Michael P. Spradlin

Youngest Templar — (2008-2010) Young adult. Publisher: As an orphan, Tristan never dreamed he would travel the world or discover the truth about his past. But all that changes when the Knights Templar ride through the abbey on their way to battle. Suddenly, Tristan finds himself as a squire to one of the most respected knights. While exciting, it is also dangerous, as Tristan gets caught between rival knights desperate for power and entrusted with the most sacred relic — the Holy Grail. With the help of a young archer and a deadly warrior, can Tristan safely bring the Holy Grail back to England? Or will he succumb to the dangers of the evil men who follow in its wake?

Keeper of the Grail: "With the City Lost, We Cannot Chance it Being Found..."

Tristan of Saint Albans is an orphan foundling, raised by the monks and with no idea who his birth-parents are. Despite this, he's happy enough living in the monastery, and is given a good education by the time a group of Templar Knights arrive on their way to the Holy Land. One of them, Sir Thomas, takes an interest in young Tristan, just as another, Sir Hugh, takes an immediate dislike. To Tristan's astonishment, Sir Thomas offers him a job as his squire and by the next morning, Tristan is leaving with the other knights to the Holy Land and King Richard's war to regain control of Jerusalem.

On the voyage there, and in the ensuing battles that take place in Acre, Tristan finds out that the Templars — and in particular, his master — are in possession of some of the most sacred relics of Christendom: the Ark of the Covenant, the One True Cross and the Holy Grail. It is the Holy Grail (as you may have guessed from the title) that Sir Thomas bequeaths to Tristan, urging him to return it to the safety of Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland. So, Tristan's solo quest begins as he escapes the besieged city of Acre in the attempt to smuggle the Grail back to its rightful place.

The story is roughly divided into two parts: Tristan's journey to the Holy Land (or Outremer, as the Templars call it) in which he learns the ways of Knighthood, deals with the bloodshed and futility of war, and gleans knowledge as to his mysterious birthright; the second part involves Tristan teaming up with two unexpected companions and trying to warn the city of Tyre of an impending Saracen attack whilst escaping enemies of his own.

Keeper of the Grail rushes along at a break-neck pace, from St Albans monastery, to Dover, to the Straits of Gibraltar, to Acre, to Tyre, to the open ocean once more. It takes no more than two pages to get from England to the Holy Land, so give the author credit for not wasting any time! Reluctant readers, especially boys, will get a lot of mileage out of Keeper of the Grail, with a young, relatable hero, plenty of action, clear and simple prose, and an underlying sense of mystery. The story is told in first-person narrative, and Tristan makes a nice enough — if somewhat bland — hero.

There's not much in the way of historical information here. That is, everything is consistent and researched, but unless one knows nothing about the Crusades, it's unlikely that a reader will pick up anything they don't already know. But again, credit must be given for not including any needless lecture-like "info-dumps" into the narrative. It does, however, include a map of 12th century Europe and the route of Tristan's voyage.

The most notable feature is perhaps Michael P. Spradlin's inclusion of several "cameos" by characters from the Robin Hood legend: Brother Tuck and Little John, as a monk and a blacksmith respectively, and then “Robard Hode” and “Maryam” as two travelers that join Tristan on his journey home. Robard is a young man traveling home to England once his conscription is over, whereas this version of "Marian" is actually a Saracen assassin who attacks the two of them and then chooses to guide them to safety... though why she decides to compromise the war tactics of her own people in order to help two strangers that she initially attacks is a bit of a mystery.

One thing that may annoy some readers is that Keeper of the Grail ends on a cliffhanger, requiring the next book in the trilogy (Trail of Fate) to be on hand for any immediate satisfaction. Cliffhangers always annoy me, and I'm afraid I'm going to take the opportunity to vent about my pet peeve on this review for an otherwise harmless little book. Owing to the relative slimness of the book, there is no reason whatsoever that The Youngest Templar should be divided into three, except that the publishers can collect three separate profits from each installment. It annoys me that readers have to seek out (and spend money on) three separate volumes in order to get a complete story, and if you are a voracious reader then it's difficult to keep the details of the story in one's mind during the long wait for the next publication.

The Youngest Templar is a promising story — it's just a pity that this is only one-third of it.
—Rebecca Fisher

Trail of Fate

Trail of Fate, the second book in The Youngest Templar trilogy picks up right where the previous book, Keeper of the Grail, left off. Our hero and protagonist Tristan is swept overboard during a storm and washed up on the shores of southern France. In his possession is the Holy Grail, bequeathed to him by his master Sir Thomas, along with a solemn promise to deliver it safely to Rosslyn Chapel in Scotland.

The task is not quite as simple as it seems, for a rogue Templar Knight called Sir Hugh is after Tristan for reasons that he can't quite fathom, knowing only that the man covets the Grail and knows something about Tristan's mysterious parentage. But for now, Tristan has bigger problems. Separated from his friends Robard and Maryam (sound familiar?), Tristan is found by a group of French travelers who are more than what they seem.

Instantly smitten by their leader (mainly because she's a. pretty, and b. smells nice), Tristan swears his loyalty to Lady Celia and learns that she and her companions are Cathars, and therefore considered heretics by the church. The main conflict of the novel is Tristan and his allies protecting Lady Celia and her people as Sir Hugh's Templars and the Church's High Counsel lay siege to their fortress of Montsegur, with added intrigue involving Sir Hugh's vendetta against Tristan, his mysterious background, and his commitment to protecting the Grail.

Once again Michael Spradlin tells a tale that is high on action and low on logic, but which should appeal to most young readers, especially those with a taste for historical fiction with a few hints of fantasy and legend. Told in first-person narrative, the plot races along at break-neck speed, not stopping to dwell on any frivolous details. Tristan and his companions stumble into one dangerous circumstance after another, relying on Tristan to come up with various plans to extract them from their continuous life-or-death situations.

Joining Tristan in his quest are Robard Hode and the Saracen Maryam, who are clearly meant to be the prototypes for Robin Hood and Maid Marian (how Spradlin will link these two up with their roles in the familiar legends remains to be seen). Robard is a familiar-enough figure: a master bowman, a rebel against authority and sympathetic to the poor; but Maryam has been reimagined as a Saracen assassin. It is an interesting variation on the iconic Maid Marian, but Tristan (and the author) is frustratingly uninterested in her. How did this young woman come to be trained as an assassin? Why is she essentially betraying her own people in order to help two Englishmen? Does she have any qualms about falling in love with a Christian? Nobody asks, and she's not telling; as such, she remains an enigmatic presence throughout.

Amidst all this action, the Grail itself is little more than an afterthought; a McGuffin that makes a low humming sound whenever Tristan is in danger and which may or may not have miraculous powers. So far, it's not particularly interesting.

The story is sprinkled with historical tidbits, such as information on the Crusades and the Cathars. In the previous book Spradlin painted an accurate portrait of King Richard as a tempestuous man who is quick to both anger and forgiveness; here we meet the equally interesting Queen Eleanor who is portrayed as a rather conniving adult-child with a "high-pitched cackle" but a cool head, who clearly knows more than she's letting on about Tristan's mysterious lineage.

Trail of Fate is an improvement on its predecessor, with a smoother and less disjointed story, as well as higher stakes and deeper character development. Unfortunately, it ends on another irritating cliffhanger. It's one thing to end the book mid-journey, but to have a "to be continued" tagline in the midst of a stalemate where lives hang in the balance is just cruel. —Rebecca Fisher