Count of Thrace

by Peter Darman

A crumbling empire, a mighty city facing destruction, and a small army of mercenaries trying to keep the enemy hordes at bay.

Leon Muller and his soldiers have been fighting for the Roman emperor for two years, battling the mighty Ottoman Empire to protect Constantinople. The ‘Queen of Cities’ has stood for a thousand years and its walls have never been breached. The emperor is confident he will be able to defeat the army of the Ottoman sultan in front of his city. But Leon, now an experienced military leader, battles in vain to inject reason into the fantasy land that is the imperial court as one hundred thousand Ottoman soldiers bear down on Constantinople.

After nine years of unbroken success on the battlefield, Leon and his comrades are now trapped in a besieged city with no hope of relief and hundreds of miles from Swiss lands. Will he and they survive the titanic battle that will decide not only the fate of the ancient Roman Empire, but also the course of European history?

‘Count of Thrace’ is the fourth volume in the ‘Alpine Warrior’ series – the story of Swiss soldier Leon Muller in the wars of the 15th Century when Europe was torn apart by civil, religious, dynastic and imperial conflicts. Maps of the Ottoman Empire and the city of Constantinople are available to view and download on the maps page of my website.

Genres: Historical Fiction

434 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 30, 2023

About the author

I was raised in Grantham, Lincolnshire and attended the King's Grammar School after passing the Eleven Plus exam. In the latter I clearly remember writing an essay on Oliver Cromwell – my first piece of military writing.

Then came a BA in history and international relations at Nottingham followed by a Master of Philosophy course at the University of York. The subject was the generalship and cavalry of Prince Rupert of the Rhine, my boyhood hero, during the English Civil War. The year I spent researching and writing at York, Oxford and at the British Library in London was a truly wonderful time.
I moved to London and eventually joined a small publishing company as an editor. Thus began my writing career.

Reviews

[pamelahulboy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Peter Darman premier writer does his magic.

I enjoyed all things Leon Muller is the Commander of a Swiss mercenary force who leads his army and following too victory after victory outmanned but never out done..The Swiss are like a family they look out for themselves in all aspects of army life...Reading Peters books takes you right there feel like I know Leon and the.other characters .its a must read book im.hooked.look.forward.to future stories of my favorite author.
I have all the series they are all great books ..

[Robert Marchessault · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm enjoying Peter Darman's series. The historical settings and obvious research are of interest to me. Some may find the historical details a bit excessive. But the story line keeps me turning pages. One thing that is irritating has to do with the lack of proof reading. The books are full of typos and grammatical errors. I'm not sure who is reasonable for this but Mr. Darman might want to address it. This book was the worst.

[Diane · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting background story leading to the last days of the empire in Constantinople. A realistic tale of sound tactics for later middle ages warfare. The personal story is a little too predictable, and follows a series pattern, yet I'm still looking forward to the next adventure at this important period in history.