The Crescent and the Cross

This is a love story like no other. It is set in a time when courage and honor were defined bypiracy, duels, and religious wars. The siege of Malta by the forces of Suleiman the Magnificentin 1565 is one of the most lopsided battles ever fought, pitting a few hundred crusader knightsagainst the full might of the Ottoman empire at its peak. The hero of that siege, Jean deValette, was highly honored for his strength and valor by the popes and kings of his time. Hewas known as fearless and unbending, austere and uncompromising. But, according to thisnovel, he had one weakness. And that weakness was love. A genuine and tender butheartbreaking and forbidden love.

-- Charles Fiott