Bøger af Martin Lake

The end of World War Two brought peace to many but not to all. For some people, in a world gripped by resentment, paranoia and epidemics, the fruits of victory seem forever out of reach. Three women, scarred by war, struggle to remake their lives in the war's long shadows. Rachael Klein gave her son David to save him from the Nazi death camps. Viviane Renaud took him in at terrible cost to herself and her family. Dorothy Pine risked her life to befriend the vulnerable family. Despite all odds, Rachael survived the death camps and returned to take David back. Yet she struggles to rebuild their relationship as David yearns for the family who cared for him. Viviane grieves not just for David but for her husband, lost in the final years of the war. And Dorothy returns to her home in America, without her friends and lover. Each faces new troubles. Rachael enters a loveless marriage but her husband rejects David and abuses her. Viviane's neighbours vilify her as a collaborator and even turn their spite on her daughter, Celeste. Dorothy returns to her career as a scriptwriter but dark forces loom as cold war warriors pick up their weapons to attack new foes. Has hope been entirely extinguished? Celeste and David became brother and sister during the dark days of war yet peace which has torn them apart. But, whatever the difficulties, they are determined to be reunited. Can their resolve stand any chance in a world where optimism seems foolish? Can their family and friends, sundered by war and peace, ever be reunited? In a world of pain, mistrust and hatred can they knot once again the ties of the heart? The sequel to Cry of the Heart

Bernard and Agnes Montjoy keep an inn in Crusader Jerusalem. Their lives are about to be shattered. Guy, the new King of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem, ignores the advice of wiser men and leads his army out of the city to do battle with the great warlord Saladin. Within days the Christian army is annihilated. Triumphant, Saladin leads his warriors towards Jerusalem, determined to win it back for his people. To defend the city there is only one nobleman, Balian of Ibelin, and four knights. In desperation Balian knights thirty ordinary men to lead the defence. Agnes begs Bernard not to fight but he feels he has no choice. He is desperate to protect Agnes, his two children and his nephew. Knighted along with him are two young pilgrims, John and Simon Ferrier. The new-made knights fight valiantly but can only delay the inevitable. Balian is forced to surrender the city to Saladin. Saladin allows the inhabitants to buy their own freedom. Bernard sell all he owns to raise enough to buy the freedom of Agnes and the children. Agnes sells even more. But on the final day, despite their sacrifices, their money is stolen. Agnes and the children are sold into slavery and Bernard and his friends await what they believe will be certain death. The world is in flames, the normal bonds of life shattered. Bonds of lordship, bonds of kinship, bonds of marriage and of friendship, all lay tainted and discarded. Yet in this turbulent time, three men find new fellowship and a mission. Saladin's brother buys the freedom of the courageous knights. His hope rekindled, Bernard determines to search the Muslim world for his enslaved wife and children. John pledges to aid him and then to pursue his own mission of revenge. A third man, a stranger, journeys with them to find himself. History says nothing more of the people raised so far above their normal station and then cast aside. Outcasts tells the story of how they fare in a world grown more bitter and fanatical. And of how Bernard and his friends take the bitter road to Baghdad to find his wife and family.

The Viking army is about to face its greatest challenge, the Kingdom of Wessex. King Æthelred and his brother Alfred are determined to wage war to the death. The Great Viking Army has conquered Northumbria and East Anglia. Two English kingdoms remain independent, Mercia and Wessex. The sons of Ragnar, leaders of the army, must decide which to attack next.Leif Ormson, once Skald to Ivar the Boneless, has now been made a jarl. He is a reluctant warrior and is grateful and relieved when he is given rich lands in which to live in peace and prosperity.But the Vikings' relentless lust for conquest sweeps him and his family into peril and war. As the army marches towards Wessex he wonders if he will again have dealings with Prince Alfred and his dangerous friends.He wonders if he will even survive.An epic tale of the great war for England.