This was a really enjoyable novel set in medieval times. Humour and action abound in this story with a killer ending. Tristan is a loveable character with a kind heart and other great characters include Sir Thomas, Sir Basil, Robard Hode and the evil Sir Hugh. Eagerly awaiting the second book to find out what happens next. ( )

Cliff hanger. Not very well written. ( )

MSBA Nominee 2009-2010

Book about the Templar Knights, Richard the Lionhearted, has references to Robin Hood, Maid Mariam and Little John. Good for kidss who like war stories, the Crusades, books about the Holy Grail.

I liked it, but I thought where the author chose to end this book was a poor choice. Definitely kept moving from CD to CD. ( )

I picked this up because the youth service coordinator at our local library highly recommended it to me several times. I finally got around to the book on CD while waiting for the next book in the Hunger Games series to come in. I didn't have high expectations for it but came away pleasantly surprised. I have reached my saturation point in dystopia fiction so it was refreshing to find a well done historical fiction YA novel for my daughter to share.

The narrator of the book is Tristan, an orphan living in a monastery in 1191 A.D. England. He is unaware of how he came to be there but there are hints that he may be of noble birth. I found this to be one of the more interesting mysteries in the book and I thought more would be revealed about who Tristan really is but I guess it will be addressed in a later installment. Tristan grows up among the monks and one day a group of Templar knights arrive at his abbey. He decides to cast his fortune with them and instead of becoming a monk he becomes a squire for Sir Thomas who teaches him survival skills such as sword fighting. He undertakes a journey with the Templar knights on Richard the Lionhearts crusade to the Holy Land. Eventually Tristan becomes separated from his mentor Sir Thomas and the Templar knights and he finds himself alone and the guardian of the greatest relic of all Christendom, the Holy Grail. As Tristan seeks to protect the grail, the story turns toward the familiar Robin Hood Tales. Tristan befriends Robbard (Robin) an archer on his way to Sherwood, and Maryam (Marian) who is a girl assassin. The group is pursued by bandits and the Saladin who are intent on possessing the grail. The novel ends on an extreme cliff hanger which will leave the reader wanting to quickly move on to the next installment.

I really loved the character of Tristan in this novel. He has a very sharp wit and I found myself chuckling out loud at several of his caustic observations through out the book. I was surprised at how much my daughter enjoyed this as story as well. I appreciate the fact that she got a little historical lesson about medieval times as she enjoyed the adventure aspects of this novel. We will be checking out the next installment in this series shortly.

A final note, we listened to this book on CD,. The narrator Paul Boehmer did an excellent job of reading the story and giving life to the character of Tristan. I could have listened to his English accent all day. ( )

http://books.moonsoar.com/archives/2009/10/11/the-youngest-templar-keeper-of-the... ( )