Crusades Fiction

How have the crusades contributed to Islamist rage and terrorism today? Were the crusades the Christian equivalent of modern jihad? In this sweeping yet crisp history, Thomas F. Madden offers a brilliant and compelling narrative of the crusades and their contemporary relevance.

1072: England is firmly under the heel of its new Norman rulers. The few survivors of the English resistance look to Edgar the Atheling to overthrow William the Conqueror. Years of intrigue and vicious civil war follow and in the face of chaos and death, Edgar and his allies form a secret brotherhood, pledging to fight for justice and freedom. But soon they are called to fight for an even greater cause: the plight of the Holy Land.

Crusading fervor gripped Europe for over 200 years, creating one of the most extraordinary, vivid episodes in world history. Whether the Crusades are regarded as the most romantic of Christian expeditions, or the last of the barbarian invasions, they have fascinated generations ever since, and their legacy of ideas and imagery has resonated through the centuries, inspiring Hollywood movies and great works of literature. Even today, to invoke the Crusades is to stir deep cultural myths, assumptions and prejudices.

Spacers call the warp point Charon's Ferry. No star ship has ever entered it and returned since a vengeful Orion task force pursued a doomed Terran colonization fleet into it in 2206. Almost a century has passed. The fiery hatreds of a quarter-century of warfare between the Terran Federation and the Zheeerlikou'valkhannaieeee, the cat-like species humans called the "Orions", have eased at least a little.

Lieutenant Commander Matthew Reddy, along with the men and women of the USS Walker, have chosen sides in a war not of their making. They have allied with the Lemurians - a mammalian race whose peaceful existence is under attack from the warlike, reptilian Grik. The Lemurians are vastly outnumbered and ignorant of warfare, and even the guns and technology of Walker cannot turn the tide of battle.

You think you know about Islam. But, did you know that Islam teaches that Muslims must wage war to impose Islamic law on non-Muslim states, or that American Muslim groups are engaged in a huge cover-up of Islamic doctrine? These and other "politically incorrect" facts are revealed by Robert Spencer in The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades).

Old ways have been broken in the blood and smoke of the Battle of Thornhurst by Allystaire Stillbright and followers of the Goddess. Now the Paladin must recover from his ordeal, carve out a hopeful future for the shattered Baronies, and prepare for the next attack upon the Goddess' new and fragile following. But the corrupt deity, Braech, the Sea-Dragon, will not easily let go of the power that has long been his. Braech's minions march on the now-weakened Baronies. The final battle, a crusade against the Mother and all of her followers, is near.

Valentine never thought death would be so difficult. Tough, a crack shot and popular with her unit. She’s a young woman with a bright future in the Corps. But everything changed the day her unit boarded the dreaded "Burijas", a Leviathan Class Battleship and flagship of the invading Star Empire. The assault is a bloodbath, but little does she know it will be her last action. A devastating blast tears her fragile body apart, leaving her a broken woman close to death.

Isaac Lestroud, admiral of the Exilium Space Fleet, has spent the last three years working with Ambassador Amelie Lestroud to build an alliance against the Rogue Matrices, AIs bent on converting every world into a paradise, regardless of whether anyone lives on it. As Isaac hunts the Rogue that destroyed one of their allies’ homeworlds, Amelie begins negotiations with a potential new ally that could tip the balance.

Christian Hunt and the small band of Camp Holly survivors begin their trek west toward Hoover Dam. There, Doctor Tripp believes she and the refugees that have fortified the dam can develop a cure from Christian's blood. Zombies are an ever-present danger, opportunistic humans threaten their very lives, and scabs are evolving into apex predators, with humans on the menu. As if the near impossibility of making it past all of these obstacles wasn't enough, Christian strives to search for his family. Did his parents or sister survive?

Comic-Con, 2036. The world is rocked by the bizarre and inexplicable materialization of Cateklysm Catholicon - a colorfully clad whack job decreeing that humanity's only hope lies in the lessons found in superhero comic books. "Cateklysm's Challenge" is born, enticing even the most skeptical with a prize that promises "the power to change the world".

Though Aaron Turner would be just as happy to oversee archaeological digs, there might still be a few people out to kill him. What his enemies don’t know is that Aaron really is the One God’s Chosen, called Bringer, known as Death, and he’s become righteously pissed off.

Former ranger Jack Smith watched an Army bio-warfare experiment go horribly wrong in an Afghan village in 2001, escaping only after he turned to a makeshift mace and bayonet to destroy the skulls of the infected creatures that bullets to the chest could not stop. With the traumatic experience seared into his mind, he earned his PhD, in ancient history and began developing medieval weapons-making skills after he left the service.

When an unknown virus that turns humans into flesh-eating zombies begins to spread around the world, no one is safe. A few small communities in disparate locations manage to create at least temporary safe havens, including the inhabitants of an Israeli kibbutz. As the global crisis tears apart the fabric of human civilization, survivors must learn how to defend themselves against a horrific enemy that turns friends and family into mindless cannibals who can survive seemingly fatal wounds.