The Saracen: Land of the Infidel: Land of the Infidel

I read this book by Robert Shea over ten years ago. Yet the characters and the poignancy of the story remain with me. It was at the time unlike any historical fiction I had ever read, unique in its time period, unique in its plot. And it remains unique and wonderful to this day... and I've read a lot of historical fiction. The only books I loved more were AZTEC by Gary Jennings, and THE EGYPTIAN by Mika Waltari. I recently read MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA and loved it too.

What a great book! Great depth of character, the people come alive. This is one that really needs to be reprinted!

this is a brilliant book, with many twists and turns. What sets it apart from other books is the fact the two main characters are both hero's yet on opposing sides. Confused? not at all read it you will love it. Be warned the second book must be purchased as well, as it ends midway through.

Just picked this book up used; as a long-time fan of R.A. Wilson I recognized Shea as the co-auther of the Illuminatus! trilogy. What a pleasant surprise!!! I have not read a historical adventure novel this well-crafted in years. It's almost depressing that Shea did not enjoy great wealth and fame as an author in his lifetime; extremely few bestselling genre potboilers come close to the standard he sets here, and very little "literary" fiction explores as much territory as Shea and Wilson's Illuminatus! *Sigh* In many ways Shea is a superior craftsman to Wilson---it's a very interesting contrast for the R.A. Wilson fan. Minor spoiler: the novel ends abruptly in the middle of the story; try and get this one together with its sequel. As Ezra Pound wrote eulogizing T.S. Eliot (I may be unconsciously paraphrasing here): "Read him, read him, read him". Read him voraciously and get his novels back in print. It's a travesty neither Wilson nor Shea is a household name (yet) in the english speaking world.

Robert Shea is one of the most talented authors. In this series, he transports you to a world that existed a long time ago and makes it live again! The characters are real and easy to fall in love with. Daoud is a man that anyone would want to know! I highly recommended this series as well as the Shike series. It is truly a shame that Mr. Shea hasn't given us more of these wonderful stories to love!