THE SARACEN BLADE

A story of the 13th century -- with all the anticipated ingredients,-chivalry in somewhat distorted terms; an odd angle on the crusades with the tragic Children's Crusade shown in its yet more tragic disintegration; fanatic and heretic, within the church and without, at each other's throats; struggle for empire and balance of power, as Frederic II, from boyhood on, reaches for suzerainty over the so-called Holy Roman Empire. And against this teeming background there is told the romantic adventure of Pietro, commoner, star-brother with Frederick, whose belief in the influence of the planets makes him feel that their fates are intertwined. Pietro wanted to win his knighthood; his love reaches as high as his ambitions; passion for one high born girl was at odds with the serener devotion to another; his was a life that reflected the many facets of his times. Could have been told on the level of good picaresque adventure, but in Yerby's hands, almost predictably, the lusts of the day outweigh the valors.