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Michael
Michael Sarapion, merchant and thief, returns to Byzantine Constantinople from which he fled the year before in fear of his life. In his company is Tobias, the dwarf brother of an icon thief and Ahmed, an Arab galleymaster with secrets.
Michael searches for his greatest treasure, something lost to him twelve years before. Filled with grief and fury, he intends vengeance, but he must trust in priests, defy the empire and guard those dearest to him as he searches high and low.
As Byzantium’s Angelid dynasty weakens, as Genoa and Pisa challenge Venice’s trading excellence, so merchants become thieves and murderers. Michael understands that to restore what is rightfully his, he must kill… or be killed.
‘Prue Batten uses words with precision to immerse the reader in an historical setting, peopled with perceptively-drawn characters to keep you there long after the final page has turned.’ Annie Whitehead, historian and historical fiction author, and winner of the 2017 Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition
‘An excellent book that flows with the prose that one expects from Batten with turns I didn't see coming. The attention to detail and the portrayal of Byzantine Constantinople is amazing.’ SJA Turney, author of both the Praetorian and Marius’ Mules series and of Caligula.
'Michael is a feast for the imagination and the senses. Batten shows her talent as an expert wordsmith by conjuring the medieval world of Constantinople through the travails of a protagonist who is nuanced and believable. Highly recommended.' Elisabeth Storrs, award winning author of The Tales of Ancient Rome saga.
Michael searches for his greatest treasure, something lost to him twelve years before. Filled with grief and fury, he intends vengeance, but he must trust in priests, defy the empire and guard those dearest to him as he searches high and low.
As Byzantium’s Angelid dynasty weakens, as Genoa and Pisa challenge Venice’s trading excellence, so merchants become thieves and murderers. Michael understands that to restore what is rightfully his, he must kill… or be killed.
‘Prue Batten uses words with precision to immerse the reader in an historical setting, peopled with perceptively-drawn characters to keep you there long after the final page has turned.’ Annie Whitehead, historian and historical fiction author, and winner of the 2017 Dorothy Dunnett Short Story Competition
‘An excellent book that flows with the prose that one expects from Batten with turns I didn't see coming. The attention to detail and the portrayal of Byzantine Constantinople is amazing.’ SJA Turney, author of both the Praetorian and Marius’ Mules series and of Caligula.
'Michael is a feast for the imagination and the senses. Batten shows her talent as an expert wordsmith by conjuring the medieval world of Constantinople through the travails of a protagonist who is nuanced and believable. Highly recommended.' Elisabeth Storrs, award winning author of The Tales of Ancient Rome saga.
294 pages, Kindle Edition
Published July 12, 2018
5 people are currently reading
8 people want to read
About the author
Prue Batten
32 books51 followersPrue was born in Australia and studied history and politics at the University of Tasmania. She has worked as a hotel cleaner, a cosmetician in a major department store, and a bookseller. But most properly, she was been a journalist/researcher for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.
Prue is a multi-award-winning cross-genre writer of historical fiction and historical fantasy. Her Historical fiction books of which there are two trilogies with more to come, are set in the last decade of the twelfth century.
She has collaborated in a number of excellent anthologies, including a number that raise money for cancer research, a cause that holds great meaning for her.
Her most unique contract is as an ongoing short-story writer for www. bopressminiaturebooks.com in the USA
Prue can be found at:www.facebook.com/Prue.Batten.writer
www.pinterest.dk/pruebatten
www.instagram.com/pruebatten/
Prue is a multi-award-winning cross-genre writer of historical fiction and historical fantasy. Her Historical fiction books of which there are two trilogies with more to come, are set in the last decade of the twelfth century.
She has collaborated in a number of excellent anthologies, including a number that raise money for cancer research, a cause that holds great meaning for her.
Her most unique contract is as an ongoing short-story writer for www. bopressminiaturebooks.com in the USA
Prue can be found at:www.facebook.com/Prue.Batten.writer
www.pinterest.dk/pruebatten
www.instagram.com/pruebatten/
Ratings & Reviews
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
July 19, 2018
A move from Sozopolis to Constantinople turns disastrous when pirates seize the ship carrying Michael Sarapion, a merchant operating throughout the Byzantium, and his family. Michael survives when the captured ship runs aground on some rocks, but his wife does not. His daughter’s fate is unknown but Michael presumes Ioulia dead until years later when a letter from a trustworthy source hints at her survival. Michael returns to Constantinople in search of the truth, but two of Michael’s business companions are attacked within moments of arriving in the city and another attack follows days later. Whether an individual member of their group is the target, or the merchant house they represent, Michael’s quest for the truth just became more perilous.
Michael, book three of the Triptych Chronicle, reunites characters from the previous books in this series in a beautifully written account of life during the Byzantium era. Batten effortlessly draws the reader into this historic world with small details of everyday life as well as the overarching socio-political landscape of the time. What most impressed me is the attention to detail in Batten’s writing style, an aspect most evident in the lyrical, plausibly different speech patterns in the dialogue. Competition is fierce between merchant houses and there’s very little that the characters in this book will balk at in pursuit of the rarest and most valuable commodities. Batten intertwines personal and professional motivation in this intriguing and mixed cast of characters to build a web of mystery that dances through the plot. Michael is a thrilling, addictive masterpiece of historical fiction with an inescapable feel of authenticity.
Reviewed for Reader's Favorite
Michael, book three of the Triptych Chronicle, reunites characters from the previous books in this series in a beautifully written account of life during the Byzantium era. Batten effortlessly draws the reader into this historic world with small details of everyday life as well as the overarching socio-political landscape of the time. What most impressed me is the attention to detail in Batten’s writing style, an aspect most evident in the lyrical, plausibly different speech patterns in the dialogue. Competition is fierce between merchant houses and there’s very little that the characters in this book will balk at in pursuit of the rarest and most valuable commodities. Batten intertwines personal and professional motivation in this intriguing and mixed cast of characters to build a web of mystery that dances through the plot. Michael is a thrilling, addictive masterpiece of historical fiction with an inescapable feel of authenticity.
Reviewed for Reader's Favorite
September 23, 2018
12th Century Byzantium: Heady, sensuous, and infused with danger.
In Prue Batten's book, Michael. Book Three of The Triptych Chronicles, 12th Century Constantinople comes alive. Our senses are aroused by the delicious and evocative sounds, sights and smells of this glorious city - a melting pot of foreign traders, and a place rife with political machinations. It was here that the finest in luxury goods could be found. Everything from spices to the rarest and most exquisite of silks. Yet trading here was fraught with danger as Michael knows only too well. Working for a Venetian trading house, he enters the city on a special mission, but it is not merely for trade. He has something far more important on his mind. The author's writing style takes us effortlessly through the various Quarters of the city as we follow Michael in his quest. Pitted against evil, will he find what he is searching for? Well reccommended.
In Prue Batten's book, Michael. Book Three of The Triptych Chronicles, 12th Century Constantinople comes alive. Our senses are aroused by the delicious and evocative sounds, sights and smells of this glorious city - a melting pot of foreign traders, and a place rife with political machinations. It was here that the finest in luxury goods could be found. Everything from spices to the rarest and most exquisite of silks. Yet trading here was fraught with danger as Michael knows only too well. Working for a Venetian trading house, he enters the city on a special mission, but it is not merely for trade. He has something far more important on his mind. The author's writing style takes us effortlessly through the various Quarters of the city as we follow Michael in his quest. Pitted against evil, will he find what he is searching for? Well reccommended.
February 10, 2019
Michael is the third book in the Triptych Chronicle. This instalment follows Michael Sarapion as he confronts his past whilst also trying to keep the secrets he holds deep just that.. secret.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the series but the plot of Michael was truly breath-taking and for me was the best yet..The man has lost so much but little does he know glimmer of hope remains.
The main focus of the tale is Michael and has past.. a family lost..his inner turmoil. He seeks to bury the past with work. When he receives his chance of redemption he set outs under the guise of a business trip for his Venetian trading house. How long can he keep his true intent secret?
What the author really does well for me is mix a exciting plot with a very detailed view of trading at the time and the rewards up for grabs.. as well as the dangers they risked. Even friends aren’t always to be trusted when money is concerned and dangers lurk around every corner.
The pace of the tale is set perfect to grab you.. there’s no let up.. there’s always something on the horizon and Michael can’t let his guard down and you can really see how much of a strain this puts upon him as his journey continues… It’s a wonder how he even manages to stand up at times the amount of stress his body must be under.
Prue Batten gives the reader a spectacularly gripping plot and very appealing characters, each has a part to play in the tale and they all get their chance to shine. Its a talent to make a story become so real but Batten does it with ease.
A series to be savioured..Each tale fits nicely with the last but at the same time stands alone..A true joy to read.
I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the series but the plot of Michael was truly breath-taking and for me was the best yet..The man has lost so much but little does he know glimmer of hope remains.
The main focus of the tale is Michael and has past.. a family lost..his inner turmoil. He seeks to bury the past with work. When he receives his chance of redemption he set outs under the guise of a business trip for his Venetian trading house. How long can he keep his true intent secret?
What the author really does well for me is mix a exciting plot with a very detailed view of trading at the time and the rewards up for grabs.. as well as the dangers they risked. Even friends aren’t always to be trusted when money is concerned and dangers lurk around every corner.
The pace of the tale is set perfect to grab you.. there’s no let up.. there’s always something on the horizon and Michael can’t let his guard down and you can really see how much of a strain this puts upon him as his journey continues… It’s a wonder how he even manages to stand up at times the amount of stress his body must be under.
Prue Batten gives the reader a spectacularly gripping plot and very appealing characters, each has a part to play in the tale and they all get their chance to shine. Its a talent to make a story become so real but Batten does it with ease.
A series to be savioured..Each tale fits nicely with the last but at the same time stands alone..A true joy to read.
August 27, 2018
Astonishing, amazing, creative - fiction that stirs the heartstrings. When I first started writing reviews, and was on the hunt for authors who would feed my passion, Prue Batten came highly recommended - to paraphrase the recommendation - "Prue could write a phone book and make it compelling." The depth of character that permeates her narratives is certainly on display in Michael. The mental anguish, the sheer trauma, the weight of responsibility, the relentless downward spiral of hatred and revenge - all that and a downright entertaining story to boot. A tale of merchants and the life and death competition for riches and power set against the political maneuverings of the unpopular ruling class in Byzantine Constantinople. Like an exquisite piece of fine needlework, the author has embroidered an intricate tale highlighted by the details of that vast city and the life within it. So, dear reader, if you have not read Prue Batten, then you are denying yourself a literary treat. 5 stars
June 18, 2019
This is a splendid book that works on multiple levels. Most important: all the important characters are complex and believable and revealed to the reader in elegant stages just as in real life. The central hero is wonderfully original, in his own way as unique as Tobias. However, the book is also a highly effective "mystery" -- with two main plotlines beautifully interwoven. It is a satisfyingly rounded book -- a work of art that is crafted to produce a sense of "rightness." Despite some minor slip-ups (e.g. modern research refutes the superiority of Arab medical knowledge at this time), the setting, Constantinople between the Third and Fourth Crusades, and the milieu of the Italian merchant/trading empires is colorful, intricate and original. Truly a masterpiece that readers with high standards will find satisfying.
July 20, 2018
Anyone who’s read my reviews over the years will know how much of a fan I am of Prue Batten’s work. She and I have known one another for a long time now, having come up together as writers from the same humble start (one shared by other great authors like Gordon Doherty and Douglas Jackson, in fact.) But throughout my career, I have always watched for Prue’s latest work and devoured it, because, in a nutshell, she writes so well that I am constantly envious of her fantastic work.
Her prose is pure class, highly descriptive, emotive and yet also as smooth as a mill pond and as beautiful and detailed as a Canaletto. She cut her teeth on dark faerie fantasy with an excellent full series – the Chronicles of Eirie – before moving on to the Medieval world with her Gisborne series, and then a trilogy of spin-offs from that concentrating on some of the more interesting supporting cast. And that is where we are now. The Triptych Chronicles (Tobias, Guillaume, and now Michael.)
I’m not going to enthuse about it here, because it will all be hyperbole. You get the gist. I will say that it easily matches all of Prue’s other work, which is to say that it is utterly magnificent. And given that I know Prue has had more than a year of real life shake-ups that must have required all her attention and distracted her from writing, it does not show, which is another mark of a true professional. Quality-wise, be assured that once you read Prue’s work, you will want to devour all her books.
The Triptych Chronicles, as I said, expand upon some of the supporting characters from her Medieval series, and this last one is a magnificent example of how to take an interesting secondary character and thrust them into the limelight with enough depth and realism to make them worthy of a series on their own. Michael was, for me, in the original series a minor character with a few interesting questions hovering over his head. This book not only answers those questions, but it gives us the whole truth and history of the character, intricately tied into a plot that is tense, gripping and ineffable. I did not eff it, I have to say. Trade wars in Constantinople form the backbone of the story, though it is Michael’s place in them and his shadowed past that create the true tale. Oh, and I also have to add that I have spent time in Istanbul and written about it myself on several occasions, and I have come across no one who can capture the feel and the spirit of the place like Prue.
This may be her last Medieval novel. I do not no. But it is a great way to go out in style, if so, and we can guarantee that there will be other great reads ahead in whatever milieu Prue chooses. Michael is released TODAY! That’s 20th July. Go buy it. And if you’ve not read any of her other books, go buy them all.
Her prose is pure class, highly descriptive, emotive and yet also as smooth as a mill pond and as beautiful and detailed as a Canaletto. She cut her teeth on dark faerie fantasy with an excellent full series – the Chronicles of Eirie – before moving on to the Medieval world with her Gisborne series, and then a trilogy of spin-offs from that concentrating on some of the more interesting supporting cast. And that is where we are now. The Triptych Chronicles (Tobias, Guillaume, and now Michael.)
I’m not going to enthuse about it here, because it will all be hyperbole. You get the gist. I will say that it easily matches all of Prue’s other work, which is to say that it is utterly magnificent. And given that I know Prue has had more than a year of real life shake-ups that must have required all her attention and distracted her from writing, it does not show, which is another mark of a true professional. Quality-wise, be assured that once you read Prue’s work, you will want to devour all her books.
The Triptych Chronicles, as I said, expand upon some of the supporting characters from her Medieval series, and this last one is a magnificent example of how to take an interesting secondary character and thrust them into the limelight with enough depth and realism to make them worthy of a series on their own. Michael was, for me, in the original series a minor character with a few interesting questions hovering over his head. This book not only answers those questions, but it gives us the whole truth and history of the character, intricately tied into a plot that is tense, gripping and ineffable. I did not eff it, I have to say. Trade wars in Constantinople form the backbone of the story, though it is Michael’s place in them and his shadowed past that create the true tale. Oh, and I also have to add that I have spent time in Istanbul and written about it myself on several occasions, and I have come across no one who can capture the feel and the spirit of the place like Prue.
This may be her last Medieval novel. I do not no. But it is a great way to go out in style, if so, and we can guarantee that there will be other great reads ahead in whatever milieu Prue chooses. Michael is released TODAY! That’s 20th July. Go buy it. And if you’ve not read any of her other books, go buy them all.
October 13, 2018
4.5/5.0
Constantinople provides a compelling backdrop for this historical adventure.
Read full review in the 2018 Oct issue of InD'tale Magazine.
Constantinople provides a compelling backdrop for this historical adventure.
Read full review in the 2018 Oct issue of InD'tale Magazine.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews