Pagan's Vows

Pagan cannot believe that he is actually agreeing to devote his life to God, to accept life in a monastery. This is a lifestyle that he despises, possibly fears, and also one that he fled from when he was a boy. Though Pagan is often rude, disrespectful, impatient and irreverent, he is also loyal, and it is this loyalty that has made him decide to follow his master, Lord Roland, into a new life in the Abbey of St. Martin. After his experiences in a monastery school as a child, Pagan never dreamed that he would find himself pursuing the life of a monk, but he cannot bear to be separated from his distraught and emotionally lost master. Thus it is that Pagan has to subject himself to blind obedience, rules that he thinks are ludicrous, and a life full of discomfort and unpleasantness. Needless to say, Pagan is not a good fit for the monastic life and it is a struggle for him to keep his temper, to stay out of trouble, and to try to adjust. Pagan does try his best, for Roland's sake, but all his efforts seem to be for naught when he starts looking into a little mystery that is floating about the Abbey. Pagan discovers that beneath the veneer of respectability, piety and humility lies a complex tangle made up of lies, deceit and greed. Pagan may not be the most honest person in the world, but this kind of dirty hypocrisy upsets him enough that he will not stop seeking out the truth even when his very life is threatened. It would seem that someone very high up in the monastic hierarchy guides the conspiracy, and Pagan needs to be wary of what he says and does. One cannot help but have a strong feeling of pity for Pagan. Here is a young man who could never be a monk, but for the love of a friend, he will put himself through a great ordeal --- accepting punishments, bullying, strenuous work, isolation and much more --- all for the sake of someone else. It is shocking to discover how difficult monastic life could be and how appalling the conditions often were. Certainly Pagan's experience puts a new light on the religious life in the times of the Crusades. Entertaining, moving, skillfully researched, shocking at times, and very gripping, this third book in the Pagan Chronicles series is sure to delight readers who enjoy historical fiction. --- Reviewed by Marya Jansen-Gruber, editor of Through The Looking Glass Children's Book Review (www.lookingglassreview.com).

(This review is for the paperback version)"Monks, monk, monks. Monks everywhere, as far as the eye can see. Rows and rows of them, crammed together on their chapter-house seats like bats in a cave. Like crows around a corpse. The rustle of their black woollen sleeves, as they point and nudge and whisper. The coughing and gurgling of old men with clogged lungs."Lord Roland and his squire Pagan, fresh from battle in the Crusades, have renounced the sword and are seeking to become novice monks at the Abbey of St Martin. Pagan isn't sure he wants to be a monk and soon finds that neither humility nor blind obedience comes easily to him, but he is equally sure he doesn't want to leave his beloved master. He also discovers that even a supposedly holy place can swarm with danger and corruption.Pagan himself tells the story, writing in the present tense, which usually gives me trouble. I normally find it both stilted an unnatural. However, for this story it feels absolutely right. Although I can imagine that many young readers might take a while to become accustomed to Catherine Jinks's spare, distinctive style, I took to it (and her warm, wry humour) straight away. As can be seen from the above quote (the book's first paragraph) her writing abounds in unfinished sentences, which most writers normally use sparingly. But here the oft-used effect serves to underline Pagan's irreverence, which is my only quibble. While I personally found this trait highly entertaining (indeed, almost endearing) I have difficulty believing that someone raised in a monastery in those days would be quite so irreverent, especially at only 17 years of age. One of his favourite expletives is "Christ in a cream cheese sauce", which would certainly be accounted as blasphemous in those days.But what does it matter when Jinks provides such an entertaining, "unputdownable" read?I'm very pleased to learn that the Pagan books are to be republished, though 5 January 2004 (the projected date for the first book, Pagan's Crusade) seems rather a long wait.