The Powder of Death: An explosive discovery will change the world for ever

Description

1261. Oxford, England. An envoy returns from the land of the Tartars to meet with an English scholar and share a deadly secret. The two men vow that the knowledge of gunpowder must die with them as the consequences are otherwise too fatal to contemplate. 1290. Hurnwych Green, England. After his quiet life is shattered by tragedy, blacksmith Jared begins a pilgrimage to the Promised Land. Along the way he is invited to join the Knights Hospitallers as their blacksmith on a holy crusade for King Edward. The adventure that follows sees Jared encounter men from distant Cathay who harbour the secret of huo yao, and so begins one man's obsession with the powder of death and a king's determination to change the very nature of warfare ...

At the age of fourteen, Julian Stockwin was sent to Indefatigable, a tough sea-training school. He joined the Royal Navy aged fifteen. Julian has written 14 books to date in the Kydd series of historical adventure fiction, as well as a non-fiction book, 'Stockwin's Maritime Miscellany.' He lives in Plymouth with his wife Kathy.

"In a novel brimful of characters, Perkyn Slewfoot stands out. This is partly because of the way in which Stockwin has used this character to paint a vivid picture of the life of a villein during the late 13th century... The sea voyage from England to Malta is particularly memorable and is an excellent example of using factually historical detail to create a sense of period and atmosphere."--Historical Novels Review