Review: Good Historical Fiction Read
Rating: 4 out of 5
Date: 03 15, 2013
The Fourth Crusade, by Mark Butler, fallows the life of Father Ruggiero de Merafiza from the time he is a young boy.  The story is very action packed and war oriented.  The Pope decides that he wants to bring Christianity back into Jerusalem, fighting any Muslim who opposes him and this idea.  His soldiers are his very own member's of the Monasteries, Ruggiero included.  Throughout his journey, Ruggiero's character is faced with many conflicts that allow the audience to really see his character in this strong role.  When he arrives in Barcelona and meets with the Prince, he accounts of all he has seen, done (or not), as well as his account of others he has crossed along the way.  At this point, the story truly unfolds, allowing the reader to have a full take and understanding of everything that has happened along the way!Minus the few grammatical errors I found, this story is very well written.  I rather enjoyed reading it.  The author did a great job building up not only Ruggiero as a character, but his back story, and then allowing him to blossom and unfold before as as the story unfolds.  I really enjoyed the history that was incorporated into the story as well.  I especially liked that the author included the note at the end to explain the facts from the fiction.  Great job to the author.  I would highly recommend this book to fans of historical fiction.  I will be looking for more by this author.