East & West: Catharsis

East & West #1

by David Capel

Byzantium, 1070 AD. Trouble is brewing on the eastern frontier of the thousand year old Empire. A new threat has appeared. Turkish horsemen, tough and lawless, have started raiding the farms and cities of Asia Minor. The Imperial authorities are struggling to react, despite a military tradition that stretches back to the days of the Caesars.

For John Lascaris, the impending crisis is but a distant rumour. In the glittering City of Constantinople, his only concerns are carousing with his wealthy friends and flirting with the likes of the beautiful co-empress Maria.


So when news comes of a worrying drop in income from his eastern estate, his natural instinct is to pass the problem on to someone else. Yet there are forces now in play beyond his control or understanding, and soon leaving the City becomes the only option.


So John Lascaris begins his journey east, into the eye of the storm. For all roads are leading to the remote outpost of Manzikert where the destiny of the Empire will be decided.


Yet for John, the war does not end here. His journey will continue, via the slave markets of Damascus and the remote hills of Syria, where love, betrayal, greed and vengeance all meet to test him to the limit.


Catharsis is the first book of the East and West trilogy. But it is not just a tale of adventure. For latter day Romans such as Lascaris, the world is changing forever. Old certainties are being shaken and what was once secure cannot be counted on.


And though the Empire teeters, it does not fall. Byzantium will be rescued, at least temporarily, by a pact with the devil in the form of armoured knights from the West, launching a Holy Crusade.


John will record his part in these events in later writings.

261 pages, Kindle Edition

First published June 5, 2012

About the author

David Capel studied Byzantine history at the University of Edinburgh and has travelled extensively throughout the Byzantine world. He is a journalist, writer and researcher. He lives with his wife and two children in the Scottish Borders.

Reviews

[Nick · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this obscure novel very much. It's fast paced and reads like a train. I would recommend everyone to give this one a try!

Too bad there are no other books to find from David Capel. I hope therr are more on the way.

[Jak60 · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a mixed bag; on the one side, the rendering of the decadence of the remains of the once glorious Byzantine Empire, aka Oriental Roman Empire, is very effective. While crumbling under the unsustainable pressure of the Turkish armies on its Eastern borders, the futile plots and the corruption in its palaces continues like the dancing on the sinking Titanic. In such circumstances, the troops supposed to defend said borders are abandoned in total disarray and anarchy.
On the other side, these interesting parts are interspersed with long sections with no dialogues, just lengthy descriptions of places or situations which slow down the pace considerably.
All in all, a decent read though, mainly thanks to the originality of the subject matter.

[Ioulia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a solid, good adventure novel, with an engaging main character (although to be fair he's a bit of a scoundrel, but that's the idea, as he is a rich and spoilt young aristocrat who suddenly has to survive extreme hardship) and a thoroughly believable and very well-researched setting. Although there's a tendency sometimes, quite common in historical fiction, to explain too much about the world as if delivering a history lesson, this is not done as heavy-handedly as one would find in most historical fiction. Perhaps in this case it is necessary too, since the medieval Eastern Roman a.k.a. Byzantine Empire is very little known to the Anglophone reading public. It is certainly a very enjoyable read - imagine an Eastern Bernard Cornwall sort of character and add a beautiful empress, a significant battle and a hidden treasure! I hope the second novel of the series will be available soon.