The Jester

The Jester is one of the best books I have read (heard) based on the dark ages crusades, ties in historical facts with a good paced story and multiple links between characters and religious artifacts. The ending was such a suprise as we learn who people really were, this is a great read for all. Well pleased and highly reccommend this book.

I took a chance on this one and was not disappointed. It held my interest all the way through, with brilliant characterizations, lots of action, and some history thrown in. Not for the feint of heart. Improbable, but happy, ending. If you don't enjoy this time period, ca 1000 AD, avoid this book. It is about the Crusades.

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...

The narration is excellent. Each voice fits the character perfectly and greatly enriches the experience. Romance, blood and guts, revolution,raunchy humor, history and religion in equal parts. What more could you want ? The good guy even triumphs! I didn't want to stop listening or the story to end.

The plot may be a little bit formulaic but the story is grand adventure all the same, and I enjoyed it. I'm a little surprised by the negative reviews - it is a book about medieval times for grownups, after all. The "bawdy" jokes and sex references are quite mild, so if you find this book offensive for that then I'd have to say you most definitely qualify as a prude. If anything, it was the violence and wanton cruelty of war practices and criminal injustice during those ages that made me wince.

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.

I love historical novels but I did not believe I was hearing a piece of history. It felt more like a Mel Brooks version of the Crusades with over used internet jokes, crude language that was not necessary to the situation, predictable plot, unbelievable and laughable characters and an extremely irritating narrator voice. I"ve read most of James Patterson's detective novels and enjoyed them very much......he should stick to writing what he writes best and leave the historical sagas to those who truly understand history.
All the time I was reading The Jester I felt that I was listening to a movie in progress and would not be surprised to see it on the big screen in the future as it appears to have been written just for that purpose.

Kept my interest. Good story, but not one of Patterson's best.

If you like midieval themes, this is one of the best out there. In Patterson's first delve into a quasi-historical fiction, he's done a pretty incredible job. It certainly is better than the Steven R. Lawhead Pendragon series and gets you thinking about the predicament his characters get in. From a historical point of view, it leads the reader through some pretty accurate accountings of landowner abuse of their citizens and what medieval times were like. The plot of one rising as the leader for the benefit of all leaves one, if you have that kind of imagination, cheering in your car seat. I have also read this in hard copy and think that if you are not expecting an Alex Cross novel, like historically based fiction, and can delve into the character development, this one is a barn-burner.

If you like honor, history, and sword swinging action... The Jester comes close. It's questionable as to historical accuracy, but has the basic elements of a Bernard Cornwell 'Sharpe's' series, just not quite as well done. If you've already gone through the Cornwell series, this will do nicely while waiting for another Sharpe.