Patrick: Son of Ireland by Stephen Lawhead

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300s – Ireland/Italy

Slave, soldier, lover, hero, saint,—his life mirrored the cataclysmic world into which he was born. His memory will outlast the ages.

Born of a noble Welsh family, he is violently torn from his home by Irish raiders at age sixteen and sold as a slave to a brutal wilderness king. Rescued by the king’s druids from almost certain death, he learns the arts of healing and song, and the mystical ways of a secretive order whose teachings tantalize with hints at a deeper wisdom. Yet young Succat Morgannwg cannot rest until he sheds the strangling yoke of slavery and returns to his homeland across the sea. He pursues his dream of freedom through horrific war and shattering tragedy—through great love and greater loss—from a dying, decimated Wales to the bloody battlefields of Gaul to the fading majesty of Rome. And in the twilight of a once-supreme empire, he is transformed yet again by divine hand and a passionate vision of “truth against the world,” accepting the name that will one day become legend . . . Patricius!

Land of My Heart by Tracie Peterson

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1864 – Montana

Adventurers, families, outlaws…all driven west in the 1860s by a longing for endless blue sky along with wild and wide-open spaces. When Dianne Chadwick urges her family to move west to her uncle’s ranch in the Montana Territory, she has no idea that her new life in the rugged frontier–and even within her uncle’s home–will not be the idyllic adventure she expects. But first she has to survive the arduous wagon journey with the help of guide Cole Selby, whose heart seems to be as hard as the mountains he loves.

 

 

The Mystic Rose by Stephen R. Lawhead

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11th Century – Turkey/Spain

A thousand years after its disappearance, the Mystic Rose—the fabled Chalice of the Last Supper—has been found, and the warrior monks of the Knights Templar, led by the ruthless and corrupt Renaud de Bracineaux, will stop at nothing to possess it. One brave, dauntless, noblewoman stands in their way . . .

Born among the hills of Scotland, and raised on the Crusader tales of her grandfather, Murdo, and her father, Duncan, young Cait is determined to claim the Holy Cup for her own. Guided by a handful of clues gleaned from a stolen letter, Cait and a small band of knights follow a treacherous trail that leads from the shadowed halls of Saint Sophia into the heart of Moorish Spain and a world long unseen by Christian eyes. A journey whose end means victory . . . or death.

Toward a New Beginning by R. William Rogers

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1800s – Oregon Trail

Although Sam Bartlett enjoyed a successful horse-supplying business in Independence, Missouri, he was none-the-less envious of the hundreds of folks who passed through on their way west. Unable to stand it any longer, he convinces his wife, Judith, to pull up stakes, pack up their three-year-old son, Tom, and accompany him on a journey that turns out to be much more than either of them could have imagined.

The trek quickly develops into one of extreme hardship and survival that is complicated by: dangerous weather, raging river crossings, unique personalities in the wagons, hostile Indian attacks, hunger, water shortage vengeance, courage, romance, and biblical principles.

The determined traveler’s abilitiy to effectively defend themselves is pushed to the very limits as One Eye’s maurading warriors harrass and attack them repeatedly, with devastating results. With four of the train’s beloved children having been taken captive, the inner strength of the beleagured pioneers is sorely tested and a handful of the men set out to recover the children.

After valiant attempts to rescue their children fail miserably, they are forced to return empty-handed. Against all that is held sacred, the members of the wagon train are forced to leave them behind while they do their best to evade the heathens and continue their struggle for survival with barely enough water left to keep the animals going.

With all hope of ever seeing their children again now gone, it is the valor and ingenuity of the beautiful Comanche woman, Birsdong, that is yet to be heard from.

London Refrain by Bodie and Brock Thoene

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1939 – Poland

England teeters on the brink of war.
It’s no longer a question of if. It’s a matter of when.

In the dark fall of 1939, the hopes of the Polish people fade as Nazi bombers strafe the beloved city of Warsaw. Politicians debate while hundreds stand in lines at the British Embassy, desperate to flee the country before Hitler’s ground forces arrive.

Mac McGrath, a veteran American photographer, recorded the landslide toward war with dedication, believing that if he told the truth, the world would rise up and put a stop to Hitler’s evil plans. Now his foolish idealism embarrasses him.

Outside the embassy gates, Jewish schoolteacher Eva Weitzman prays for a miracle. Without a British passport, she will fall into the Nazis’ clutches.

Who will live and who will die? Will anyone dare to stand against the apathy of nations?

Munich Signature by Bodie and Brock Thoene

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1938 – Austria/At Sea

Who will dare to take a stand?

In May 1938 Hitler’s forces continue to swallow pieces of Europe, forcing Jews to flee from his ever-tightening net. Yet where can they go? While nations argue politics and negotiate payments, and British prime minister Neville Chamberlain accepts Hitler’s signature of “peace in our time,” homeless Jews bob on the open sea in “coffin ships.”

After suffering through internment at Dachau and a hellish fire, Shimon Feldstein, former percussionist with the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, becomes a stowaway on the SS Darien, one of the battered refugee ships. His wife, Leah, a talented cellist, undertakes a treacherous journey over the Alps to save herself and a little boy. But it seems all the harbors of the world are slammed shut against the Darien. Where can they find a place to call home?

The Iron Lance by Stephen R. Lawhead

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1095 – Scotland

While his father and brothers follow Pope Urban II’s call to win Jerusalem from the infidels, Murdo Ranulfson stays behind to guard his family’s interests. But when his home is confiscated by greedy usurpers, Murdo is forced to follow the Crusades himself. Hoping to find his father and redeem his family’s land, Murdo sets off on a journey that leads him to the Mediterranean—the heart of civilization now threatened by barbarian hordes—and on to the fabled city of Constantinople and beyond, to the Holy Land. Amidst brutality and ambition, Murdo discovers what he seeks—and obtains a relic that will guide him and his descendants for centuries.

Rich in heroism, treachery, and adventure, The Iron Lance begins an epic trilogy of Scottish noble family fighting for its existence and its faith during the age of the Crusades—and of a secret society whose ceremonies will shape history for a millennium.

Behind the Veil by Linda Chaikin

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1097 – Byzantine Empire (Ancient Turkey)

Confident in Helena Lysander’s safety, Norman warrior Tancred Redwan sends Helena to his family’s castle, while he prepares to travel on to Antioch in search of his Moorish cousin Mosul, assassin of Tancred’s brother. But the unexpected arrival of Helena’s bodyguard reveals that her entourage was overtaken and she never reached the safety of the castle. Held captive by the corrupt Bishop Basel, Helena now faces marriage to a Moslem prince, arranged months earlier by her scheming aunt, Lady Irene Lysander.

As the crusaders race to overtake Moslem-controlled Antioch, Tancred plots Helena’s rescue. Betrayal and intrigue precede him, but the obstacles give way to courage, leading Tancred to the most important battle of his life—one that will determine his future, both for his honor and for his love of Helena.

A FINAL SHOWDOWN WILL DECIDE THE FATE OF THE NOBLE WARRIOR, HIS MORTAL ENEMY, AND HIS BELOVED….

The Scarlet Thread by Francine Rivers

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1800s/Present Day – Oregon/California

Sierra Madrid’s life has just been turned upside down when she discovers the handcrafted quilt and journal of her ancestor Mary Kathryn McMurray, a young woman who was uprooted from her home only to endure harsh conditions on the Oregon Trail. Though the women are separated by time and circumstance, Sierra discovers that many of the issues they face are remarkably similar . . . and uncovering Mary Kathryn’s story may help her write the next chapter of hers.

Swords and Scimitars by Linda Chaikin

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1095 – Byzantine Empire (Ancient Turkey)

WOVEN TOGETHER, THE COURAGE OF THE NORMAN KNIGHTS AND THE STRENGTH OF THE PEASANT HEART BROUGHT AGONY AND GLORY TO THE FIRST CRUSADE…

FRAMED FOR A MURDER he didn’t commit, Tancred Redwan is a knight torn between his father’s Norman blood and the Moorish blood of his mother. Forced to flee for his life, Tancred journeys from the golden hills of Palermo, Sicily to the seven jeweled hills of the Byzantine capitol, Constantinople. As both scholar and warrior, Tancred is caught up in the turbulent events surrounding the First Crusade, until he is suddenly forced to choose which path to follow as Christian Europe arms for the First Crusade to rescue Jerusalem and the Holy Lands from the Muslim infidels.

Helena of the Greek Nobility holds the key to his decision. Ensnared in a web of intrigue and political maneuvering within the Emperor’s Sacred Palace, Helena is proud and vulnerable—a woman Tancred longs to both rescue and win.

CLAIMING HONOR AS HIS ARMOR AND FAITH AS HIS SHIELD, TANCRED REDWAN WIELDS HIS SWORD AND SCIMITAR IN THE NAME OF JUSTICE. BUT WILL HE ESCAPE THE SCIMITAR OF HIS MOORISH COUSIN AWAITING HIM ON THE ROAD TO JERUSALEM

From This Day Forward by Kathleen Karr

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1800s – Ohio

What could be more precious than the gift of words–unless it was the man who brought them to her?

Young Maggie McDonald was athirst for knowledge–and books contained knowledge–but Maggie couldn’t read!

Then lively Johnny Stewart burst in to the routine of her life on a warm in Ohio, bringing excitement, and peddling the very thing she craved most in all the world–a McGuffy’s Reader!

The year Johnny taught Maggie to read was the year she fell in love with him, but it would be seven more before they would wed. Then, driven by wanderlust and a desire to share their knowledge of God, they trekked across the face of frontier America with their books and Bibles, leaving behind them strengthened spirits and a rich legacy of love.