Byzantium (Harper Fiction)

Byzantium (Harper Fiction)
by Stephen R. Lawhead

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Book Summary Information

Author: Stephen R. Lawhead
Edition: Mass Market Paperback
Published: 1997-08-01
ISBN: 0061057541
Number of pages: 880
Publisher: Eos

Book Reviews of Byzantium (Harper Fiction)

Book Review: Galloping Adventure - Shaky Theology
Summary: 4 Stars

This book reminded me a lot of Noah Gordon's "The Physician" which uses a similar plot device, namely, the adventures of a European into the exotic East during the Dark Ages. Likewise, both novels deal with the protagonist's spiritual pilgrimage which unfolds together with the action sequences. To my mind, Gordon's book succeeds better in this.

As to plot, you can't get much more "rousing" than the epic journey from a tiny monastery in Erie (Ireland)to Constantinople and beyond. The author has done his homework, and the book is chock full of interesting historical details and atmosphere. The action is very fast paced and Lawhead is a master of the "cliff hanger" chapter endings which keep you reading page after page. We get to meet maurauding Sea Wolves, crooked tradesmen, devious courtiers, Arab amirs and even the Emperor Basil himself - generally believeable portrayals overall.

Less successful, however, are Lawhead's forays into his protagonist's soul as he struggles with the loss of his faith as he sees cruelty and injustice at every turn, despite his urgent pleas for Divine intervention in human affairs. When it is not forthcoming, and the suffering of his friends continues, he wanders off into a spiritual wilderness. His crisis of faith becomes a central theme as the novel unfolds. I have no problem with this theme per se, but our monk's crisis of faith is resolved in the space of two pages - a bit precipitous for this reader, and not in the slightest believeable or convincing.

Also problematic is our monk's abortive betrothal to the exotic Arab princess. Thankfully, the reader is not subjected to melodramatic scenes of honeyed moonlight kisses as he falls in love, but neither is there ever any sense of real passion or true emotional connection between the two. Initially, the bride-to-be says "Allah has decreed" that she and the monk are to be wed. What happens to this divine decree when the princess announces that all bets are off? Did Allah slip up here? Bottom line - I am not sure why the romance was even included in the narrative, except that any best seller demands a bit of sexual tension to spice it up. A failure in this case.

Overall, I read through this thick adventure at a galloping clip, wanting to see "how it turned out." Most loose ends are satisfactorily tied up, but I was left partially unsatisfied by the unconvincing "return to faith" of the protagonist and felt a bit cheated by the seemingly artificial "happy ending." Nonetheless, this is a quick, entertaining read for a summer day. Don't expect more and you won't be disappointed.

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Summary of Byzantium (Harper Fiction)

Born to rule

Although born to rule, Aidan lives as a scribe in a remote Irish monastery on the far, wild edge of Christendom. Secure in work, contemplation, and dreams of the wider world, a miracle bursts into Aidan's quiet life. He is chosen to accompany a small band of monks on a quest to the farthest eastern reaches of the known world, to the fabled city of Byzantium, where they are to present a beautiful and costly hand-illuminated manuscript, the Book of Kells, to the Emperor of all Christendom.

Thus begins an expedition by sea and over land, as Aidan becomes, by turns, a warrior and a sailor, a slave and a spy, a Viking and a Saracen, and finally, a man. He sees more of the world than most men of his time, becoming an ambassador to kings and an intimate of Byzantium's fabled Golden Court. And finally this valiant Irish monk faces the greatest trial that can confront any man in any age: commanding his own Destiny.

A master storyteller weaves a tale of adventure and the coming of age of a young soul in this epic novel of the early centuries of the first millennium.

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