change the face of the world itself.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Strong religious beliefs (orthodox and alternative) propel the action of Avery's first novel, a dazzling blend of French history and the fantastic. As a child, Princess Isabelle, heir to the French throne, has an intuition that her life will be different. At age nine, in the year 1234, she's sure she's "destined to do great things" after a mysterious stranger saves her from certain death by repelling a rabid dog with one word a word that "held the power of the world." The Knights Templar, the fate of Mary Magdalene, holy relics of the early church and the Temple of Jerusalem all figure in a lively, credible story that compares favorably to Sara Douglass's Crucible series (The Wounded Hawk, etc.), also set in medieval Europe. The plot could have been a little better developed in places and at times the dialogue sounds more contemporary L.A. than 13th-century France, but overall this is a superior historical fantasy. FYI: Avery has received television credits for work on Babylon 5 and Crusade and Earth: Final Conflict, and is the author of Witchblade: Obakemono and other graphic novels.
