The Last Troubadour: Song of Montsegur

The 13th-century French inquisition that targeted the heretical Cathar sect provides the backdrop for Armstrong's action-packed second novel (after The Game), the first in a planned trilogy. Ramon, ""last of the Occitan's famous heretical troubadours,"" and his motley band of allies take on the forces of evil as personified in the witch-hunter known as the Diableteur, whose scarred and burnt face strikes terror in those who behold him. The Diableteur was responsible for the burning at the stake of Ramon's mother decades earlier, and the minstrel's desire for revenge remains strong. Workmanlike prose and superficial characterization make this a less satisfying read than Zoe Oldenbourg's Destiny of Fire, which likewise centers on the Cathar heresy.