Blood Red Horse

Blood Red Horse is a gripping adventure story, with an element of fantasy. Set at the time of the Crusades, it centres on a blood-red horse, whose life is entwined with those of the central human characters. Despite Hosanna’s apparent unsuitability, Will chooses this horse to carry him to the Crusades with his father and his older brother Gavin. Eleanor, who is destined to marry Gavin, though she has feelings for Will, faces her own trials and tribulations as she waits in England for the boys’ return. Lastly there is Kamil who has lost his parents to Crusaders and is determined to destroy the invaders of his country. Hosanna enables Will and Gavin to support each other through the most difficult times  – the death of their father and the horrors of protracted warfare. Hosanna prevents Kamil and William from killing each other and the horse is also the catalyst for détente between Crusaders and Saracens. Hosanna enables Eleanor to resolve her conflicting feelings for Will and Gavin.

However, the book goes beyond being merely an historical fantasy. Its underlying theme is that there is more uniting people than there is dividing them. This has resonance in the present day, given the current conflict once again between West and East – in particular the dehumanising of the one by the other in order to slaughter the other.

At times events seem contrived – in particular, Will and Kamil’s obsession with Hosanna in the face of so much else going on around them stretched credulity. Nonetheless, I would highly recommend this book for all ages from 12 upwards.