Quest — John Wilson

…a brave book, an unsettling book, and one that is very much needed at this time.—The Globe and Mail The Heretic's Secret Trilogy is a rollicking historical adventure set during the bloody 13th century wars against the Cathar Heretics of Languedoc. When the armoured knights of Pope Innocent III swept south in 1209, most thought they would be gone by summer's end but, led by the fanatical Arnaud Aumery and the ambitious Simon de Montfort, they stayed for three fiery decades. In that time they slaughtered thousands of Cathars, burned countless towns and castles, destroyed a thriving country that rivaled France in power and culture, and created the foundations for the shape of western Europe we recognize. Quest follows the stories of Adso, the soldier who helped John escape from Beziers, John and Peter, as they struggle to come to terms with the increasingly bloody war that is engulfing their homeland. Adso determines to fight a guerilla war against the invaders, and in particular, the mercenary Oddo and his Falcons. John and Isabella flee to Al-Andalus to seek peace and the lost knowledge preserved in libraries of the Moors. Increasingly troubled by mysterious voices, and teetering on the edge of insanity, Peter embarks on a quest to find the relic that will announce Christ's coming and the End of Days. Nothing turns out as the characters expect, but each finds a piece of a puzzle that might hold the key to the future. …an astonishingly nuanced and masterfully told story…—Quill & Quire