In the year 1095, Pope Urban II declared war on the infidel. Kings, princes, and lords throughout Europe took up the cross and joined the Crusade. It was Murdo Ranulfson's duty to guard his family's interests while his father and brothers fought to win Jerusalem. But when a greedy king and corrupt clergy charged with the protection of Orkney become its worst enemies, Murdo must undertake the pilgrimage himself. Driven to the sea, Murdo follows the Crusades in the hope of finding his father and redeeming his family's land. His epic journey leads him to the heart of the civilized world, the Mediterranean, where the Emperor Alexius struggles to fend off the barbarian hordes that would rend Christendom and engulf the world in darkness. Murdo's quest carries him to the fabled city of Constantinople and beyond to the Holy Land, guarded by the sword points of the Saracens. Amidst unimaginable brutality and ambition, he finds the man he seeks. Steeped in heroism, treachery, and the clamor of battle, The Iron Lance begins an epic trilogy of a noble Scottish family fighting for its existence and its faith during the age of the Great Crusades -- and of a secret society whose hidden ceremonies will shape history for a thousand years. Undergoing an initiation into a secret brotherhood, a Scottish lawyer receives a vision from his ancestral past, reliving the epic tale of a young man's journey from Scotland to Jerusalem in search of his Crusader father. Lawhead's (Dream Thief, Zondervan, 1996) latest effort, the first in a series that combines historical fact with Christian legend, displays the author's deep convictions as well as his storytelling expertise. A good choice for most fantasy collections. Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc. Historical fantasy and first of a ``generational epic,'' so the publisher informs us, from Lawhead (Byzantium,1996, etc.), etc. Things get off to a poor start as Lawhead employs a trite, clumsy framing device. In 1899 Scotland, lawyer and member of a mystical secret society Gordon Murray is proposed for initiation to a higher degree. He accepts the test, and soconfused, drugged, and lowered into a lightless cavernhe stumbles upon the weapon of the title. Touching its cold pitted iron grants Murray visions of the distant past. There, in the late 11th century, young Murdo, son of Lord Ranulf of Dyrness, Orkney, must stay at home and mind the store while his father and brothers march off to join what will become the first Crusade. But soon the king of Norway's lackey Orin Broadfoot (with the collusion of the Church) dispossesses Murdo of his estate, then hastily disappears to join the Crusade himself, before Murdo can remonstrate with him. Murdo vows to follow Orin and force him to make amends, and pledges to return to his beloved Ragna. Meanwhile, another narrative strand details the doings of the Byzantine Emperor, Alexius I, who, having requested warriors from northern Europe to fight the Turks, receives instead a peasant rabble headed by Peter the Hermit. These sections merely reiterate the progress of the Crusade, treading the same ground as Susan Shwartz's Crescent and Cross (1997). Eventually, we learn of Murdo's exertions, the fate of lawyer Murray, and the identity of the weapon that inspired the whole business. Familiar fare for Lawhead fans, watery gruel for outsiders or newcomers. -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. "Action-packed adventure...Lawhead knows how to spin a tale." -- -- Booklist "An enjoyable read" -- SFX (UK) "Intriguing...steeped in historical detail...should appeal to Lawhead's growing audience." -- -- Library Journal "Powerful and deeply moving... An engrossing read" -- Starburst "Engrossing, with plenty of plot twists. . . . Worthwhile for Lawhead regulars and historical-fantasy fans alike." -- Kirkus Reviews "Here, in the story of a great gift and an even greater journey, is summoned all the magic and splendor, the brutality and the innocence of a lost era the not-so-Dark Age when faith ruled men's hearts." -- Smash "Not merely a gripping yarn and it certainly is that this is also a novel about faith and the tests life plants in its way. Lawhead, author of the popular Pendragon cycle of fantasies, here makes a sure move into mainstream historical fiction." -- Booklist "This is a rip-roaring adventure story; the pace rarely flags. There's scheming, murder and betrayal aplenty." -- Interzone Magazine The first in award-winning author Stephen Lawhead's exciting new Celtic Crusades trilogy, The Iron Lance traces the adventures of a young man in the days of the Crusades, and his discovery of a priceless religious relic. Stephen R. Lawhead is an internationally acclaimed author of fantasy and imaginative fiction. He is the author of many book, including, the Byzantium and the Pendragon Cycle series. He lives in Oxford, England, with his wife and sons In book one of the Celtic Crusades series, a Scott