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Not Just A Jester

Customer Rating:
I loved the premise and the central character. This book feeds into my obsession with the holy fool who becomes a kind of sacred king. Like Robin Hood, he is an outlaw who defends his people against injustice. For me, this is powerful stuff. Where this book loses points is with the conventional fairy tale ending which diminishes the book's impact. It seemed to me that Patterson and Gross didn't really know what they had, and missed out on the full potential of their concept.

Outside of the box

Customer Rating:
This was a great departure from the Alex Cross novels that I have come to know and love. After reading Cradle and All and being a little shocked by how James Patterson is not only locked into mystery novels, I was again, a little apprehensive to start a book like Jester. However, it only took reading the first couple of chapters to get me hooked.

This book was great. The detail and insight that Patterson has and his ability to tie facts in with fiction is what makes him a great writer. This book held my attention and anticipation to the very end. A must read for readers who love Patterson, thrillers, historical fiction, or all of the above!!

Timothy Lassiter, author of Three Degrees of Separation and The Devil You Know

Hail to The Jester!

Customer Rating:
I read The Jester by James Patterson, a few years ago, when it had originally been released. I had always been a long time fan of historical fiction, mostly from the Medieval Ages. What I needed, though, was a real kick start into first to propel me back into reading, and I could not have picked up a better book. You know how sometimes they say, "The teacher makes the class?" Well, for me, this book was it.

The Jester is an adventure like unother. The story takes place in 1096, shortly after Pope Urban II has called on the crusades to rescue the holy land. Through the eyes of Hugh de Luc, we see what life was like then. It was not pleseant at all, but he was content with his life. We and his wife have their own inn, where they are friendly with everyone in their town. What bonds them all, is an overly oppresive Lord.

After Pope Urban II promised that all men who took the cross and went to the holy land would be given riches, and released of all sins, Hugh de Luc saw this as a great opportunity. How bad could it be, right? So when the crusading army marched through his village, he joined up. Over the next few months and years, we see Hugh go to war, and experience the carnage. At one point, Hugh comes to grip with the holiest of all relics.

After abandoning the army (from the hell he experienced) Hugh made it back home to come to an even greater shock. With men on his tale, his wife in prison, and much worse for their son, Hugh departs on a path of vengence.

The Jester is an amazing epic and tale, and really a lot of fun to read. The historical side is not too much, as we are more focused on the adventure Hugh goes on, but we do see what life was like in the times, the Holy Land, and the different kinds of people.

I highly recommend "The Jester," to anyone looking for a good, face paced read, and looking to have a good time.

A matter of expections, perhaps?

Customer Rating:

NOTE: This review refers to the unabridged audio cassette version of this book.

It was interesting to read the greatly varied reviews of this book. It seems that how you rate it depends in part on your expectations before hand.

Many of you are apparently familiar with Patterson's other books and were expected more of the sameand were disappointed when you didn't find it.

Luckily, I have never read any of his other books and I came to "Jester" with no expectations along that line. I picked it up because it was cheap and I needed an audio book. Judging from the cover image and the blurb, I assumed it was one of those "DaVinci Code" clones, with some ancient religious relic wrecking havoc today.

I was very happily surprised to find a richly drawn historic novel full of action, suspense and romance. In fact, I loved the book and I grew to care about the main characters. The writing was good, although without any great literary pretensions.

That is not to say it was without faults. If anything, it leaned too heavily on the romance angle and I half expected to hear some over-baked "Harlequin" type hyberbole along with the sometimes graphic (though never vulgar) sex scenes. And the protagonist was SO good and SO lucky (I mean, would anyone really be able to survive everything from the Crusades to a wild boar attack????) that I thought he should be addressed as Saint Hugh.

In the audio version, there were two additional weaknesses. One was the use of strong Welsh and British accents for the main characters who are, after all, French. I am glad they didn't opt for phoney French accents, but it was disconcerting nonetheless.

The other, albeit even more minor, distraction was that the narractor called off each chapter number and, given that there were more than 140-something chapters (some very very short) this quickly became annoying.

Still, when the only faults you can find in a book are such minor ones, that says a great deal about the book!

Patterson (with co-author) Outdid himself

Customer Rating:
This book was one of his best. It had more depth with the historical fiction. I either like his books alot--- The Womens Murder Club mysteries, "The Honeymoon", "Beach House", and my favorite "Miracle on the 18th Green", or I don't--- like the Alex Cross books. Most with a co-writer are very good.
Jester was fasinating with amazing characters and a story that kept you wanting more. A fast and very interesting read. Thanx for the help. Andrew