- Paperback: 352 pages
- Publisher: Century (July 26 2005)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 1844131424
- ISBN-13: 978-1844131426
- Product Dimensions: 23.6 x 15.5 x 3.3 cm
- Shipping Weight: 544 g
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #803,897 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Product Details |
Product Description
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. British author Harper's excellent second historical whodunit, set in 11th-century Asia Minor during the Crusades, shows that his fine debut, Mosaic of Shadows (2005), was no fluke. As the First Crusaders are stuck in an interminable siege of Turk-held Antioch, Demetrios Askiates, a Greek assigned as scribe to the Byzantine emperor's representative, must once again play detective. The discovery of a Norman knight with his throat slit and bearing unusual markings on his corpse threatens the shaky alliance among the varied European armies of the First Crusade. Amid battles and political intrigues, Demetrios desperately pursues the few clues he has, even as the late Norman knight's companions, who may have joined him in promoting a new heretical sect, also turn up dead. Like Steven Saylor, the master of the ancient Roman historical, Harper effortlessly draws the reader into an unfamiliar time, bringing alive the characters and their motivations. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Review
“Tom Harper’s speciality is a hitherto unvisited era in historical crime fiction. It’s a world which Harper brings exuberantly to life, clearly revelling in its teeming, tumultuous extravagance.”
—Yorkshire Evening Post
—Yorkshire Evening Post
Tag this product(What's this?)Think of a tag as a keyword or label you consider is strongly related to this product.
Tags will help all customers organize and find favorite items. |
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Customer Reviews
|
There are no customer reviews yet on Amazon.ca
|
||||||||||||||||||||
|
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com:
3.6 out of 5 stars (11 customer reviews)
22 of 22 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not Really a Mystery, Jan 8 2007
By Judith A. Weller "jw1917" - Published on Amazon.com
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: Knights of the Cross: A Novel of the Crusades (Hardcover)
If you are are looking for a Brother Cadfael type mystery then this is not the book for you. Actually the mystery part of it occupies very little space and is more of a sideline to the main story. This book is really about the siege of Antioch during the First Crusade. Tom Harper gives splendid character protrayals of the main protagonists of the that historical event.The reviewer who complained about historical anachronisms just didn't know anything about the history of the Eastern Roman Empire. Let me educate him -- the Varangians were vikings who served as the guards of the Emperor in Constantinople. Look at any Historical Atlas for the period and you can see that Varangia to the inhabitants of Constantinople would have include all the lands of Greenland, Norway, Denmark -- ( i.e. lands where the vikings came from -- that was all known as Varangia. Being "schooled in" does NOT mean read or write -- it only means they could speak both Latin and Greek. And yes there were chimneys - it was something the Romans knew all about. Also female doctors were not uncommon in the Eastern Roman Empire when you remember that this was a Greek culture not a Western Medieval one. I mentions his in my review as I want people to understand how wrong that reviewer was and not to be influenced by his review.
Again this is a great novelization of the siege of Antioch and it gives you the "guts and glory" of the men of the first Crusade as well as how really almost "superhuman" their feat was. The Crusaders faced overwhelming odds and triumphed, but never made it to Jerusalem because of the green and venality of their leaders -- and the flaws of their leaders are rigorously exposed -- esp. that of Bohemond.
If anyone wants to capture the real flavor of the First Crusade then you should look no farther than this book. A great read!!
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars
Mystery 2 stars: Crusade story 4 stars, Jun 12 2007
By Stephen McHenry - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Knights of the Cross: A Novel of the Crusades (Hardcover)
The main character is weakly drawn, the murder mystery not quite believable in development or finish; it does not generate any who-dunnit interest or surprise. But the author has done alot of homework to set the scene of the Christian siege of Antioch and then, through a real life turn of events, the Christian defense against a siege as they are trapped inside Antioch, all with a actually-happened miraculous ending. The grit, sweat and barbarity of the first crusade is solidly told. Interesting book for a crusade story, not much for a Medieval murder mystery, as in Cadfael or Name of the Rose.
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
terrific Crusader Era whodunit, Sep 10 2006
By Harriet Klausner - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Knights of the Cross: A Novel of the Crusades (Hardcover)
In 1098, former warring enemies have become allies in an attempt to win back the Holy Land from the Turks. The combined might of armies from the Byzantium Empire and western kingdoms seem invincible as victories pile up while crossing Asia Minor until Antioch, Syria. There the first major resistance occurs, leaving the allies at each other's throats as their recent hostilities remain fresh in everyone's mind.Greek scribe to General Takitos, Demetrios Askiates and his friend Sigurd the Varangla of England are walking back from a skirmish when they come across a lad Simon acting hysterical as he shouts his master is dead. Demetrios looks at the corpse of the Norman Drogo, whose throat was sliced. Not long afterward, Norman leader Lord Bohemond asks Demetrios to investigate the murder fearing his men will retaliate against the Byzantine allies, leading to disaster. As he makes inquires while the Normans sneer, Demetrios learns that Drogo was seeing a camp follower Sarah while his tent mate threatens to kill the Greek sleuth.
KNIGHTS OF THE CROSS is a terrific Crusader Era whodunit starring a likable protagonist and his irascible but loyal friend. The story line in some ways is more historical than mystery though the sleuthing is top rate and fun to follow while it also enhances the deep look at the First Crusade. Fans of historical mysteries will want to read this strong thriller and Demetrios' previous starring in THE MOSAIC OF SHADOWS.
Harriet Klausner
Listmania!
Look for similar items by category
Look for similar items by subject
Feedback
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
