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Aelric #2
The Terror of Constantinople
610AD The bloodthirsty Emperor Phocas is preparing for the greatest battle of his life. Enemy armies are racing closer to attack his fortress, the golden city of Constantinople, and traitors within plot his downfall. Clinging to power by masterminding a campaign of terror, he is running out of funds, allies and time ...but he has one card left to play. Aelric, a naive and ambitious young clerk from Britain, is sent to Constantinople ostensibly on a mission to copy old texts for the Church of Rome. On his arrival he discovers the terrible dangers lurking behind the shining streets and glittering facades. A pawn in a secret conspiracy that will change the course of history, he can only rely on his wits, charm and fighting skills to stay alive.
400 pages, Hardcover
First published February 5, 2009
9 people are currently reading
121 people want to read
About the author
Richard Blake
79 books68 followersA pseudonym of Dr Sean Gabb.
Richard Blake is a writer, broadcaster and teacher. He lives in Kent with his wife and daughter.
For Hodder & Stoughton, he has written the following six historical novels: "Conspiracies of Rome" (2008), "Terror of Constantinople" (2009), "Blood of Alexandria" (2010), "Sword of Damascus" (2011), "Ghosts of Athens" (2012), "Curse of Babylon" (2013). These have been translated into Spanish, Italian, Greek, Slovak, Hungarian, Indonesian, and Chinese.
In 2015, Hodder & Stoughton republished all six novels in two omnibus volumes: "Death of Rome Saga 1" and "Death of Rome Saga 2."
As Sean Gabb, he has written these novels: "The Column of Phocas" (2006 - historical), "The Churchill Memorandum" (2011 - alternate history thriller), and "The Break" (post-apocalyptic science fiction). This novel was published in 2014, and nominated for the Prometheus Award, but has now been acquired by Caffeine Nights and withdrawn for republication in 2016 under the name Richard Blake. A further novel, "The York Deviation" (alternate history fantasy), is awaiting publication.
He also writes for Endeavour Press. His first historical novel for Endeavour, "Game of Empires," was published in May 2015. His next in this series, "Death in Ravenna," was published in August 2016. Hist next, "Crown of Empire," will be published in April 2016.
You can follow him on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/richard.blak...
You can also follow him on Twitter - https://twitter.com/BlakeTheWriter
His personal website is - http://www.richardblake.me.uk/
Richard Blake is a writer, broadcaster and teacher. He lives in Kent with his wife and daughter.
For Hodder & Stoughton, he has written the following six historical novels: "Conspiracies of Rome" (2008), "Terror of Constantinople" (2009), "Blood of Alexandria" (2010), "Sword of Damascus" (2011), "Ghosts of Athens" (2012), "Curse of Babylon" (2013). These have been translated into Spanish, Italian, Greek, Slovak, Hungarian, Indonesian, and Chinese.
In 2015, Hodder & Stoughton republished all six novels in two omnibus volumes: "Death of Rome Saga 1" and "Death of Rome Saga 2."
As Sean Gabb, he has written these novels: "The Column of Phocas" (2006 - historical), "The Churchill Memorandum" (2011 - alternate history thriller), and "The Break" (post-apocalyptic science fiction). This novel was published in 2014, and nominated for the Prometheus Award, but has now been acquired by Caffeine Nights and withdrawn for republication in 2016 under the name Richard Blake. A further novel, "The York Deviation" (alternate history fantasy), is awaiting publication.
He also writes for Endeavour Press. His first historical novel for Endeavour, "Game of Empires," was published in May 2015. His next in this series, "Death in Ravenna," was published in August 2016. Hist next, "Crown of Empire," will be published in April 2016.
You can follow him on Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/richard.blak...
You can also follow him on Twitter - https://twitter.com/BlakeTheWriter
His personal website is - http://www.richardblake.me.uk/
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Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
September 6, 2019
“When you get to the front [line], you take off your outer clothes. You put your shoes in the box provided. When you go in, have your papers ready. When you are stripped for the search, you stand with your legs apart and your arms spread. If you need an interpreter, tell the clerk. One will be provided.”
“Strip and bend over.”
No, Aelric of Kent is not goings through a TSA strip search! The passage above describes the way the young barbarian is greeted by a custom official as he descends from his ship in the city founded by Constantine the Great. The year is 610, not 2019, yet it appears history has a habit of repeating itself. Especially in times of trouble, when embattled despots rely on fear and on an iron fist in order to hold on to power.
In the early seventh Century, the name of the dictator is Phocas and his reign of terror gives the title of this second episode in Aelric saga. The young man is sent by the papal office as a sort of unofficial ambassador to Constantinople, tasked with identifying and copying rare books in the city libraries, dealing with deviations from church dogma and heretic beliefs. Aelric is assisted by his secretary Martin, his bodyguard Authari and a slave retinue.
“Why do you suppose we do this, day after day?”
“The official answer, is that they are traitors. Really, of course, none may be guilty of anything at all. It’s really a matter of keeping control, isn’t it?”
In a matter of hours, Aelric realizes that he has no idea what his role in Constantinople is, who are his friends and who are his enemies, and even why Rome has chosen to throw him in this den of lions. Everybody assumes he is a spy on a secret mission. Strangers try to pass him encrypted messages. The eunuch Theophanes, master of spies for the Emperor Phocas, cultivates him. Priscus, leader of the death squads that roam the city in search of traitors, takes an interest in his whereabouts. The Permanent Legate of Rome is hiding from Aelric, locked away in his own quarters. And a besieging army led by pretender to the throne Heraklius is about to encircle the city. In the first half of the story, Aelric deserves the nickname “the man who knew too little”, since this novel reads more like a cold war spy thriller than a historical account.
I did struggle with this first half, mostly because of the deliberate confusion and false paths laid before the protagonist. And because of the language, which kept pulling me out of the mood with anachronisms and modern turns of phrase, out of place in the seventh century setting. But I never considered giving up on the book, because I am really interested in this early historical period and in the city of Istanbul / Constantinople. I have visited the place twice in recent years, and have been truly enchanted by its layers of history and by its modern vibrancy. Whatever shortcomings I found in pacing and language were balanced by the thrill of recognizing familiar landmarks and customs.
The Empire is no sort of democracy. But you need to know how to manage the crowd in the Circus if you want to last on the Imperial Throne.
My patience was rewarded in the later chapters, as the action really picks up, including sword-fighting, murder investigations, plots and counter-plots to unseat Phocas, a visit to the Great Church (St. Sophia), a day of races at the Hypodrome, culminating in the attack against the city fortifications by Heraklius. Aelric plays a swashbuckling role here, with entertainment value trumping historical accuracy . The confusion of the spying game is largely revealed according to the usual rules of the game, where each player is a double or even triple agent. I found the discussion of heresy, inter-church politics and the accuracy of translations of sacred texts particularly intriguing and satisfactory, laying out the groundwork for the Great Schism, still several centuries ahead. Basically, it boils down not to the changing of one word in the Creed, but in the supremacy of Rome over the rest of the original Churches (Egypt, Antioch, Jerusalem and Byzantium).
So, I will read the next book in the series, but not as a high priority. The main reason for this comes from the influx of anachronism in the text, so pervasive that it often pulled me out of the ancient setting to land in the middle of the modern age. Even in the first volume in Rome I noticed numerous references to banking, stock exchange and insurance fraud as the methods Aelric used to get rich. They are repeated here, despite no evidence such operations were practiced before the 15th century. Roman priests talk of ‘spheres of influence’, a Byzantine soldier snorts a white powder up his nose, an eunuch drinks coffee, Aelric gazes at his reflection in shop windows multiple times,
You see the rippling wave of green and blue as the victorious Faction stand briefly, row by row, and seat themselves again.
Almost all my bookmarks in the text are not of clever quotes or interesting descriptions of places, but of such modern images. The quote above describes the crowd at the Hypodrome making waves, like they do today at soccer games. The worst offenders for me are the instants of murder investigation, when Aelric talks like a Sherlock Holmes wannabe.
“Whatever we find, mustn’t be disturbed.”
“You will say nothing to each other. You will wait until I speak with each of you.”
or, “Cut the thing up,” he said, looking ferocious. “Cut it up in the lead bathtub. Wrap the body parts in old cloth and dump them one at a time into the rubbish bins placed at the main street junctions.”
Despite my complaints, most of the information about the decline of Phocas and his use of terror to control the city are accurate. Aelric is a personable scoundrel, and even if Blake is not in the same class as Cornwell, he is still worth a visit.
July 23, 2014
Aelric in Constantinople involved in double, triple... crosses, murders, war, in-between an Emperor and several pretenders, the Church of Rome and the ones of the East... Just a page turner and a fun book that made me laugh out loud so many times that all its anachronisms and creative historical interpretations were excused.
Even better then Conspiracies of Rome and I hope MR. Blake can keep Aelric's adventures coming beyond the Alexandria one of this summer
An A+ and a great return to the 50's style of adventure historical fiction (a la Mika Waltari and Samuel Shellaberger for example) with modern sensibilities and a take no prisoners attitude.
Even better then Conspiracies of Rome and I hope MR. Blake can keep Aelric's adventures coming beyond the Alexandria one of this summer
An A+ and a great return to the 50's style of adventure historical fiction (a la Mika Waltari and Samuel Shellaberger for example) with modern sensibilities and a take no prisoners attitude.
December 9, 2015
Can this man tell a tale? Absolutely - 100% - yes.
Mixing history - well researched history, I might add - with a bit of humor and a mystery or two thrown in for good measure, Richard Blake takes us back to early 7th century AD Constantinople.
This is the second book of the life of Aelric, young clerk from Britain, and it is great. There are numerous court intrigues going on and poor Aelric seems to be involved in each one of them. There are torture chambers and eunuchs, barbarians committing wholesale slaughter, theological disputes on end, pitched battles. And there’s a baby too!
Blake has captured the sights, the sounds, the smells (checkout the description of a 7th century public lavatory) of one of the great cities of the ancient world ands once again his characters are well developed.
I loved it!
On to book three.
Mixing history - well researched history, I might add - with a bit of humor and a mystery or two thrown in for good measure, Richard Blake takes us back to early 7th century AD Constantinople.
This is the second book of the life of Aelric, young clerk from Britain, and it is great. There are numerous court intrigues going on and poor Aelric seems to be involved in each one of them. There are torture chambers and eunuchs, barbarians committing wholesale slaughter, theological disputes on end, pitched battles. And there’s a baby too!
Blake has captured the sights, the sounds, the smells (checkout the description of a 7th century public lavatory) of one of the great cities of the ancient world ands once again his characters are well developed.
I loved it!
On to book three.
September 29, 2014
With this second volume in Aelric's adventures I think I like him more. His depravity and selfishness don't disgust me so much and he's really starting to amuse and interest me.
With the first book in the series, I rated it highly for the setting and not the characters but in this one I really liked both. I look forward to to reading Aelric's next tale.
With the first book in the series, I rated it highly for the setting and not the characters but in this one I really liked both. I look forward to to reading Aelric's next tale.
September 6, 2019
In his Death of Rome Saga, Richard Blake has tapped into an era that is rich in drama and full of fiery, colorful historical personalities. It's a wonder that earlier novelists have not tapped into this remarkable period; Blake is virtually alone in describing the Roman Empire of the Seventh Century. I'm glad he's taken the job and doing it with such aplomb.
This time around in the The Terror of Constantinople, Blake paints the gripping story of the young adventurer Alaric using his wits to survive in a deadly environment where the usurper, Phocas, has overthrown the Emperor Maurice and lords over the citizens of Constantinople with a heavy hand.
Richard Fidler in his Ghost Empire made me aware of the vile Emperor Phocas and told me enough about his reign to whet my curiosity. I definitely wanted to know the gory details, but Fidler could only provide so much information. He was ,after-all, telling the entire 1000 year story of Byzantium. He laid out the facts and just the facts.
This is how historians set the scene:
A prominent general, Maurice fought with success against the Sasanian Empire. After he became Emperor, he brought the war with Sasanian Persia to a victorious conclusion. Under him the Empire's eastern border in the South Caucasus was vastly expanded and, for the first time in nearly two centuries, the Romans were no longer obliged to pay the Persians thousands of pounds of gold annually for peace.
Maurice campaigned extensively in the Balkans against the Avars – pushing them back across the Danube by 599. But he was undone by his own parsimony: he cut the rations of soldiers on the Danube and cancelled their winter leave, which left his men facing the prospect of spending several frozen months on the front, shivering in their tents. When Maurice economized further by cutting their pay, the army on the Danube mutinied and raised a centurion named Phocas onto their shields, Phocas and his rebels abandoned their posts and marched towards Constantinople.
Phocas entered the city in 602, flinging handfuls of gold to the cheering crowds in the streets. He assumed the throne and sent his soldiers to track down his predecessor. Maurice was captured and forced to watch as his children were beheaded. Than it was his turn. The headless bodies were thrown into the sea. A large crowd came down to watch the corpses bobbing around on the water.
Phocas was aware that his authority was tenuous. he could hardly claim...to be the favoured son of heaven when everyone knew he was a crude opportunist who had murdered his predecessor. Phocas tried to crush disquiet among the people and the aristocracy with a reign of terror, punishing his enemies, real or otherwise, through slow torture and execution.
This is how Richard Blake puts you in the middle of a reign of terror:
Once again Blake demonstrates his great strength in bringing the world of his novels to life. Here he too paints a convincing and vibrant portrait of 7th century Constantinople which is in contrast to the decaying and decrepit city of Rome in the first novel. Through little details sprinkled throughout the story such as the description of the raucous and blood-thirsty crowds enjoying the public executions in the Hippodrome to the assassination attempt during the funeral service in the Hagia Sofia, Richard Blake makes you feel like you have been transported back in time.
Well researched and well written, The Terror of Constantinople is enjoyable to read. I would recommend this book to anybody interested in historical fiction.
This time around in the The Terror of Constantinople, Blake paints the gripping story of the young adventurer Alaric using his wits to survive in a deadly environment where the usurper, Phocas, has overthrown the Emperor Maurice and lords over the citizens of Constantinople with a heavy hand.
Richard Fidler in his Ghost Empire made me aware of the vile Emperor Phocas and told me enough about his reign to whet my curiosity. I definitely wanted to know the gory details, but Fidler could only provide so much information. He was ,after-all, telling the entire 1000 year story of Byzantium. He laid out the facts and just the facts.
This is how historians set the scene:
A prominent general, Maurice fought with success against the Sasanian Empire. After he became Emperor, he brought the war with Sasanian Persia to a victorious conclusion. Under him the Empire's eastern border in the South Caucasus was vastly expanded and, for the first time in nearly two centuries, the Romans were no longer obliged to pay the Persians thousands of pounds of gold annually for peace.
Maurice campaigned extensively in the Balkans against the Avars – pushing them back across the Danube by 599. But he was undone by his own parsimony: he cut the rations of soldiers on the Danube and cancelled their winter leave, which left his men facing the prospect of spending several frozen months on the front, shivering in their tents. When Maurice economized further by cutting their pay, the army on the Danube mutinied and raised a centurion named Phocas onto their shields, Phocas and his rebels abandoned their posts and marched towards Constantinople.
Phocas entered the city in 602, flinging handfuls of gold to the cheering crowds in the streets. He assumed the throne and sent his soldiers to track down his predecessor. Maurice was captured and forced to watch as his children were beheaded. Than it was his turn. The headless bodies were thrown into the sea. A large crowd came down to watch the corpses bobbing around on the water.
Phocas was aware that his authority was tenuous. he could hardly claim...to be the favoured son of heaven when everyone knew he was a crude opportunist who had murdered his predecessor. Phocas tried to crush disquiet among the people and the aristocracy with a reign of terror, punishing his enemies, real or otherwise, through slow torture and execution.
This is how Richard Blake puts you in the middle of a reign of terror:
"Beyond the docks the land rose upwards. Here, I allowed myself a sight of a jumble of glittering buildings. Some of these looked quite old – at least, they were in the ancient style of the Greeks. The larger buildings were all in the modern Imperial style. I strained to see more of them, but the afternoon sun was in my eyes and it dazzled me. I also couldn’t explain the little dark projections at regular points along an inner wall.
As the oars swung suddenly upright and we coasted the last few yards into dock, I glanced up again at the inner wall. I could now see that those dark projections I hadn’t been able to make out were iron gibbets. There must have been dozens of these clustered round the Senatorial Dock. Each held a corpse in various stages of decay. The corpses looked sightlessly down at me, twisted in their death agonies, blackened by the sun. Some were naked. Others had shreds of clothing that scavengers and the shifting winds hadn’t yet torn away. Here and there, though faded, I could make out the purple border of the senatorial classes.
Martin cleared his throat, directing my attention to the open mouth and outstretched arms of the official.
‘Executed traitors,’ he whispered again with a momentary glance at the gibbets. ‘You should pretend not to notice them.’
As I stepped ashore, the official hurried forward to embrace me.
Greetings, Alaric of Britain,’ he called in a voice that might have been a woman’s but for its great power. His flabby, painted jowls shook with the force of his greeting. ‘I bid you welcome after your journey from the Old Rome to the New. Welcome, Alaric, welcome to the City of Caesar!"
Once again Blake demonstrates his great strength in bringing the world of his novels to life. Here he too paints a convincing and vibrant portrait of 7th century Constantinople which is in contrast to the decaying and decrepit city of Rome in the first novel. Through little details sprinkled throughout the story such as the description of the raucous and blood-thirsty crowds enjoying the public executions in the Hippodrome to the assassination attempt during the funeral service in the Hagia Sofia, Richard Blake makes you feel like you have been transported back in time.
Well researched and well written, The Terror of Constantinople is enjoyable to read. I would recommend this book to anybody interested in historical fiction.
June 25, 2013
Once again we have the narcissistic Alaric this time in Constantinople. A Cpnstantinople which appears to be in peril of falling to one threat or another, and definitely not a safe place for a young barbarian with no idea of what is going on. The convoluted politics of the eastern and western churches, divided by their Christian beliefs, are difficult to follow, but that seems quite realistic. Alaric and Martin try to stay alive to return to Rome. We know he eventually makes it back to Jarrow - at the start of this book a Byzantine embassy has made it there to take him back, but who will die before he gets away.
November 27, 2015
Excellent story with Aelric!
March 29, 2013
super rollicking adventure as aelric winds his treacherous way through dodgy byzantine politics
perfect period detail with an engaging set of characters
perfect period detail with an engaging set of characters
August 30, 2013
Fun tale of intrigue when Istanbul wasn't.
January 21, 2020
Fast-paced historical fiction set in Constantinople in the early C7th
Customer rating 4.0/5.0
19 Jan. 2020 By Rob Mackintosh
BOOK REVIEW - Rob Mackintosh
Richard Blake, The Terror of Constantinople, 2010, Amazon; genre - historical fiction; setting - C7th Constantinople.
Set in AD 610, Blake’s second novel as Saxon Aelric works his way through a series, begins and ends briefly in Rome; but most of the action takes place in Constantinople in the last days of Emperor Phocas.
Aelric is sent to Constantinople on a mission whose purpose and growing complexity soon unfold. Murder, lies, duplicity, power-plays and oppressive internal security intrigue and baffle our hero, who leads this expedition on behalf of the Pope in Rome. As fear rises and bodies multiply, Aelric struggles to hold his own in this whirlpool.
However, Blake takes time to describe in detail the life and city of Constantinople. By accident and design, twists and turns carry the plot forward as the mystery grows and Aelric is enmeshed in the growing complexity of power-play at several levels in the City.
Significant characters are drawn in detail, and backstories unfold slowly, as befits a mystery. Power and theology are powerful and fatal bedfellows throughout, as is noticeable in Blake’s first novel.
The author (through Aelric) thinks and speaks with an authentic voice which includes potentially offensive content that not all readers might appreciate.
The book is a complex rather than an easy read, with many new faces and roles sometimes making it difficult to follow, remember or sufficiently connect people with each other.
The wrap-up ending has unexpected surprises, but it was the brief Epilogue that moved me most.
Enough said!
Customer rating 4.0/5.0
19 Jan. 2020 By Rob Mackintosh
BOOK REVIEW - Rob Mackintosh
Richard Blake, The Terror of Constantinople, 2010, Amazon; genre - historical fiction; setting - C7th Constantinople.
Set in AD 610, Blake’s second novel as Saxon Aelric works his way through a series, begins and ends briefly in Rome; but most of the action takes place in Constantinople in the last days of Emperor Phocas.
Aelric is sent to Constantinople on a mission whose purpose and growing complexity soon unfold. Murder, lies, duplicity, power-plays and oppressive internal security intrigue and baffle our hero, who leads this expedition on behalf of the Pope in Rome. As fear rises and bodies multiply, Aelric struggles to hold his own in this whirlpool.
However, Blake takes time to describe in detail the life and city of Constantinople. By accident and design, twists and turns carry the plot forward as the mystery grows and Aelric is enmeshed in the growing complexity of power-play at several levels in the City.
Significant characters are drawn in detail, and backstories unfold slowly, as befits a mystery. Power and theology are powerful and fatal bedfellows throughout, as is noticeable in Blake’s first novel.
The author (through Aelric) thinks and speaks with an authentic voice which includes potentially offensive content that not all readers might appreciate.
The book is a complex rather than an easy read, with many new faces and roles sometimes making it difficult to follow, remember or sufficiently connect people with each other.
The wrap-up ending has unexpected surprises, but it was the brief Epilogue that moved me most.
Enough said!
December 13, 2022
This book seemed to have everything for a great historical novel: well-written, interesting characters, and especially, rich details of the time and place. But for some reason I found myself distracted and not really enjoying it - and it took a while to work out why. I think it comes down to the basic structure - the author does not make it clear from scene to scene what the protagonist actually wants and is trying to do. Without that, there is no 'story question' to spark curiosity and drive the plot forward. It reminds me of the Sopranos episode where the sound engineer cries out 'where's your chorus?! It's all verses! you got no structure!' I think this is especially important where the author is going for a spy-thriller plot - there has to be clarity and structure to support the complexity. Richard Blake has the skills, he's just a simple tweak away from writing a great book.
March 8, 2020
Gory and Glorious
Golden Alaric marvels at the splendours of Constantinople, but soon becomes aware of the terror that underlies life in the magnificent city, and the tight control over all citizens. The powerful eunuch Theophanes guides him but it is not always clear to what end. Much blood is shed in many nasty encounters, all horribly enthralling, and intermingled with shopping, feasting, the adoption of a baby, and chariot races in the Circus.
Richard Blake brings seventh century Constantinople vividly to life, with its palaces, churches, and its commercial life, together with an atmosphere of crushing political control.
Theophanes walks off the page, full of pride, sinister intent and irresistible charm. At his ending, I could have wept with Alaric. While Alaric has his share of bad qualities, his innate sense of fair play and generosity are admirable. His many talents make him a fascinating character, and I'm so glad he has more adventures to relate.
Golden Alaric marvels at the splendours of Constantinople, but soon becomes aware of the terror that underlies life in the magnificent city, and the tight control over all citizens. The powerful eunuch Theophanes guides him but it is not always clear to what end. Much blood is shed in many nasty encounters, all horribly enthralling, and intermingled with shopping, feasting, the adoption of a baby, and chariot races in the Circus.
Richard Blake brings seventh century Constantinople vividly to life, with its palaces, churches, and its commercial life, together with an atmosphere of crushing political control.
Theophanes walks off the page, full of pride, sinister intent and irresistible charm. At his ending, I could have wept with Alaric. While Alaric has his share of bad qualities, his innate sense of fair play and generosity are admirable. His many talents make him a fascinating character, and I'm so glad he has more adventures to relate.
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews