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The Jester (Patterson, James) Kindle Edition
Arriving home disillusioned from the Crusades, Hugh DeLuc discovers his village has been ransacked and his wife abducted. The dark riders came in the dead of night, like devils, wearing no colours but black crosses on their chests. They search for a relic, one worth more than any throne in Europe, and no man can stand in their way.
But now, disguised as a jester, Hugh is able to infiltrate the castle where he believes his wife is being held captive. When a man is fighting for freedom, for his wife, and for everything he holds dear, he's a worthy opponent . . . maybe even unstoppable.
With the rapid pace of a page-turning thriller, The Jester is a breathtaking adventure. Full of pulse-pounding plot twists and mysteries, Hugh's quest to find Sophie is one of the most unforgettable love stories in all of fiction.
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherLittle, Brown and Company
- Publication dateMarch 3, 2003
- File size681 KB
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Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Booklist
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
Review
From start to finish, this is supersmart popular fiction, slick yet stirring, packed with colorful details of medieval life, bursting with unforgettable characters and clever tropes and themes. Patterson's fans will adore this one.
-- "Publishers Weekly"Dickson's fast-paced reading is sensitive to both the action scenes and the character-driven side of the story. Characters come alive through his attention to their dreams and their failings...Dickson's voice reveals ruthless, corrupt men for what they are.
-- "Booklist (audio review)"In another departure from his high-suspense detective novels, James Patterson tries his hand at historical fiction and comes up a winner...As fast-paced as any thriller, and just as exciting, The Jester is a colorful picture of the eleventh century and of the types of men and women who survived the often harsh times. It's a good-against-evil story that readers will relish.
-- "RT Book Reviews (4 1/2 stars, Top Pick!)"Replete with his trademark short chapters and surprising twists and turns, Patterson, along with coauthor Gross, keeps the excitement levels high in this rousing adventure tale.
-- "Booklist"Patterson, along with coauthor Gross, keeps the excitement levels high in this rousing adventure tale.
-- "Booklist"This really is an uplifting tale. Patterson steps out of his comfort zone for this title and yet manages to nail the characters and the plot perfectly...This book enriches the imagination of the adult mind...If you truly want to step into a new world but still retain Patterson's sense of humor and mystery, then France is going to be your next stop.
-- "Examiner.com"Once again, plot master James Patterson proves that a radical departure need not be a wrong turn. Readers will find plenty of Patterson's trademark suspense, in addition to a healthy dose of wit.
-- "Barnes&Noble.com"Neil Dickson reads the story of Hugh with passion and panache.
-- "AudioFile"About the Author
James Patterson is one of the most popular writers of all time, with more than 375 million copies of his books sold worldwide. He holds the record for most New York Times bestsellers and is the author of the two most popular detective series of the past decade, the Alex Cross novels and the Women's Murder Club. Patterson has won an Edgar Award, the mystery world's highest honor, and his novels Kiss the Girls and Along Came a Spider were made into feature films.
Andrew Gross is the author of the New York Times bestseller The Blue Zone and The Dark Tide and coauthor with James Patterson of five number-one bestsellers. He has degrees from Middlebury College and Columbia University and lives in Westchester County, New York, with his wife Lynn. They have three children.
Neil Dickson is an actor and audiobook narrator who was a finalist for the prestigious Audie Award in 2011 for Best Audio Drama narration. His extensive acting roles in television and film include Sons of Liberty and the role of King Richard in Lionheart.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
The Jester
By James PattersonWarner Adult
Copyright © 2003 James PattersonAll right reserved.
ISBN: 9781586215361
Prologue
WEARING A BROWN TWEED SUIT and his customary dark tortoiseshell sunglasses, Dr. Alberto Mazzini pushed through the crowd of loud and agitated reporters blocking the steps of the Musée d'Histoire in Boréée.
"Can you tell us about the artifact? Is it real? Is that why you're here?" a woman pressed, shoving a microphone marked CNN in his face. "Have tests been performed on the DNA?"
Dr. Mazzini was already annoyed. How had the press jackals been alerted? Nothing had even been confirmed about the find. He waved off the reporters and camera operators. "This way, Docteur," one of the museum aides instructed. "Please, come inside."
A tiny dark-haired woman in a black pantsuit was waiting for Mazzini inside. She looked to be in her mid-forties and appeared to almost curtsy in the presence of this prestigious guest.
"Thank you for coming. I am Renée Lacaze, the director of the museum. I tried to control the press, but . . ." she shrugged. "They smell a big story. It is as if we've found an atom bomb."
"If the artifact you've found turns out to be authentic," Mazzini replied flatly, "you will have found something far greater than a bomb."
As the national director of the Vatican Museum, Alberto Mazzini had lent the weight of his authority to every important find of religious significance that had been unearthed over the past thirty years. The etched tablets presumed to be from the disciple John dug up in western Syria. The first Vericotte Bible. Both now rested among the Vatican treasures. He had also been involved in the investigation of every hoax, hundreds of them.
Renée Lacaze led Mazzini along the narrow fifteenth-century hall inlaid with heraldic tile.
"You say the relic was unearthed in a grave?" Mazzini asked.
"A shopping mall . . ." Lacaze smiled. "Even in downtown Borée, the construction goes night and day. The bulldozers dug up what must have once been a crypt. We would have completely missed it had not a couple of the sarcophagi split open."
Ms. Lacaze escorted her important guest into a small elevator and then up to the third floor. "The grave belonged to some long-forgotten duke who died in 1098. We did acid and photo-luminescence tests immediately. Its age looks right. At first we wondered, why would a precious relic from a thousand years earlier, and half the world away, be buried in an eleventh-century grave?"
"And what did you find?" Mazzini asked.
"It seems our duke actually went to fight in the Crusades. We know he sought after relics from the time of Christ." They finally arrived at her office. "I advise you to take a breath. You are about to behold something truly extraordinary."
The artifact lay on a plain white sheet on an examiner's table, as humble as such a precious thing could be. Mazzini finally removed his sunglasses. He didn't have to hold his breath. It was completely taken away. My God, this is an atom bomb!
"Look closely. There is an inscription on it."
The Vatican director bent over it. Yes, it could be. It had all the right markings. There was an inscription. In Latin. He squinted close to read. "Acre, Galilee . . ." He examined the artifact from end to end. The age fit. The markings. It also corresponded to descriptions in the Bible. Yet how did it come to be buried here? "All this, it does not really prove anything."
"That's true, of course." Renée Lacaze shrugged. "But Docteur . . . I am from here. My father is from the valley, my father's father, and his. There have been stories here for hundreds of years, long before this grave tumbled open. Stories every schoolchild in Borée was raised on. That this holy relic was here, in Borée, nine hundred years ago."
Mazzini had seen a hundred purported relics like this, but the tremendous power of this one gripped and unnerved him. A reverent force gave him the urge to kneel on the stone floor.
Finally, that's what he did - as if he were in the presence of Jesus Christ.
"I waited until your arrival to place a call to Cardinal Perrault in Paris," said Lacaze.
"Forget Perrault." Mazzini looked up, moistening his dry lips. "We are going to call the Pope."
Alberto Mazzini couldn't take his eyes off the incredible artifact on the plain white sheet. This was more than just the crowning moment of his career. It was a miracle.
"There's just one more thing," said Ms. Lacaze.
"What?" Mazzini mumbled. "What one more thing?"
"The local lore, it always said a precious relic was here. Just never that it belonged to a duke. But to a man of far more humble origins."
"What sort of lowborn man would come into such a prize? A priest? Perhaps a thief?"
"No." Renée Lacaze's brown eyes widened. "Actually, a jester."
Chapter One
Veille du Père, a village in southern France, 1096
The church bells were ringing.
Loud, quickening peals - echoing through town in the middle of the day.
Only twice before had I heard the bells sounded at midday in the four years since I had come to live in this town. Once, when word reached us that the King's son had died. And the second, when a raiding party from our lord's rival in Digne swept through town during the wars, leaving eight dead and burning almost every house to the ground.
What was going on?
I rushed to the second-floor window of the inn I looked after with my wife, Sophie. People were running into the square, still carrying their tools. "What's going on? Who needs help?" they shouted.
Then Antoine, who farmed a plot by the river, galloped over the bridge aboard his mule, pointing back toward the road. "They're coming! They're almost here!"
From the east, I heard the loudest chorus of voices, seemingly raised as one. I squinted through the trees and felt my jaw drop. "Jesus, I'm dreaming," I said to myself. A peddler with a cart was considered an event here. I blinked at the sight, not once but twice.
It was the greatest multitude I had ever seen! Jammed along the narrow road into town, stretching out as far as the eye could see.
"Sophie, come quick, now," I yelled. "You're not going to believe this."
My wife of three years hurried to the window, her yellow hair pinned up for the workday under a white cap. "Mother of God, Hugh . . ."
"It's an army," I muttered, barely able to believe my eyes. "The Army of the Crusade."
Continues...
Excerpted from The Jesterby James Patterson Copyright © 2003 by James Patterson. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
From AudioFile
Product details
- ASIN : B000FA66WQ
- Publisher : Little, Brown and Company; 1st edition (March 3, 2003)
- Publication date : March 3, 2003
- Language : English
- File size : 681 KB
- Text-to-Speech : Enabled
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Sticky notes : On Kindle Scribe
- Print length : 496 pages
- Page numbers source ISBN : 0446613843
- Best Sellers Rank: #124,731 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Customer Reviews:
About the authors
James Patterson is the most popular storyteller of our time. He is the creator of unforgettable characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Jane Smith, and Maximum Ride, and of breathtaking true stories about the Kennedys, John Lennon, and Tiger Woods, as well as our military heroes, police officers, and ER nurses. Patterson has coauthored #1 bestselling novels with Bill Clinton and Dolly Parton, and collaborated most recently with Michael Crichton on the blockbuster “Eruption.” He has told the story of his own life in “James Patterson by James Patterson” and received an Edgar Award, ten Emmy Awards, the Literarian Award from the National Book Foundation, and the National Humanities Medal.
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The story was easy to follow and had easy reading too.
Unfortunately there were some distracting inaccuracies in the historical details. I doubt that most people would be bothered by it though.
I will definitely read more from this author as the chapters are short and the writing style perfect for someone who has a busy life with lots of interruptions to their reading time.
The book is about love, loyalty, and the dream of a world at peace. One of the best books I've ever read.