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It is the 21st century, and one soul is looking for his past.
It is the 14th century, and another soul is uncertain for his future.
Bridging the gap between these two, incredibly different moments in history is a mysterious old monk, ancient and eccentric, writing with rheumy eyes and an iron memory.
In this engaging, immersive, and thoroughly atmospheric historical thriller, Greg Simons weaves the story of Michael Simons, a widower on a quest to rediscover his roots. His link to the past is Yakov Symons, an utterly normal youth living on a farm in the 14th century Holy Roman Empire with his siblings and a perpetually drunk uncle. But the semi-idyllic, often harrowing life of a medieval farmer isn’t the worst thing in store for young Yakov; setting off to the nearby village of Helmstedt to work off the debts undertaken by his alcoholic uncle, Yakov finds himself swept up in the tides of fate with the arrival of one man…
“Do you know who I am?” he asked.
The merchant matched his gaze. “Your name is Petres. You’re the one they call ‘the Chain’.”
Petres the Chain grinned, and it reminded Yakov of a dog baring its teeth.
Forced into bondage, Yakov has been enlisted in a conflict he has utterly no idea of—but when war comes, the choice of men is lost. The Holy Roman Empire, the Sanctum Romanum of Greg Simons’ vision is not a grand and shining example of idealistic Christendom; it is a land and a period of history where life always travels on the brink of death. The church exhorts, cajoles, and threatens its way through power-plays, and influential, greedy nobles fight over boundaries that do not exist. It is a time of inequality, poverty, and animosity between every class and profession—and the horsemen of the apocalypse stand witness to this age, as Yakov lives to see war, death, famine, and pestilence.
Yet in this dark, bleak world, all hope is not lost. As the fates spin their threads, the Chain is not the only man Yakov is destined to meet, for far away, his siblings have found themselves in the protection of a group of high-minded, idealistic rebels, led by a shadowy, mysterious figure known only as…
“Der Flechtemann,” he whispered in a voice like burnished bronze; “Der Flechtemann am I.”
Like the Robin Hood of legend, Der Flechtemann—literally The Fletcher—is a dark, near-mythical figure on a mission: to liberate the people from the chains of feudal hierarchies, corrupt ministers, and the institutionalized nature of their poverty. Striking merchant caravans, noble escorts, and targets of interest, Der Flechtemann and his band of a few good men ‘liberate’ a fair bit of wealth, distributing it among the people.
But how does the infamous Der Flechtemann’s path cross with the common farmer’s boy named Yakov? How and why are their destinies interwoven? And who is the mysterious monk who knows so much of these events?
These are the questions Michael must ask himself as he seeks out his past, but in the meantime, Yakov—and the reader—are in for a journey they will find difficult to forget.
