The Story

Taking up right where Keeper of the Grail left off, Trail of Fate finds Tristan on the coast of France after being shipwrecked on his way to England. He soon finds himself joining ranks with a group of Cathars on the run, as the leader of the group has gotten on the bad side of the archbishop. Soon, he has become their military leader, only to find that the evil Sir Hugh has joined ranks with the forces pursuing Tristan’s new friends. Now Tristan has to fight off not one, but two enemies who want him dead, while still attempting to get the Holy Grail back home safely.

The Review

Gah, I sometimes really hate books in series’ and trilogies. Seriously? You leave me with a last sentence like THAT and then expect me to be cool with waiting until the next book is out to find out what happens? Grr. Cliffhangers are NOT my friends. At least with books like Harry Potter, each one ends at the end of the school year and, say, NOT in the middle of Harry dueling Voldemort. This one ends with Robard shooting an arrow and trying to free Maryam from the gallows. Hrmph.

Other than the completely unsatisfactory ending, I loved this book. Got through it in a couple of hours. Again, chock full of action and adventure, heroics, lots of bad guys attempting to foil Tristan’s mission, new and old friends, and (gasp!) a couple of potential (or not so potential, *cough*) romances.

Of course, I am still in love with the different twist on the Robin Hood and Maid Marian legend – I still especially love the twist that Maryam is an Hashshashin (an Arabic assassin) fighting against Richard the Lionheart’s Crusade. She’s definitely totally kick-ass, and is by far my favourite character in the trilogy so far.

Spradlin is able to take stuff from history (like the Crusades, and such) and make it so relatable and exciting. This time he takes on Catharism and introduces it in a way that will not only teach younger readers about a different religious sect in history, but does so in a way that will make it understandable for them.

All-in-all, definitely a solid book in the trilogy. I was impressed – usually the second book in trilogies are my least favourites. This one, I enjoyed as much as the first one.

The Bottom Line

It was good. Very good. Just as good as the first in the trilogy. But if you can, wait until the third one has been published before reading this one. Because you will NOT want to have to wait to see what happens in the third book.

Other Reviews

Readingjunky’s Reading Roost. Have you reviewed this book on your blog? Let me know and I’ll add your link.