The Mosaic Of Shadows

by TomHarper (Author)

• Used

  Hardcover
  2004

  $3.34

  Murder and intrigue in the palaces and trading halls of Byzantium. Reaching its peak in 1025, under Basil II, Byzantium has perpetuated the legacy of the Roman empire since the fall of the West. However, in its now weakened position, it faces serious threats from the Turks. In response to these threats Alexios Komnenos, the dynamic young successor to the imperial throne, has petitiond the Pope for support for his armies. His request is met by the Pope's preaching of the first crusade. Meanwhile, in Constantinople, a soldier has died from a bolt through his chest whilst standing only inches away from the emperor. In secrecy, Demetrios the Apokalyptor is commissioned to investigate the murder before the assassin can strike again. His search leads him through the slums of Constantinople where he finds Thomas, a Frankish youth who is recently orphaned. On discovering that it was Thomas who fired the bolt, Demetrios decides to protect Thomas and use him to discover the identity of the foreigner, known only as 'the monk', who commissioned Thomas to kill. Believing that there must be foreign involvement, Demetrios takes his quest into the cut-throat world of Italian and Frankish merchants vying for large slices of the transcontinental trade which passes through Byzantium. Little does he expect to find a thread that will lead him into the heart of a conspiracy spanning two continents and decades of history.

• Used

  Paperback
  2005

  $12.15

  Byzantium, 1096. When a mysterious assassin looses his arrow at the Emperor, he has more than a man in his sights; the keystone of a crumbling empire, the Emperor is the solitary figure holding its enemies in check. If he falls, then the mightiest power in Christendom will be torn apart. Aware of the stakes, the Emperor hires Demetrios Askiates, the unveiler of mysteries, to catch the would-be-killer. But Demetrios is entering an unknown and mysterious world, a bubbling cauldron of princes, slaves, mercenaries, pimps and eunuchs. From the depths of the slums to the golden towers of the palace, and from the sands of the hippodrome to the soaring domes of Ayia Sophia, he must edge his way through a glittering maze of treachery and deceit before time runs out. Nor are all enemies within the city walls. With the Turks rampant across Asia, the Emperor has sent to the west for mercenaries to reinforce his position. He gets more than he bargained for, however, when a great army, tens of thousands strong, appear before the gates. The first crusaders have arrived, intent on making their fortunes in war, and they have no allegiance to an empire they eye with jealousy and suspicion. As the armies of east and west confront each other, and the assassin creeps ever closer to his prey, Demetrios must untangle the golden web of intrigue which surrounds the Emperor before the city - and the empire - are drowned in blood. A gripping historical epic that transports the reader back to an eventful and exhilarating era: the violence and intrigue of the Middle Ages.