The World's Literature in Europe discussion

The Ionia Sanction is the next sequel to The Pericles Commission, mysteries that are set in the Hellenic world of the fifth-century BCE and that are authored by the Australian Gary Corby. There is a lot of humor, sometimes dark, in this story of intrigue as well as a fount of history.

The protagonist twenty-one-years-old Nico has received (or begged) Pericles's permission to nab the murderer of the Athens merchant and proxenos to Ephesus, Thorion, and to investigate related matters. To do that, Nico first sails to Ephesus on the fastest ship known then takes his entourage, the Artemisian priestess Diotima and the dubious slave Asia, to Magnesia. In that place, Nico's mission brings more danger.

The Athens' setting briefly picks up elements of "The Pericles Commission" and introduces a new mystery or several mysteries, which take Investigator Nico to the Hellenic land of Ionia, ruled by Persia. In the thriving city of Ephesus, he comes across his girlfriend The Artemis Priestess, who is solving her own mystery. They eventually team up and head to Magnesia on the Maeander River. They meet the satrap of the area Themistocles, who twenty-years earlier (580 BCE) created the powerful Athenian naval fleet which defeated Persian invaders. Victimized by rumor in Athens, he was welcomed by the Athenians' enemy.

A very interesting character, to me, is Barzanes, part of Great King Artaxerxes Eyes and Ears of the Persian kingdom. The former exemplifies the Persian Zoroastrian religion and morality, which emphasizes Truth, Good/Evil, God's judgment after one's death, for example. By contrast, the Greeks are without Judgment Day and its heaven and hell, and their mischievous, promiscuous gods behave more like humans. Nico learns a lot on his mission but eventually solves all the mysteries.

From The World's Literature archive, The Ionia Sanction's prequel, The Pericles Commission. http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...