Friday, June 17, 2011

Kings and Crusaders: To The Reader

Kings and Crusaders is the first volume of a two-part story of The Third Crusade.

From the Battle of Montisgard to Richard the Lionheart's arrival at Jerusalem,  Kings and Crusaders is historical. It is not a story that is probably well known to the public, yet the strength of humanity is evident to me in the characters who were there, who had seen the horror of the crusade with their own eyes. Every important person in the book was real; the history is almost as completely accurate as I could make it. This story is indeed not what you might read in any textbook, or what you might see in some fictional Hollywood film,or what some liberal historian might have to say. It is based upon eyewitness accounts. If you don't like my book, well, I'm sorry, but I guess you will just have to miss out on history, for it is not my creation. All that I am doing is bringing history to life.    

The journey of Peter the Hermit, The Children's Crusade, The King's Crusade, and some other events during the Crusades such as the fall of Acre in 1291, are well known names of events to people---even if the history is not.

This story is primarily the story of four remarkable men in an extraordinary time: Sultan Saladin of Syria, King Guy of Jerusalem, King Richard I of England, and a Norman knight named Peter de Preaux. Each of these men was real and each of them had a different perspective as well as a different journey. Some of them I had heard of in the past while some others I had never known of except through their voices, thoughts, and feelings which touched my heart as I wrote the book.The story had an important role in my life and I believe it took part of my spirit back in time.There are other important historical  people in the story, as well such as : Emperor Fredrick Barbarossa of Germany, King Philip II Augustus of France, Princess Berengaria of Navarre, 9th Master of the Hospitallers Garner de Nablus, leader of the Knights Templar Robert de Sable,Pope Gregory VIII, and some others. This story is the story of The Third Crusade, also known as The King's Crusade.

To any fan of Sir Walter Scott, G.A.Henty, Tom Tozer, Mark Twain, and Ridley Scott...may you realize that the Crusades are no longer a part in history that can be ignored; they are still affecting our world today. This book, Kings and Crusaders, changed my life in doing the research for it.I hope it will change the life of my reader, as well.


                                                                          Joshua Dotson,
                                                                            June 2011

3 comments:

  1. Joshua,
    Thank you so much for this informative post. I have been studying the Crusades for the past few months...and I feel I've only skimmed the surface! To be honest, the middle ages was one of the most interest frames of Western history that I studied on...and I very much look forward to reading a copy of your book. We need more young people to take an interest in the history of our civilization- and to learn from the successes and failures of those who have come before us. Studying history is also also a study of God, as revealed in Isaiah. "Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else;I am God, and there is none like me." Isa. 46:9
    Keep up the good work!

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  2. Mr. Dotson,

    I greatly enjoyed the two "sneak peeks" into "Kings and Crusaders" that you posted here today. Please keep 'em coming!

    You clearly have talent as a storyteller and a passion for the subject matter. Quality fiction is very challenging to craft, even (and perhaps especially) when it aims to tell a story in a completely historically accurate context. What I've read of your work so far is very encouraging. Thank you for sharing!

    I love history (particularly where the great wars are concerned), and I am very much looking forward to reading (and learning) through "Kings and Crusaders".

    Thank you again for sharing this here and keep up the excellent work!

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  3. Thank you Mr.Scott.You are indeed a Fire Breathing Christian.I would someday also like to write about the Greek Persian Wars and the Roman Empire as well as some other wars in Ancient and Middle Ages history.I hope your book does good at the market.Keep going!

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