‘The White Lion’ – Scott Oden

 

Page Count: 70 Pages

I’m trying to draw a line between work and a little time where I can recharge in the evening; there’s no better way for me to draw that line than by picking up a book and having a read ;o)

I’ve been reading Scott Oden’s blog for a while now and love his passion for Robert E. Howard and how this comes out in his discussion of Howard’s work as well as ‘Sword & Sorcery’ and what Oden calls ‘Heroic Historical’ fiction. I was after something heroic, while I try and sort a mini-TBR pile for ‘Cimmerian September’ so I figured it was way past time I gave Oden’s work a go. I have a copy of ‘Old Gods and Other Tales’ lined up, ready to go, but last night I thought I’d kick things off with ‘The White Lion’...

Acre, at the close of the 13th century. The last remaining Crusader stronghold, where the ideals of a Kingdom of Heaven - forged by saints and zealots nearly two hundred years ago - now hang by the slenderest of threads. It is a city menaced by Saracen warlords; a city coveted by the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt. It is a city of infidels and sinners, lepers and thieves, seemingly forsaken by God.

Into this bloody crucible comes Tancred of Antioch, a battle-scarred giant of a man known to friend and foe alike as the White Lion. In the streets of Acre, he plies his trade as a sword-for-hire, a merchant of death, always keeping his true allegiances cloaked in mystery. But, when his friend, the gentle and learned apothecary Jawan Khandaq, is murdered and killers alight upon him, as well, the White Lion goes on the hunt.

Now, from the alleys of the Venetian Quarter to the crypts of the Leper King, Tancred of Antioch will reap a bloody harvest among his enemies. And those who seek to chain him, to exploit him, to kill him will learn the truth at the point of his sword: Tancred of Antioch, the White Lion, is not a man to be trifled with.

There’s nothing like a well written work of semi-historical fiction (by which I mean fictional events playing out against a particular period of history) to make it really hit home that I should have paid a lot more attention to my history lessons. I suspect I would have done if my teachers had given lessons about figures such as Tancred of Antioch. Oh well :o)

I’m no scholar of the period but it’s clear that Oden has done his homework and really given ‘The White Lion’ a sense of historical context, both in terms of events (playing out against a wider background) and the actual backdrop of Acre itself. I may not know much about the period (okay, nothing about the period…) but I really felt like I was in the middle of it all and that is one of the things I look for in a book.

And if that wasn’t enough, not only does ‘The White Lion’ pay its historical dues, it’s also a thoroughly engaging tale with a ‘hero’ who strides the streets of Acre like the Terminator but never at the expense of belittling the obstacles placed in front of him. It’s a tough line to walk but Oden nails it as far as Tancred goes. I would definitely like to see what happens next for Tancred of Antioch.

‘The White Lion’ was a lot of fun and definitely worth a look. Just what I needed out of last nights reading.