The Jester

By: James Patterson, Andrew Gross

Narrated by: Neil Dickson

Length: 12 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

Hugh De Luc, a poor innkeeper, returns home from the First Crusade wearied from battle and disillusioned by carnage. After journeying from the Holy Land back to his own small village, he finds his nightmare is just beginning.

In his absence, Hugh's son has been killed and his beloved wife, Sophie, abducted by a ruthless duke in search of a priceless relic dating back to the Crucifixion. Taking on the role of a jester, Hugh infiltrates the court where he believes Sophie is held captive. There he confronts men more evil than he ever imagined and embarks on an epic battle to restore his broken life.

©2003 James Patterson, All Rights Reserved. (P)2003 Time Warner AudioBooks, A Division of AOL Time Warner Book Group

Critic reviews

"From start to finish, this is supersmart popular fiction, slick yet stirring...unforgettable characters...Patterson's fans will love this one." (Publishers Weekly)

the title may "fool" you!

great story easily belongs with the classics. pleasantly not typical of Patterson's work. Artfully crafted stories like this are too few and far between.

The jester

One of my faves. So glad to find it on audible. Read it the first time years ago and many more since. Enjoy it

New reader to James Patterson,

Loved this book, the second by JP that i have now read. Whats next?

Fantastic Story!

I thoroughly enjoyed the characters, era and storyline. The story takes you on a noble adventure and never gets dull. Patterson jumped out of his normal style for this novel and what a brilliant piece of work he produced. More to come I hope...

The Jester

The Jester is set back in the med evil times. It is not your normal Patterson ,murder mystery , book. It takes you back to that Period in time. You can see the battles feel there pain and anger. When a book can make you feel what the characters are going through it’s awesome. That’s why I would recommend this book to anyone looking for a good read.

A rather juvenile but adult historical fiction

This book was a fast and enjoyable read but it seemed to me like it started out as a children’s story that then got turned into an adult novel with the addition of some really twisted villains, bawdy jokes, and mild sex scenes. It was a good and easy read for sure, but the villains were cartoonishly overdone, simplistic and idiotic. And none of the characters, be they the villains, the protagonists, nor anyone else seemed to think out anything. The story just moved from one wildly implausible and unrealistic situation to another. Very much like an adult level children’s story. I must also point out that the opening part about the Crusades was historically incorrect. Based on the story, you’d think the borders and populations of the eleventh century were the same as the late twentieth century except for Constantinople. In reality, in the eleventh century much of present day Turkey and Syria was Byzantine Christian that was in the process of, or still to be, overrun by the Turks. If you are looking for a piece of serious historical fiction, this ain’t it. If you are looking for a somewhat odd but fun tale set in Medieval France, this might be for you.

Awesome

I think James Patterson is a hit or miss. This one is a hit. I read it over 6 months ago and I often think back about how great this book was. The narration of this book doesn't get any better. I love how The Jester took me back in time and made be feel like I was living during the time of the crusaders. This book is a must read...

Just Good Fun

If your looking for great fiction this isn't for you but if you want to be entertained than this story has much to offer. Yes, you have to take large chunks of the story with a boulder of salt and forgive many plot devices. However, I enjoyed this novel tremendously and the narration was great. I loved the period aspects of the book especially the peasants against the nobles and just didn't care about the accuracy. There are authors that take much more liberties with history than are found in this book.

Great characters and story.

Some of Pattersons books dont hit home to me but this one is, well, in a way beautiful. I cant call it anything else because that is the way I saw it after I finished it. The characters came to life and meant something to me while I read and not too many books do that. I read it and then got the audiobook because I loved it so much. And I have only done that a couple of times before. I recommend it to anyone that loves a story about fighting to overcome great evil for the one you love. The book is about so much more than just that but this is a huge theme to the book. The book does have some curse words in it but they do not drown it in needless vulgarity. I hope you love it if you try it.

Excellent Medieval Story

Excellent listen! A story about love, loss, dedication, and a believable look into what life might look like in medieval times.