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Nominee, Bruce Alexander History Mystery Award Best Little Known Series, Booklist It's unnaturally cold in Constantinople this winter of 525. The Emperor Justin is dying, and Theodora, the ambitious former actress his gravely ill successor Justinian intends to marry, is making demands in the imperial court. When a wealthy philanthropist is killed in broad daylight in the Great Church, it isn't entirely surprising that Justinian engages an anonymous young slave called John to investigate what show more many believe could be a conspiracy aimed at swaying the succession. Suspects are many among those whose lives might be touched by an emperor: senators, churchmen, wealthy businessmen, even laborers, beggars, and prostitutes. In this prequel to the series, John takes his first dangerous steps along the path toward freedom from slavery and his eventual appointment as Lord Chamberlain. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
The John the Eunuch mystery series is set in the sixth century Byzantine Empire. This fourth entry in the series actually goes back in time and precedes chronologically the other three novels. This novel explains how John begins his rise from slave to the high position of Lord Chamberlain at the imperial court that he holds in the other books. To some degree the mystery takes a back seat to the exploration of John's past as he meets up with characters that are his friends and colleagues in the series.
The book is filled with period detail from the Byzantine (Late Roman) Empire with descriptions of Constantinople and the imperial family (Emperor Justin, his nephew Justinian, and Theodora). A nice combination of historical fact and mystery show more fiction. show less
The book is filled with period detail from the Byzantine (Late Roman) Empire with descriptions of Constantinople and the imperial family (Emperor Justin, his nephew Justinian, and Theodora). A nice combination of historical fact and mystery show more fiction. show less
I thoroughly enjoy John the Eunuch series. John is such an interesting character, the plot is well developed, and the setting and historical background are first rate.
John the Eunuch is assigned to investigate murder, learns unwilling partner is fellow Mithrist
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Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Four for a Boy
- Original publication date
- 2003-02-15
- People/Characters
- John the Eunuch
- Important places
- Constantinople, Byzantine Empire; Byzantium
- Dedication
- For D
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Statistics
- Members
- 77
- Popularity
- 409,467
- Reviews
- 3
- Rating
- (3.63)
- Languages
- English
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 6
- ASINs
- 3
