Sword and Scimitar

By: Simon Scarrow

Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble

Best-selling author Simon Scarrow brings the Great Siege of Malta to vivid and unforgettable life in this gripping standalone novel.

Malta, 1565: a vital outpost between the divided nations of Europe and the relentlessly expanding Ottoman Empire. Faced with ferocious attack by a vast Turkish fleet, the knights of the Order of St John fear annihilation.

Amongst those called to assist is disgraced veteran Sir Thomas Barrett. Loyalty and instinct compel him to put the Order above all other concerns, yet his allegiance is divided. At Queen Elizabeth's command, he must search for a hidden scroll, guarded by the knights, that threatens her reign. As Sir Thomas confronts the past that cost him his honour and a secret that has long lain buried, a vast enemy army arrives to lay siege to the island....

©2012 Simon Scarow (P)2012 Headline Digital

A great read, hope he continues this in a series

I really enjoyed it and got hook on just like the eagle series and I hope he continues with a series of books base on the knights of St. John.

Keeble is the best! Another great book by Simon Scarrow

This was a fantastic historical fiction novel! I love how well the author wrote in the story without altering the actual historical events. Loved every minute of it and highly recommended to anyone who loves crusades and medieval history! Keeble is one of the very best narrators out there. He nails every character’s voice perfectly!

We are all the prisoners of our history.

Typically, whenever I travel to a country I've never been before I try to read both historical and fictional books related to my destination. This summer I took my wife and kids to Malta. This book seemed to fit the bill for a good airplane read. Not too deep or nuanced, but good historical perspective on the Siege of Malta.

The problem was it was just a bit light. It reminded me of a lazy Ken Follett. And I'm not a big Follett fan. It didn't even begin to approach great historical fiction (Patrick O'Brian, Robert Graves, Hilary Mantel). It wasn't literary and when it tried to be literary the voice ended up sounding like a 20th century agnostic and not a 15th century skeptic. But still, it did provide a good basic understanding of the siege and wasn't overly melodramatic (oh, it did have its melodrama for sure...). Anyway, it didn't inspire me to stop reading nor inspire me to hunt out more Simon Scarrow books.

A solid story and performance.

What made the experience of listening to Sword and Scimitar the most enjoyable?

Do I have to write a frickin' review? What if I just want to rate it? Give me a break...

Good story of a great moment in history

Where does Sword and Scimitar rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I have enjoyed all Simon Scarrows books, including this one, but I think his roman "Under the Eagle" series is better.

Who was your favorite character and why?

The main character, Sir Thomas is by far the favorite as he is the main character and so most complete.

Have you listened to any of Jonathan Keeble’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No I have not listened to him before

Who was the most memorable character of Sword and Scimitar and why?

Sit Thomas

Wgat a Fascinating Work

I chose this book for Johnathan Keeble's narration, and stuck around because I couldn't stop listening. Simon Scarrow is a fantastic writer of historical fiction. This work gives a real insight to how the siege took place. I looked into the siege shortly after starting the book and there are a lot of similarities between this work of fiction and the actual event. Highly recommend.

Johnathan Keeble does it again

another great work by Simon Scarrow. his writing skill and Johnathans narration make this a great book to listen to

Not what I expected, but still a good listen.

This book starts slow, builds slow, but ends with a bang. The narration is neither great nor terrible. At best, it doesn't interfere with the storytelling, at worst, it can be dry.

The story isn't particularly intricate, you can predict most of the twists before they occur, but intrigue isn't really why people read Scarrow's novels. The reason fan's do is the action, and the action is up to the usual standard... when it starts.

There is a brief battle in the prologue, and a few skirmishes here and there to keep narrative momentum, but the final few hours are an addicitve listen.

You don't bond with the characters like Macro or Cato, but the beginnings of attachment form by the end of the story.

All in all not great, but still well above average for this genre of fiction.

Enjoy :)

Stick to fiction.

Scarrow is a great fiction writer, but rather less of a philosopher/theologian. His ruminations on religion are tiresome and elementary, and the book would have done better without them.
The narration is excellent, and as always Scarrow's historical story telling is fascinating.

Great Historical Book, Malta

Wonderful character development. Good coverage of the last battle of the crusades. You need a map of Malta to follow the battles. Keeps your interest from beginning to end. Once you have listened to this book, you will want to get all of Simon Scarrows books.