The 'find the frog a pile of new books' thread

[Krusader]

I have a trilogy to suggest:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...379231-1035640 Road to Jerusalem

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...379231-1035640 The Knight Templar

http://www.amazon.co.uk/exec/obidos/...379231-1035640 The Kingdom at the End of the Road

Im unsure how the English translation is, but the trilogy is among the best books Ive ever read. The author mixes history and fiction in a nice way, and by my view, he details the tactics, warfare, equipment etc. in a good way.

Arn is however displayed as a close-to-flawless hero, and the Scandinavian bishops are described in a bad light. Muslims tend to be described in a good light, and the Saladin you encounter in the book, is one you like.

And about romance! Its in there, but it doesnt overshadow the story. Its in the background!

The synopsis from amazon.co.uk:

The hero of this phenomenally successful historical trilogy is Arn Magnusson, born in 1150 to an aristocratic Swedish family.
THE ROAD TO JERUSALEM covers his childhood and education at the Cistercian monastry of Varnhem. There he is taught the best of spiritual and worldly learning, as well as being trained to become a master archer and swordsman by the giant Brother Guilbert, a former knight. At seventeen, equipped to become a monk or a warrior, Arn returns home, a young man and yet an innocent in the ways of the world. Two sisters cross his path: one seduces him, while with the other, Cecilia, he falls deeply in love. In loving two sisters he has committed a crime punishable by both civil and clerical authorities, and he is sentenced to serve 20 years as a Knight Templar in the Holy Land.
THE KNIGHT TEMPLAR recounts Arn's experiences as an occupation officer in Palestine. Born in 1150 to an aristocratic Swedish family, handsome Arn Magnusson is educated at a Cistercian monastery. As well as training to be a monk, he is to be a warrior, and becomes a master archer and swordsman under the tutelage of the giant Brother Guilbert, a former knight. But Arn is innocent in the ways of the world, and when two beautiful sisters cross his path, despite falling desperately in love with one of them, Cecilia, he is seduced by the other. Such a crime is punishable by both civil and clerical authorities, and, while Cecilia is banished to spend twenty years as a nun, Arn is sentenced to serve the same period as a Knight Templar in the Holy Land. As an occupation officer in Palestine, he discovers that the infidel Saracens don't appear to be brutish and uncivilised as they are portrayed in Christian propaganda. On the contrary, in love and war he learns from the example of his noble adversary Saladin that there's another side to the teachings of the Cistercians...

KINGDOM AT THE END OF THE ROAD
Arn leaves Jerusalem a changed man. He returns to a Sweden torn apart by feudal infighting in which his family is deeply embroiled; and to Cecilia, the love of his youth, who was banished to a nunnery for the period he was in the Holy Land.