Standard of Honor, Book 2.

Susan Merskey is freelance writer in London, Ontario.

In 1187, following the Battle of Hattin, a young Scots Templar, Alexander Sinclair, escapes into the desert, only to be captured by one of Saladin’s captains. He learns from his captor that Saladin believes the Knights Templar to be the most dangerous of all the enemies of Islam and that he is determined to kill them all. Sinclair fears for his friends’ lives, particularly the lives of those who, like himself, are members of the ancient Brotherhood of Sion.

Meanwhile, his young cousin, Andrė St. Clair, a fugitive in France, and both a rising Knight Templar and a novice in the Brotherhood of Sion, is offered the chance to clear himself of false charges provided he and his father, a former master-at-arms, agree to join the Third Crusade in the army of Richard the Lionheart. But the new king proves to be a far bigger threat to the St. Clair family than anything they will face in war.

This is the second historical novel in a planned trilogy about the Knights Templar. Author Jack Whyte’s descriptive powers are, if anything, even more keenly developed here than they were in The Knights of the Black and White. Once again, he has woven together many layers of fact and fiction, myth and religious belief, danger and intrigue, and love and hatred as he draws his readers relentlessly through scenes of bloodshed and lust, gallantry and treachery, love and hatre. Above all, the special bond between Alexander Sinclair and his young cousin dominates the story, even when they are physically absent from the stage.

The book is more than half as long again as its predecessor but this does not feel like a drawback—the pace is too fast for that. If you like mayhem and intrigue set in the days of the Crusades, you will enjoy this book. As with the first one, I recommend you read it in largish chunks for maximum enjoyment. I look forward to the final novel, Order in Chaos.