Sebastian’s Way: The Pathfinder (The Sebastian Chronicles, Book One)
The violent 8th-century world of Charlemagne is brought vividly to life in the first volume of George Steger’s “Sebastian Chronicles,” which star a young warrior named Sebastian from the far distant Saxon border. Sebastian encounters the many conflicting elements of the king’s court and army with an inquiring mind (his striving after philosophical knowledge at least outweighs his martial training, and that aspect of his world is very well portrayed).
The young man’s rise at court attracts him both friends and enemies (the enemies better-drawn than the friends, as is a pattern in the book and not an unpleasant one), and the narrative is constructed with such ease and style that readers will feel not only as though they know Sebastian well, but also as though they have spent time in the Middle Ages. If subsequent volumes in the series are this good, they are to be eagerly anticipated.
Highly recommended.
