Brethren cover art

Brethren

Book 1 of the Brethren Trilogy

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Brethren

By: Robyn Young
Narrated by: Christopher Scott
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About this listen

From the burning plains of Syria to the filthy backstreets of Paris and London, Brethren is the story of Will Campbell, coming of age in a time of conspiracy, passion, politics and war.

Will has been brought up from boyhood in the ways of the all-powerful Order of the Knights Templar. With a tragedy in his past that looms over his future, he faces a long, hard apprenticeship to the foul-tempered scholar Everard, before he can have any chance of becoming a Knight. As he struggles to survive in the harsh discipline of the Temple, Will must try to make sense of many things: his own past, the dangerous mystery that surrounds Everard, and his confused feelings for Elwen, the strong-willed young woman whose path seems always to cross his own.

Meanwhile, a new star is rising in the East. A ruthless fighter and brilliant tactician, the former slave Baybars has become one of the greatest generals and rulers of his time. Haunted by his early life, he is driven by an unquenchable desire to free his people from the European invaders of his homeland.

With page-turning suspense and thrilling action, Brethren brilliantly evokes that extraordinary clash of civilizations known in the West as the Crusades. Robyn Young portrays a rich cast of characters, reflecting on each side greed, ambition and religious fanaticism, as well as courage, love and faith.

©2006 Robyn Young (P)2007 Isis Publishing Ltd
Historical Fiction Fiction Middle ages War Middle East Crusade

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All stars
Most relevant  
Excellent story woven into the history of the templars. A fascinating period of history which evolves across the trilogy

Excellent story woven into the history of the templars

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Having read the Brethren trilogy as it was published I was looking forward to revisiting it in this format as I drive for a living and am now fed up with playlists and radio!
I would throughly recommend this Trilogy, Robyn Young's meticulous research of the period adds a degree of authenticity and believable realism to a work of fiction.
The only thing that jarred slightly was Mr Scott's portrayal of William didn't match my read of the character from the books - but that is a small point. His voice and delivery were excellent on all other scores!

Very enjoyable! Great story.

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it's a well written book that is well read and a thoroughly enthralling read/listen. 10/10

one of my favourite books

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it was a fantastic store to find out about how things happen on the crusade

interesting to listen to

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I loved this book, a great story brilliantly told! I cannot wait for the next!

enthralling

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Great book and story - I loved reading the books. Can't wait to download the 2nd book in the trilogy.

This is my first audiobook so I may be being a bit critical but I cringed at times with the persistent narration errors that were allowed throughout the story-telling. Emphasis on certain words which disconnected them from the sentence they were related to and attached them onto the next sentence where they had no connection, the occasional sentence of speech which came from the wrong character.

Also, I didn't personally enjoy the Scottish accent that the narrator gave to Will Campbell - it seemed a bit too fabricated. While on accents - the characters in the Paris Temple appeared to be from various areas of the UK Midlands which let the book down too. Far better to just narrate for those characters if a French accent isn't your forté.

But loved the story and am looking forward to listening to The Crusade.

Great book, narration lets it down at times.

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Scott takes you to time so very different to our and immerses the reader in a richly layered story that is thrilling and engrossing.
The narrator does a splendid job recounting this wonderful book.
I would highly recommend this book.

A fantastic and engrossing story.

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What would have made Brethren better?

Much shorter. Less of a surly main character. Far greater development of the story around Sultan Baybars, the book's truly interesting character. What was irritating was that as the plot moved on a notch, the main character again became very introspective and again and again we wallowed around in his tiresome, and not particularly well done, discontentment.

What will your next listen be?

Different historical fiction author. Likely Karen Maitland, Conn Iggulden or Bernard Cornwell.

What aspect of Christopher Scott’s performance might you have changed?

Have him read a shorter booker.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

Disappointment that the story wasn't half as long.

Any additional comments?

I wouldn't spend my time on this!

I listened to the end so you don't have to!

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the story took too long to go nowhere. plenty characters but not enough suspense and intrigue. Could have done with more cliff hangers. I struggled to finish it.

The story took too long to go nowhere

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