Shards of Empire

Shards of Empire #1

by Susan Shwartz

Once Constantinople was the meeting place of East and West, the holy city where subtle princes, rich merchants, and scheming priests built up great monuments to the glory of God and their own ambition. Once Byzantium was the center of the world's most fearsome empire, greater even than the famed empire of pagan Rome.

Once, but no more.

After centuries of power and tyranny, the Byzantine Empire is falling. Leo Ducas, the heir to one of the noblest families of the dying empire, must fight Turkish armies at the empire's border...and his own treacherous kinsmen in the empire's heart.

Exiled to the wild hinterlands, Leo will see wonders and magics that no Christian man has a right to behold. Among the ruins of empires older than his own, he will encounter plots and conspiracies even more dangerous than he could have imagined...and find a beautiful Jewess who may hold the key that will unite all the peoples of Asia Minor.

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

455 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1996

About the author

Writes with Shariann Lewitt as Gordon Kendall.

She received her B.A. in English from Mount Holyoke College in 1972 and a PhD in English from Harvard University.

Reviews

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

No one betrays you as thoroughly as your dearest friends.

Excellent historical fiction, quarter turn from real toward fantastic. Schwartz confronts Christian, Jewish, and Islamic characters with a region gestating older faith elements, in the historic and geographic confines of eleventh century Anatolia, then adds just enough supernatural to trigger awe and fear. Battle of Manzikert and Turkish invasion of Anatolia background.

He felt the sob that racked her—just one; and she put on her self-control like a veil.

Characters resonate. The names of many characters rersonate. Each has personal, religious, and community issues which push them toward or away from themselves. Refreshing main characters experience crises of faith trying to hold to their faith.

You had to keep your hand on your purse and your mind on the soundness of your doctrine, or the markets of Byzantium would strip you of money and soul alike.

Quibble: Coincidences are the mother’s milk of fiction, but these are ridiculous—unless you accept them as part of the supernatural element of the story. meets the same Jewish family in widely spread locations in Anatolia in a couple years span.

He knew he was going to die. He had never felt more alive.

[Salimbol · Rating 3 out of 5]

This novel is bolstered by some obviously thorough research, and benefits from being set in a period not overly-trodden by modern authors (the fascinating, little known later Byzantine period, just before the Crusades). It also mixes its history and fantasy concepts in an interesting fashion. However, it's marred by some bizarre (and jarring) narrative jumps and recursions that made it quite hard to read at times.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Turkish Raiders: 0
A couple butterflies: 1 🦋🗡️🤺

[Clare · Rating 3 out of 5]

The mixture of historical fiction and fantasy in this tale felt a bit disjointed to me. There is the gritty story of war in the near east which is based on history, along with the religious tensions of the times. As if that was not enough to deal with, the author brings in a werewolf, a few people who see visions of the future, a woman and her father who can use magic and a thousand-years-old secret hidden in underground caves. The story seemed to want to be two separate stories melded together in a haphazard way.

[Michael G · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was drawn in to buy this book by the beautiful cover, but did not regret it once I started reading. The setting is the mid Byzantine Empire, around the time of the disastrous Battle of Manzikert. Perhaps most readers will not be too familiar with the era and location, despite it's importance to the history of the rest of the western world. The story is beautiful, if dense and slow paced. I loved the book.

[Judi · Rating 1 out of 5]

Really hard read and hard to follow - ended up skimming the second half of the book. Plot is good and interesting but I don't like books that I have to concentrate too hard to understand.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Well thought-through story with good historical 'grist'. One of those 'couldn't put it down' books - and there's few enough of them!