Geoffrey E. Fox

This is a very satisfying historical novel. Before this book, I mostly read historical fiction of the nineteenth century (Aubrey/Maturine & Sharpe) so this was different for me. Fox clearly did his research as the story follows the actual history of the struggles between the Turks and Christians (and among the Muslim factions) in the early 15th century. I found myself continually looking up names of weapons and mythical figures mentioned in the text and that added to my enjoyment of the show more book.

Fox tells the story of the intrigue resulting in the near surrender of Constantinople and the battle between the sultan Bayezid and Tamerlane through the eyes of a number of characters: Christians, Turks, rich, poor, warriors, etc. This makes the story's unfolding interesting as it prompts the reader to imagine the events from diverse perspectives. Fox's narrative also brings to attention the intertwinings of the different political, religious and cultures of the times. Having thought that medieval world was divided strictly between its Christian and Islamic societies, it was interesting to understand that there were constantly shifting political, military and economic alliances.

The story builds to a climactic conclusion although I thought the final summing up (won't reveal it here) was a bit too compacted. That's a minor criticism and in all the book was a very worthwhile read.

As a sidenote, unlike the Cornwall novels about Richard Sharpe and some of O'Brien novels, this book is not vividly graphic in its passages of battle scenes. Readers who don't like that level of gore will not find it in this book. show less