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Book Review
Aug. 3rd, 2012 10:31 pmCount Bohemond
by Alfred Duggan
This is an older novel about the First Crusade, specifically, Bohemond I, prince of Antioch. He was originally a minor Norman lord from Apulia. His military prowess, particularly his talent for tactics and strategy, led him to become one of the leaders of the Crusaders and to be particularly instrumental in the conquest of Antioch.
Despite the nature of the subject matter, I tired of this book very quickly. Duggan concentrates almost exclusively on the military aspects of the story, so that the plot is nothing more than a series of battles and sieges across Asia Minor and into the middle east. With little else going on in the book, it quickly becomes surprisingly repetitive. There's a little bit of politics among the leaders of the Crusade, but Duggan does not get very far into it beyond how it affects the various battles and sieges. There's very little attention given to Bohemond's relationships or inner life. And there's not much in the way of description of the details of life on Crusade.
Duggan also seems to have surprisingly little to say about his protagonist or the events he depicts. There's really nothing there beyond "see this cool Crusader and all the cool things he did". Plus, duggan takes a very simplistic view of the Crusade itself: the Crusaders are awesome, the Greeks and the Turks aren't. No exploration of any themes or anything, robbing the book of any real substance.
by Alfred Duggan
This is an older novel about the First Crusade, specifically, Bohemond I, prince of Antioch. He was originally a minor Norman lord from Apulia. His military prowess, particularly his talent for tactics and strategy, led him to become one of the leaders of the Crusaders and to be particularly instrumental in the conquest of Antioch.
Despite the nature of the subject matter, I tired of this book very quickly. Duggan concentrates almost exclusively on the military aspects of the story, so that the plot is nothing more than a series of battles and sieges across Asia Minor and into the middle east. With little else going on in the book, it quickly becomes surprisingly repetitive. There's a little bit of politics among the leaders of the Crusade, but Duggan does not get very far into it beyond how it affects the various battles and sieges. There's very little attention given to Bohemond's relationships or inner life. And there's not much in the way of description of the details of life on Crusade.
Duggan also seems to have surprisingly little to say about his protagonist or the events he depicts. There's really nothing there beyond "see this cool Crusader and all the cool things he did". Plus, duggan takes a very simplistic view of the Crusade itself: the Crusaders are awesome, the Greeks and the Turks aren't. No exploration of any themes or anything, robbing the book of any real substance.
