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Tim Willocks

The Religion Hardcover – 3 Aug. 2006

by Tim Willocks (Author)

306 ratings

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In 1994 Tim Willocks burst onto the scene with an unforgettable novel called Green River Rising. Hailed as 'the best thriller since The Silence of the Lambs' (Daily Telegraph), it was particularly praised for the quality of Tim Willocks' prose and for his extraordinarily dark imagination. Both these qualities are very much in evidence in his new novel, The Religion.

Malta. May 1565.

From the shores of the Golden Horn, Suleiman the Magnificent, Emperor of the Ottomans, has sent the greatest armada since antiquity to wipe out Islam's most implacable foe, the Knights of Saint John of Jerusalem, in their stronghold on the island of Malta. To the Turks the knights are known as 'The Hounds of Hell'. The knights call themselves 'The Religion'.

Meanwhile, in Sicily, a disgraced and exiled Maltese noblewoman, Carla La Penautier, has been trying to return to the doomed island in an attempt to find the bastard son who was taken from her at his birth. The Religion have refused her every plea and a tormented Roman Inquisitor, Ludovico Ludovici, seeks to imprison her. But Carla recruits a notorious adventurer and arms merchant - Mattias Tannhauser - to help her evade the Inquisition and to escape on the last galley to run the Turkish blockade. As the ensuing apocalyptic conflict between Islam and Christianity becomes the most brutal and harrowing siege in military history, Tannhauser and Carla must survive the bloody inferno and track down a twelve-year-old boy whose face they have never seen and whose name they do not know. And neither of them reckon on the return of the avenging Inquisitor, Ludovico Ludovici...

The Religion is an epic and exuberant tale of love and war, of intrigue and obsession, of politics and faith and high adventure. Against a rich and meticulously detailed historical backcloth, it tells of a small band of intrepid men and women who defy the madness of Holy War to realize their own vision of God and Eternity.

Print length

640 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Jonathan Cape
Publication date

3 Aug. 2006
Dimensions

16.3 x 3.6 x 24.1 cm
ISBN-10

022407797X
ISBN-13

978-0224077972
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Product description

Review

"macho, sexy, profoundly bloody and concerned with spiritual salvation" -- Lisa Hilton, The Sunday Telegraph

"the ideal man to do justice to the conflict...gripping...a classic of its kind" -- John Williams, Mail on Sunday

'a griping story with reliable factual underpinnings.' - Jane Jakerman -- Times Literary Supplement

Patrick Ness commenting on book covers. Credits The Religion.
`stands out because its pages are dyed a deep red'
-- Guardian Saturday.

Splendidly envisioned
-- Historical Novels Review

a novel of high adventure, blood, guts and romantic loveas master craftsman, [Willocks] tells his story with extraordinary pace. -- Brian Martin in Literary Review

Book Description

The return of Tim Willocks, author of the legendary Green River Rising, with another epic novel of almost unbelievable tension, violence and simply brilliant writing.

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Jonathan Cape; First Edition (3 Aug. 2006)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 640 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 022407797X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0224077972
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 16.3 x 3.6 x 24.1 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 1,935,242 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 85,894 in Historical Fiction (Books)
- 135,307 in Literary Fiction (Books)
- 139,086 in Contemporary Fiction (Books)

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306 ratings

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angus

Prefer his contemporary stuff.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 March 2019

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I’m not sure about Willocks foray into historical material. He has clearly researched many aspects of the 16th century conflict chosen for setting, but there are, for me, problems. This is a simple story and feels padded out with page upon page of descriptive narrative, fraught religiously motivated dialogue and lovelorn dialogue. The visceral battle scenes are in stark contrast to this and that’s fine - Joe Abercrombie is my favourite author in this genre, although his stuff’s pure fantasy, which brings me to the style of the dialogue and maybe everyone did talk like Yoda, but it’s not particularly easy to read, being really lengthy, convoluted and quite tortured with characters taking an age to say the simplest thing. Let’s be honest, sometimes simple is best.
I’ve still got 300 of the 700 odd pages to go and I might even read the sequel if I can get it second hand at a really low price.
Willocks earlier stuff is probably some of the finest contemporary fiction I’ve read and Green River Rising is in a class of its own. If you’ve not read Willocks try it first.

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mikeyb

For those who enjoy their history told with relentless action

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 May 2018

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For those who enjoy their history told with relentless action, heroism, brutality in the extreme and an underlying love story this is a must read. I bought 'The Religion' when it was first published and this purchase was my second copy. Mattias Tannhauser's (AKA Ibrahim) early years are enforced into the ranks of the Ottoman Turk. His departure from servitude and subsequent business interests take him to Malta, where his martial prowess and knowledge of the invading Sutan's army makes him invaluable to the Hospitallier Knights who will do battle with a foe many times their number. De Valetta with his knights and Mattias need to survive or Christian Malta will become an Islamic Country. I have read a number of books that tell the story and even music recounts St Elmo's fire, but in reading this a second time I cannot think of a better one. It saddens me to think of all those who have perished in the name of Religion and this epic tale of 1546 certainly adds to that. Brilliant

2 people found this helpful

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Rebekah

Brilliant Story, but Very Long

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 February 2016

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The characters in this are complex and simple at the same time. We got the most insight into Mattias and Carla, and I liked both in different ways. Tannhauser was by far the most dynamic character. His past really intrigues me, he's so complex and, to be honest, it's a wonder that he turned out as good a man as he is after everything that happened. I could probably read a whole other novel about the things we found out about in The Religion, never mind all of the things we didn't hear about. Carla wasn't quite as interesting and she's a woman of fairly simple tastes, but I enjoyed her perspective. I can understand why she was so desperate to find her son, and the way she reacted to danger was really quite admirable.

I adored Orlandu and Bors. I have a soft spot for both types of character. Orlandu is spunky and young, he's ready to take on the world and I actually thought he was quite funny. Bors is a bloodthirsty Englishman with a love of good food and drink. I'm quite indifferent to Amparo. She was a strange woman, and for most of the novel I kept thinking of her as a girl because despite everything she's been through she seems fairly naive and simple. (view spoiler) Ludovico Ludovici was an awful man, and while I did dislike him for what he did I didn't feel much other than that towards him. The side characters were also really well done. If I was to go through them all we'd be here all day.

Tim Willocks doesn't hold back with The Religion. There's blood and guts smeared throughout the pages. The war isn't romanticised, it's disgusting and graphic. Willocks' writing is insane. The prose is beautifully crafted and woven together. I can't fault it at all. He painted gory pictures of religious war from both sides of the battle lines. We got an insight into the workings of the leaders of both the Christians and the Muslims, and listened as each side declared each other destined for Hell. If you want a real picture of war and sieges and the lives thrown into it without a care, this is the book for you.

A lot of people seem to have a problem with the romance in this but it didn't bother me much. Mattias is a very charming and disarming person, and for both women to warm to him quickly wasn't a surprise. I was surprised when Amparo was the one he fell for, but ultimately I think it made his relationship with Carla very interesting to watch develop.

All in all I loved this novel. What brings it down is that it's just. so. long. In total my edition of The Religion is 771 pages long. It felt like it was 1000 pages long. While I enjoyed reading it and the pacing was good for the vast majority of the book, I just felt like it was taking forever to read. Every time I thought something was going to be wrapped up it just kept going for another couple of hundred pages. One observation or encounter managed to span pages and pages, sometimes a whole chapter, and it did take me out of the experience a little bit. Other than that I can't really fault this novel at all, and I definitely recommend it to people who like this type of story, because it'll be one of the best you read

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Alprev

The novel is excellent. Being French

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 2 June 2015

Verified Purchase

The novel is excellent. Being French, I first read it in French a few years back and I had then literally devoured the book. I then took up Tim Willocks' "Twelve Children of Paris" that I personally enjoyed less. The problem with "The Religion" is that the geography of Malta is complex and difficult to imagine if one really wants to understand the different phases of the Grand Siege. ...So I went to Malta for eight days and then got a clear idea of what the entire area looks like. Then I picked up the book and read it again this time in English. It is a fabulous novel, well written, alive with characters that really come to life. The apparent gore of the battles is something one does not really imagine unless one is confronted to it. When Willocks describes the stench of death, I tend to believe this underlines the savageness of the Siege, the heroism of both parties but also the pure idiocy behind such concepts as "the glory of Battle". Times have indeed changed and so has our views on War... Nevertheless, this novel recounts one of the major events that has changed the turn of History in Europe in a most vivid way. I recommend whole-heartedly: a definite "must read". One small critique: I would have wanted more specific maps so as to better understand the unwinding of events during those fateful four months.

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