The Religion

Set in the 16th century, when Moslem Turks and Christian knights - known as The Religion - fought over the island of Malta. Mattias Tannhauser, a German, is the hero of this book. Grown among the Turks, Tannhauser has broader mind than his mates. Cares only of his trade, he agrees to come to Malta to find Lady Carla's long lost son, whose name and face they don't know, and as a payment she will marry him and give him a title.

I didn't expected this book to have so many fighting scenes. For some people they might be interesting, but I skipped most of them. Tannhauser promises to marry Lady Carla, but falls in love with her friend. He tells her a beautiful story about a nightingale and a rose, which a longer version "The Nightingale and the Rose" can be read in Oscar Wilde's Short Stories Collection. The triangle love story is moving and complex, and I haven't counted Lady Carla's ex-boyfriend, who is then a powerful inquisitor.