Thessalonica

by Harry Turtledove

The city of Thessalonica was a Christian light in a sea of pagan darkness, filled with hostile Germanic tribes and their powerful demons who threatened George, his family and his city.

Genres: Fantasy, Alternate History, Historical Fiction, Fiction, Epic Fantasy

408 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Dr Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced a sizeable number of works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.

Harry Turtledove attended UCLA, where he received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history in 1977.

Turtledove has been dubbed "The Master of Alternate History". Within this genre he is known both for creating original scenarios: such as survival of the Byzantine Empire; an alien invasion in the middle of the World War II; and for giving a fresh and original treatment to themes previously dealt with by other authors, such as the victory of the South in the American Civil War; and of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

His novels have been credited with bringing alternate history into the mainstream. His style of alternate history has a strong military theme.

Reviews

[Blind Mapmaker · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 An interesting look at the early Byzantines through an alternate history / fantasy lens. Old Greek pagan creatures and believers still exist, while Slavic and Avar tribes duke it out with a Byzantine border town in both the military and mystical-religious side. The idea of all the religions giving power to their believers and their myths is nicely executed and with little prejudice (especially surprising since the book is over a quarter-century old). The Slavs and Avars remain nameless and I can't vouch for their accuracy (though sources are sparse on the ground, of course), but the Byzantines and the pagan Greek rustics feel whole and realistic - small wonder since Turtledove is a trained Byzantinologist. The author also doesn't fall into the trap of discounting the female characters, though the narrative is told from a male POV exclusively. Also no stupid focus on violence and rape (actually no rape, period - the only molesters are satyrs and even they are only into consensual sex).

I did enjoy the step back from Turtledove's epic multiple-volume, multiple-POV narratives and I'm going to read more of his earlier and standalone work. The only real complaint I have is that the Avars and Slavs remain a little too far away. Some of that is the Byzantine POV, but I could have seen one closer encounter. One more general twist would have been nice to have a bit more build-up at the end and I don't really like it, when authors spell out what every half-discerning reader had figured 150 pages earlier. Though the latter feels like an editorial insert.

Cover is more or less true to the book if you take the cross being more of a marker of the contents for prospective buyers. Blurb here on goodreads stupidly talks about Germanic tribes, but the actual blurb is truthful.

Bonus points for having a main character who is not stupid and a narrative that is not simply "Christianity (or Judaism - because there are certainly Jews in the book) is right". If pagan revival is your thing, you might be a little disappointed though. The alternate history is not the events, just in the dressings.

[Ελληνικός Κύκλος Βιβλιόφιλων Λονδίνου]

Απο τον Ελληνικό Κύκλο Βιβλιόφιλων Λονδίνου. Για περισσότερες πληροφορίες, συναντήσεις κτλ επισκεφτείτε την σελίδα τους στο Facebook



Περισσότερες βιβλιοκριτικές εδώ

[Raymond Cox · Rating 2 out of 5]

Decent writing and character work, but borrows far, far too much from Greek Comedy for decent people to read. Had I known, I would never have picked this up.

[Georgene · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good book from Harry Turtledove! It takes place in and around the city of Thessalonica in after the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

The city is besieged by two groups of barbarians from the north. George, a sandal maker by trade, stumbled upon a satyr while out hunting before the siege. Because George, a Christian, is not hostile to this creature of the old gods, they form a bond that becomes very important as the siege continues.

[Gavin Greig · Rating 2 out of 5]

Another alternative history from Turtledove, drawing from his academic interest in the early Christian eastern Mediterranean.

The book itself is readable but far from must-have - a bit of a pot-boiler.

[Noel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Had a promising start but, in true Turtledove fashion, it got real old, real fast. There are a few neat touches here and there (it was pretty cool when an avatar of St. Demetrius showed up to do battle with the manifestations of the pagan gods), but overall its a disappointment.

[Jody Mena · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book, I'd love to read it again some time!

[Brentman99 · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I like most of what Turtledove writes, this one wasn't up to the same standard as other works. It wasnn't bad, just not as good as other works.

[Jessica Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and cheesy and I loved it like I love all of Harry Turtledove's books!

[William Tracy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like most of Turtledove's stuff, this was interesting, but not great. This was derived from the siege of Thessalonica, as told in "The Miracles of St. Demetrius."