THE TALISMAN

Many legends have accumulated about Saladin, the twelfth-century sultan whose capture of Jerusalem led to the Third Crusade. The Saracen (Arab) leader is said to have performed prodigious feats of valor, to have possessed uncommon wisdom and cunning, and even to have "out-chivalled" the chivalrous Christian knights who opposed him. In THE TALISMAN (1825), Sir Walter Scott, the most popular novelist of his day, contrasts him with a poor but noble Scottish knight in service to Richard Lionheart. Entering the Crusaders' camp in disguise, Saladin saves said knight from the dishonor brought about by various intrigues. In narrating the romance, Robert Whitfield excels at phrasing, which, accompanied by his pleasant voice and British accent, makes this tape pleasant listening. His pace, however, is a bit too brisk for perfect intelligibility, and he seams deaf to the book's rhythms and lyricism. Y.R. © AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine [Published: AUG/SEP 02]