The Black Rood (The Celtic Crusades #2): Amazon.ca: Stephen R. Lawhead: Books

Inside This Book (Learn More)

First Sentence
The worst has happened. Read the first page

Explore More
Concordance

Browse Sample Pages
Front Cover | Copyright | Excerpt | Back Cover

Tag this product

Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items.

Customer Reviews

16 Reviews

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

Average Customer Review

3.6 out of 5 stars (16 customer reviews)

Share your thoughts with other customers:

Create your own review

Most helpful customer reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars More of the same..., May 20 2004

By

Godly Gadfly - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Black Rood (The Celtic Crusades #2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Lawhead's "Celtic Crusades" continue with the next generation, Duncan, son of Murdo (familiar to readers of Vol. 1 in the series, "The Iron Lance"). One again the action revolves around a sacred relic, this time the black rood, a remnant of Christ's true cross, which Duncan aspires to obtain in a crusade to the Holy Land. The narrative of Duncan's vision of Christ's death in connection with this relic is one of the central passages of the book (p334-347). In his quest, Duncan is accompanied by the Cele De priest Padraig and Prince Roupen of Armenia, and must deal with danger at the hands of the Moslems (Seljuq Turks) and the more mysterious intrigues of the Templar Knights. As in the first novel of the series, the story is framed by the memoirs of Gordon Murray, a member of a nineteenth century secret society, but Murray's connection to the plot is still enshrouded in mystery and will only become clear in the final volume of the series.

There's no question that the novel is rich in historical detail and adventure, and there are some solid Christian themes. Typical are sentences like: "the Swift Sure Hand does bend all things to the good of those who love him." Despite this, "The Black Rood" lacks the gripping suspense of Lawhead's historical epic "Byzantium", and the passion and imagination of his forays into fantasy. I look forward to when Lawhead leaves the realm of historical fiction and returns to fantasy. -GODLY GADFLY

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

4.0 out of 5 stars Iron Lance is better, but this is still very good, Nov 17 2003

By

David T. Wayne "aka The 'JollyBlogger'" (Glen Burnie, MD United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Black Rood (The Celtic Crusades #2) (Mass Market Paperback)

As I mention in the title I enjoyed the Iron Lance a little more than this. It's a subjective thing - the Iron Lance just grabbed me a little more than this one.

Howver, this is still a pretty decent book, worth reading. The lead character is Duncan Murdosson, son of Murdo Ranulfson from the Iron Lance. Duncan's uncle, Murdo's brother, has come home from the Holy Land where he stayed after the Great Pilgrimage. He has harrowing tales of life in the Holy Land, but also plants in Duncan the seed of knowledge of the existence of the the Black Rood, a piece of the cross of Christ. After enduring a great tragedy, and against the will of his father, Duncan goes on a quest for the Black Rood. This quest will take him on a long journey through many lands and adventures and much intrigue. Along the way he will find the object of his quest, as well as love and restoration to the True Path.

This book is written in an interesting style. Most of it is written in first person narrative with Duncan as the narrator, writing a story of his travels while in prison awaiting execution as the hands of Muslims. He is writing this for the sake of his daughter, whom he expects never to see again. One of the high spots of the book is the tale of his deliverance from prison.

So, for a fun read I recommend this. It's not the greatest book you will ever read, but it enjoyable nonetheless.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

3.0 out of 5 stars GOOD - BUT NOT GREAT, Feb 28 2003

By

A Customer - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Black Rood (The Celtic Crusades #2) (Mass Market Paperback)

Having read and completely enjoyed Book 1, I was hoping against hope that the reviews written here were too critical (probably written by non-fans or....). Alas, they are right. This book is strictly a 3-star event - possibly less if the bench mark is Book 1. The idea is good. Duncan, son of Murdo, trekks off back to the holy land in search of his destiny, which is The Black Rood - a piece of the true Holy Cross.
The main problem is that there is endless, mindless moving from one place to the next followed by page after page of conversation and feast after feast...all this sprinkled with moments of the brilliance that Lawhead is capable of.
I'm hoping that the review for Book 3 are wrong, cause I'm gonna read it!!!! (Byzantium is BRILLIANT!!!)

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews

Was this review helpful to you? Yes No

Report abuse

Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review

› See all 16 customer reviews on Amazon.ca

Want to see more reviews on this item?

› Go to Amazon.com to see all 20 reviews 3.8 out of 5 stars

Most recent customer reviews

4.0 out of 5 stars A worthy sequel
Although, in my opinion, not quite up to par with 'The Iron Lance,' the first of this trilogy, 'The Black Rood' still provides an entertaining continuation of the story. Read more

Published on Jan 20 2002 by Taryn

5.0 out of 5 stars The Black Rood
Lawhead weaves a story in this serious like a celtic knot. His words take hold of you and you fall deep into the pictures that he creates. Read more

Published on Oct 25 2001 by Julie Higgs