By: James Hutson-Wiley
Publisher: New Generation Publishing
Publication Date: November 2020
ASIN: B08P522C63
Reviewed by: Diane Lunsford
Date: January 30, 2021
The Travels of Ibn Thomas by James Hutson-Wiley is an insightful read centered around the twelfth century commercial and scientific revolution with faith at its center.
In the second book in this series, Thoma (son of Thomas the Sugar Merchant) is introduced. He is born in Egypt and raised in England. Thoma is privileged to study in Italy at the Salernitan Medical School as he trains to become a physician. While in Sicily, Thoma saves the life of a noble prince and is graced with the prestigious job of court physician. There is a lot of credence to all good things must come to an end and such is the case for Thoma. Tragedy strikes and Thoma manages to escape Italy. However, his journey is just beginning.
Even though Thoma manages to escape, he is captured by pirates. Of the most unlikely of friends he selects, he opts for an assassin and is immersed into political and religious unrest in the Holy Land beyond the first crusade. Often Thoma teeters with his choice of alliances; be it religion or politics. Thoma is deeply entrenched in international conflict and his story is that of one man’s life and the epic experience during the historical events of the twelfth century revolution between commerce and science.
As was the case with James Hutson-Wiley’s first book (The Sugar Merchant), he does not scrimp when it comes to information. There is a map in the first few pages that displays the travels of main character ‘Thoma.’ This is a useful guide to source often throughout the story to orient the reader toward the whereabouts of Thoma’s journey. In the opening chapter, Hutson-Wiley takes the reader back to ‘Eynsham AD 1104, AH 497, AM 4864’. This is a helpful refresh if the reader has read the first book in the series, but also beneficial if one opts to read this book as a standalone. Once again, there is a glossary at book’s end to facilitate dialogue and definition of certain terminology. The body of work reads like a story. However, it also carries a sublime and interesting history line throughout. Perhaps I am biased to a certain extent because I’m a ‘history junkie,’ but I would highly recommend this to a vast audience. The sheer entertainment and depth that has been woven into the tale along with the credibility and lifelike characters developed along the way has a wonderful cadence throughout the read. Bravo Mr. Hutson-Wiley. I look forward to your next book.
Quill says: The Travels of Ibn Thomas is a great reader’s choice that showcases events from Twelfth Century history.
Equus Rising: How the Horse Shaped U.S. History
The Queen's Dog (Empire at Twilight Book 3)
Vestal Virgin: Chosen for Rome
The Greatest Hoax on Earth: Catching Truth, While We Can
Where Eagles Never Flew: A Battle of Britain Novel
Walk Away West (Journey of Cornelia Rose Book 2)
Babylon Laid Waste: A Journey in the Twilight of the Idols
Balian d'Ibelin: Knight of Jerusalem (Jerusalem Trilogy)
The House at the End of the Moor
A Shadowed Fate (A Lord Byron Mystery)
My Name Is Saul: A Novel of the Ancient World
The Gray Chamber (True Colors)
My Dear Hamilton: A Novel of Eliza Schuyler Hamilton
Self-Styled: Chasing Dr. Robert Vernon Spears
Chicago Rink Rats: The Roller Capital in Its Heyday
Miep and the Most Famous Diary: The Woman Who Rescued Anne Frank's Diary
The Dung Beetles of Liberia: A Novel Based on True Events
The Emperor Strikes Back: Frederick II's War against his Vassals
Flirtation on the Hudson (Journey of Cornelia Rose)
Days to the Gallows: A Novel of the Hartford Witch Panic
I, Claudia: A Novel of the Ancient World
The White City: True Colors - Historical Stories of American Crime
Rebels Against Tyranny: Civil War in the Crusader States
Operation Archangel: The Scouts of St. Michael
The Cumberland Bride: Daughters of the Mayflower, Book 5
The Patriot Bride: Daughters of the Mayflower, Book 4
The Pirate Bride: Daughters of the Mayflower, Book 2
The Mayflower Bride: Daughters of the Mayflower, Book 1
Kublai Khan: Khan of Mongol, Emperor of China
Destiny by Design: Leah's Story
Building the Great Society: Inside Lyndon Johnson's White House
Maid of Baikal: A Novel of the Russian Civil War
The Last Crusader Kingdom: Dawn of a Dynasty in Twelfth-Century Cyprus
Return to Babylon: The Orfeo Saga, Book Five
Leningrad 1941 - 42: Morality in a City Under Seige
The Most Beautiful Woman in Florence: A Story of Botticelli
The Wanderer's Last Journey: The Orfeo Saga, Book Four
Zurga's Fire: The Orfeo Saga, Book Three
A Lady’s Code of Misconduct (Rules for the Reckless)
To Shine With Honor - Book One: Coming of Age
The Brontë Sisters Boxed Set: Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, The Tenant of Wildfell Hall, Villette
Envoy of Jerusalem: A Biographical Novel of Balian d'Ibelin
Shot Down: The true story of pilot Howard Snyder and the crew of the B-17 Susan Ruth
The Midnight Watch: A Novel of the Titanic and the Californian
Calico Spy: Undercover Ladies series
Médicis Daughter: A Novel of Marguerite de Valois
American St. Nick: A True Story
The Wild West of Louis L'Amour: An Illustrated Companion to the Frontier Fiction of an American Icon
Defender of Jerusalem: A Biographical Novel of Balian D'Ibelin
The Last Summer at Chelsea Beach
Café Europa: An Edna Ferber Mystery
Undercover Bride: Undercover Ladies series
War Bonds: Love Stories from the Greatest Generation
Death of a Diva: From Berlin to Broadway
Wall, Watchtower, and Pencil Stub: Writing During World War II
Sprouting Wings: Book One in the Alan Ericsson Series
What the Lady Wants: A Novel of Marshall Field and the Gilded Age
Grand Central: Original Stories of Postwar Love and Reunion
The Romanov Sisters: The Lost Lives of the Daughters of Nicholas and Alexandra
The Wild Dark Flowers: A Novel of Rutherford Park
Enduring Courage: Ace Pilot Eddie Rickenbacker and the Dawn of the Age of Speed
Time-Life World War II In 500 Photographs
Simple Faith: The Peacemakers Series, Book Two
Sinners and the Sea: The Untold Story of Noah's Wife
America’s Greatest Blunder: The Fateful Decision to Enter World War One
The Winter Warrior: A Novel of Medieval England
Downtown Strut: An Edna Ferber Mystery
The Serpent and the Pearl: A Novel of the Borgias
Indivisible? The Story of the Second American Civil War
Shades of Death: The Gauntlet Runner Book II
Holy Smoke: A Jerusalem Mystery
Through Irish Eyes: A Visual Companion to Angela McCourt's Ireland
Dogs of War: The Stories of FDR's Fala, Patton's Willie, and Ike's Telek
The FitzOsbornes at War: The Montmaray Journals, Book Three
The Story of the Costume Drama
The Forsyte Saga Collection - DVD
Molly, by Golly!: The Legend of Molly Williams, America's First Female Firefighter
The Lost Artist: Five Star Mystery Series
Emanuel and the Hanukkah Rescue
The Color of War: How One Battle Broke Japan and Another Changed America
Dr. Joseph Warren: The Boston Tea Party, Bunker Hill, and the Birth of American Liberty
The United States Constitution: A Round Table Comic Graphic Adaptation
Ghost Train to Freedom: An Adventure on the Underground Railroad
Axis Sally: The American Voice of Nazi Germany
Contested Will: Who Wrote Shakespeare?
Lives like Loaded Guns: Emily Dickinson and Her Family’s Feuds
A Slave in the White House: Paul Jennings and the Madisons
A Train in Winter: An Extraordinary Story of Women, Friendship, and Resistance in Occupied France
Napoleon’s Privates: 2,500 years of History Unzipped
Red-Robed Priestess: a novel (Fourth volume of the Maeve Chronicles)
Catherine the Great: Portrait of a Woman
The Women of the Cousins' War: The Duchess, the Queen, and the King's Mother
Ripley's Believe It Or Not! Strikingly True
Voices of the Bulge: Untold Stories from Veterans of the Battle of the Bulge
Innocent War (Behind An Immigrant’s Past Series, Book I)
Gone: A Heartbreaking Story of the Civil War
Bombs Away! The World War II Bombing Campaigns over Europe
In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family in Hitler's Berlin
Time of the Quickening: Prophecies for the Coming Utopian Age
From Jazz Babies to Generation Next: The History of the American Teenager
How to Read World History in Art
Tasting the Universe: People Who See Colors in Words and Rainbows in Symphonies
Alice Ray and the Salem Witch Trials
George’s Candy: Rescue, Death, and Love in Vietnam
Valley Forge: George Washington and the Crucible of Victory
Haunted Ozark Battlefields: Civil War Ghost Stories and Brief Battle Histories
Voodoo Histories: The Role of the Conspiracy Theory in Shaping Modern History
Norah: The Making of an Irish-American Woman in 19th Century New York
The Alodia Scrapbook: Vol. 1: Creating a New Paradigm, 2001-03
v2036: A Tale of Sociopolitical Change in a Militarized Venezuela
Did Castles Have Bathrooms?: And Other Questions About the Middle Ages
The Library: An Illustrated History
Spartacus: Blood and Sand, The Complete First Season
Frozen in Time: Murder at the Bottom of the World
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation
It Simply Must Be Said: A View of American Public Education from the Trenches of Teaching
The Hidden Scroll: An Archeological Adventure
The Last Leaf: Voices of History’s Last-Known Survivors
The Throne in the Heart of the Sea
Claude & Camille: A Novel of Monet
A Parisienne in Chicago: Impressions of the World’s Columbian Exposition
Lies the Government Told You: Myth, Power, and Deception in American History
Daughters of the Witching Hill
The Keeper’s Gift (or Uley’s Journal)
Asleep: The Forgotten Epidemic that Remains One of Medicine's Greatest Mysteries
Al-Battani Shield: Counteracting Global Warming: A New Approach
Nelson’s Complete Book of Bible Maps and Charts
Anne Frank: Her life in words and pictures from the archives of The Anne Frank House
Leaving the Alamo: Texas Stories After Vietnam
Snapshot: The Visual Almanac for Our World Today
Murderous Intellectuals: German Elites and the Nazi SS
TIME Great Discoveries: Explorations that Changed History
The Secret Diaries of Charlotte Bronte
Sisterhood Of Faith: 365 Life-Changing Stories About Women Who Made A Difference
The Illustrated History of Hypnotism
Faust: My Soul Be Damned for the World, Vol. 1
Faust: My Soul Be Damned for the World, Vol. 2
The Court-Martial of Charlie Newell
Disclosure in Accordance with FTC Guidelines 16 CFR Part 255
Copyrights © 2021 Feathered Quill Reviews All Rights Reserved. | Designed & Developed by Unglitch.io
