Siege of Heaven by Tom Harper

“Siege of Heaven”. By reading the title and The Cross splayed at the front cover, I was immediately drawn to the prospect of reading about another round of Crusade War. I think this is a trilogy and I’ve inadvertently bought myself the final book without realizing it in the first place.

This book is about a spy called Demetrios Askiates (I’ve double checked the spelling :-P); who was sent by the Holy Roman Emperor to the front line to joust the lagging group of crusaders from Antioch and proceed to secure the crown jewel of Christendom; Jerusalem. But the plot is far from simple because each of the powerful kings & lords involved in the war including the Holy Roman Emperor himself has hidden agenda of their own.

In this novel, Demetrios was a war-scarred person and wanted nothing more than going back to the gleaming city of Constantinople to be with his family. However, his wish was dashed when he received directive from the Holy Roman Emperor to assist their ambassador to complete the routing of powerful kings and lords from their seat at Antioch and move on to Jerusalem.

Unwilling but unable to turn down the directive, he slogged ahead only to find that his estranged son-in-law has also joined in the Holy Roman war-party and also pulled his beloved daughter and grandchild in the process. So, as what we locals said in Hokkien (direct translation); “khi pun si; bo khi pun si” = “go also die; no go also die”. :-)

Demetrios did stumble and enlist a feverish preacher/pastor called Peter Bartholomew who laid claim on finding the Holy Lance. Surprisingly, Peter managed to rouse the peasants despite in-fighting amongst the nobles. Though in the end, he died after pulling too much of his trick (Example: Peter claimed that he was bestowed with the spirit of invincibility) and walked across burning fire to prove his dare. This and much of the strange events accompanied our main character on his journey across the burning inhospitable plains and desert.

The overall storyline is told not far from the perspective of Demetrios and I have to admit that the war description is rather detailed and true to the condition exerted on the war-party/pilgrimage during that era. The end part was rather brutal in which the carnal fiesta, massive plundering and unrestricted carnage afflicted on the citizens of Jerusalem made me think about the dire consequences of adhering to the mob mentality.

Unthinkable is an understatement at best!

Personal rating: 6 out of 10

Cons:
1) A bit lost in the beginning. I presume it is because I bought the last book of the trilogy. :-P
2) I find that Demetrios did not play much “active” role in the novel. He is more like a follower than a spy or a leader.

Pros:
1) Very good description on the war scene. Surreal and engaging especially on the final capture of Jerusalem.
2) Amplifies the fact that war is never a good thing.