Ironfire: An Epic Novel of Love and War Paperback – April 26, 2005

This is a historical novel telling the story of the 16th century conflicts in the Mediterranean between the forces of Christianity, particularly the Knights of St. John on the island of Malta, and the forces of Islam and the Ottoman Empire. The story primarily focuses on three characters, a brother and sister from Malta and a French knight, and follows them as their lives are intertwined with historical events and personages. Their stories are passionate and well structured. They are, I think, believable and interesting characters and the story comes to a rousing climax. It's a fun book.You might like it if you like historical novels like Gai-Jin or Post Captain. I also read The Enemy at the Gate which is straight history of the siege of Vienna. Needless to say, Ironfire was more fun!I thought some of the comments were strange because they suggested that there was a lot of sex in the book but there wasn't. I honestly don't know what they're talking about. Its not that nothing like that ever happens but I wouldn't say it's really that steamy on the whole and it's never very explicit at all.

IRONFIRE took David Ball three years to write and is quite a creative and research achievement. It's an entertaining way to learn some of the history of the long-standing Christian-Muslim or East-West conflict, which we have inherited today. A 667-page epic, IRONFIRE is crammed with incident about a Maltese brother and sister and their separation as children when Muslim sea raiders capture Nicoloas Borg and carry him away into slavery. What happens to Nico and his sister Maria up to and through the siege of Malta by the Ottoman Turks consitutes the main thread of the story with many fascinating minor and not-so-minor other characters thrown into the pot. Normally, I do not like stories about children but the adventures of these two siblings are adult enough (as one might expect in cruel times) to keep things interesting. Mr. Ball's writing is at its best when he is narrating action and describing scenes. There is a journey in the hold of a pirate galley that is worth the price of the book. Such scenes are the fruit of Mr. Ball's obviously thorough research. He is on less sure ground when it comes to dialogue between his characters, especially between men and women. His writing in that regard gets a bit melodramatic and soap-operaish and just doesn't ring quite true to my ear. Unless you just like that kind of juvenile romanticism, you can quickly scan over those passages and enjoy the rest of the ride of this historical adventure. And what a ride it is! We are taken from Malta to Algiers to Istanbul to France and back to Malta. We live in palaces, castles, hovels, caves, dungeons and on board ship. We fight battles on the sea between Christian and Muslim galleys rowed by slaves and endure a terrible, summer-long siege of Malta that cost the Muslims thirty thousand dead and the Christians seven thousand. The siege of Malta was the last battle of the Crusades. Let's hope IRONFIRE is not Mr. Ball's last book.

I planned a trip to visit Malta and wanted to read something about the history of this fascinating country. Found this gem through a search on Amazon. I wasn't expecting much. David Ball didn't seem a known author, but it was the closest to what I was looking for.His writing blew me away. This book is a page turner. As some others have said, you truly care for the characters and want the story to go on and on, whilst learning lots and lots of valuable details about Malta's history and the Order of Knights. This was specially exciting as I could visit many places mentioned in the book. The author, David Ball, made a great work with his descriptions of the places, customs and specific problems of the era (16th century). You can almost feel the dust coming from the construction sites and the heat, hearing the busting workers and sea men coming from sea.If you like Malta, historic novels and good writing, then this is a remarkable book for you!

I couldn't put this story down. I was entranced from the first pages. The story of Maria, Nico, and Christien is tremendous in scope yet confined to the pages of which I have read. The angst of the religion of the times, Christianity, Muslim, and Judaism is well explained and helps to draw you further into the siege of Malta. The beauty of Istanbul to the rock of Malta described in such detail I felt I was there. The only fault? I wish I had found this book 19 years ago when it was written. Well done.

For fans of huge sweeping historical adventures look no further. This book is very well written has a fascinating and diverse cast of characters and is a total page turner. I lost my first copy of this book (lent it to somebody which with a book is as good as giving it away) and have always wanted to re-read it. When I thought of Amazon there it was, I'm thrilled and if you want an exciting, gripping read this is the perfect page turner.My wife who is very critical on the subject of historical drama also loved this one.

Sent wrong book first time. Finally did get correct book. It was a used book in fair to good condition. About what I was expecting. Just took too long to get correct book.

I had read this when it was first published before I made several trips to the region including Malta and Istanbul. I felt on my visits to the area that I was walking through the pages of this book in reality. I had spent many vacations in the Balkans and this also shed light on that history as well. I had paperbacks of the book when it first came out and I bought the hardcopy now to make sure it was part of my permanent library. I am a fan of history as presented by James Michener in a fictionalized, but historically accurate works of fiction and this book fits into that same grand tradition.

An excellent book. I love to read and "Ironfire" was very hard to put down.

Bought as a holiday read, but not inspired enough by the start to read.

I had previously unknowingly purchased the book under a different title!!!!! But the original was an excellent exciting and absorbing story.

I've just bought this book and, while it may prove to be a cracking good read, it is 'The Sword and the Scimitar' under another name. I've bought them both thinking it was a different story. Just thought you ought to know.