Siege
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Amazon.co.uk Review
Sweeping historical fiction -- with a liberal dose of adventure -- is one of the most difficult of genres to bring off. Despite the ready-made colour and atmosphere provided by a strong period setting, it isn’t enough merely to describe the world the reader is to be taken into; it must be evoked in all its visual richness, with every sight, sound and smell forcefully present. In Siege, Jack Hight has set himself a daunting task -- to plunge us into the year 1453, as the fabled city of Constantinople relies on its titanic walls to protect the Eastern Roman Empire. But has Jack Hight the clout as a novelist to elevate his novel about the ranks of its many rivals in this overcrowded field?
Constantinople reels as legions of Turkish riders mass for a definitive assault on this most remote outpost of Christianity. There seems to be no hope; never before have such prodigious forces been marshalled, and there are fifth-column enemies within the city who will -- given half a chance -- conspire and collaborate in the destruction of the citadel. There are, however, three key players in this dangerous arena: a strong-willed byzantine princess prepared to give her life in the service of the city; a youthful sultan who has spent time abroad and is now keen to demonstrate his mettle; and a soldier-for-hire whose services are available to the highest bidder but who has a particular problem he needs to settle. It is this mercenary, Giovanni Longo, who must undergo the greatest challenge of these protagonists when he discovers that everything he has considered to be certain in life is suddenly up for grabs.
Jack Hight is an American historian whose specialist area is the mediaeval world, and he puts his considerable expertise to excellent use in his vast narrative. If at times the copious historical detail threatens to overwhelm the sheer velocity of the storytelling, few will complain given the authenticity of the material on offer. If you feel the need of a trip to a distant and dangerous era, you could do much worse than picking up a copy of Siege. --Barry Forshaw
Review
'This is an ambitious book, written on an ambitious scale, offering a fascinating picture of momentous events'
(Daily Mail )
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This is an adventurous attempt to cover a period which has been neglected by writers of historical fiction. As a keen reader of this type of book, I looked forward to reading it.
"Siege" divides in to 2 parts, covering first the prelude and then the siege itself and Jack Hight brings an obvious historical knowledge to bear on his story. Where he is dealing with the many and varied political and religious intrigues, he demonstrates both knowledge of his topic and an ability to convey the complexities, Unfortunately this does slow the pace a little too often. Equally unfortunately, he is less assured when writing action scenes, which failed to convince this reader, and given that they are such an integral part of the story, provides a major flaw.
Using the main characters to give the human dimension, Hight imagines a number of scenarios which may have given rise to the key elements of the story and these do work, for the most part. The central "love story" is not one of those successful stories, though, as it too often seemed unlikely and superfluous. I would also have liked to see a map or two to help pin down the geography - mine was a Vine edition, which may not be typical though.
Perhaps the reason why the fall of Constantinople has not been covered in fiction is because of the sheer scale of the task of bringing together the many strand of those aforementioned intrigues, which overwhelm this apparently attractive setting for historical adventure. That said, Jack Hight has produced a decent novel, all things considered, but which would have been improved with more ruthless editing, or would have benefited from being 2 or even 3 books which culminated in the siege - there was certainly enough material.
"Siege" divides in to 2 parts, covering first the prelude and then the siege itself and Jack Hight brings an obvious historical knowledge to bear on his story. Where he is dealing with the many and varied political and religious intrigues, he demonstrates both knowledge of his topic and an ability to convey the complexities, Unfortunately this does slow the pace a little too often. Equally unfortunately, he is less assured when writing action scenes, which failed to convince this reader, and given that they are such an integral part of the story, provides a major flaw.
Using the main characters to give the human dimension, Hight imagines a number of scenarios which may have given rise to the key elements of the story and these do work, for the most part. The central "love story" is not one of those successful stories, though, as it too often seemed unlikely and superfluous. I would also have liked to see a map or two to help pin down the geography - mine was a Vine edition, which may not be typical though.
Perhaps the reason why the fall of Constantinople has not been covered in fiction is because of the sheer scale of the task of bringing together the many strand of those aforementioned intrigues, which overwhelm this apparently attractive setting for historical adventure. That said, Jack Hight has produced a decent novel, all things considered, but which would have been improved with more ruthless editing, or would have benefited from being 2 or even 3 books which culminated in the siege - there was certainly enough material.
12 of 14 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
I have always been surprised that the epic siege of Constantinople in 1453, which saw the city fall to the Ottoman Turks, had not been novelised before - or, if it had, I was not aware of it. It was such a momentous event, signalling the final death throes of the Roman Empire, which had clung on in some form or another throughout the Byzantine period; so momentous, indeed, that the day on which the city fell, a Tuesday, has remained a bad luck day for the Greeks ever since.
Jack Hight has redressed the balance with this novel, "Siege", which has as its main character Longo, the historical commander of the defending forces at Constantinople. Obviously, much of Longo's (and other characters') back stories have been invented by Hight, but he starts us off in 1448, after the Turks' defeat of the Christian armies at Kossovo. From there the action moves to Constantinople, then to Italy, before coming back to the Byzantine capital for the siege itself in the final part of the novel. Interspersed with the actions of the Christian heroes, Hight takes us inside the Ottoman imperial household, recreating the tensions between the Sultan Murad and his young son Mehmed, who had already been an unsuccessful sultan once, before Murad's death propelled him back to the imperial throne - and his attack on Constantinople.
Hight deals with the intrigues of the Byzantine and Ottoman courts well, simplifying some of the theological details (a wise decision), and providing explanations for some of the more intriguing aspects of the siege itself - why, for example, Mehmed's Grand Vizier was executed at the end of the siege, and how the Turks managed to gain entrance to the city itself. Lacking any historical explanations, Hight's fictionalised explanations hold up reasonably well.
I enjoyed "Siege". I didn't really find the battle scenes quite as thrilling as I hoped I would; but they were solid and dependable, which is perhaps all one can ask. The love story element was rather predictable, and perhaps not entirely necessary; although it did provide some fresh motivations for the characters. Overall I would recommend the novel, particularly if one doesn't really know much about what was going on in the 15th century, particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean. I wonder whether Hight should have included a note at the end to explain quite why the fall of Constantinople to the Turks was such an important event, and how it laid open the rest of Europe to future Ottoman attempts - considering the later Ottomans made it to the gates of Vienna, the danger their capture of Constantinople presented might have been made more explicit.
Jack Hight has redressed the balance with this novel, "Siege", which has as its main character Longo, the historical commander of the defending forces at Constantinople. Obviously, much of Longo's (and other characters') back stories have been invented by Hight, but he starts us off in 1448, after the Turks' defeat of the Christian armies at Kossovo. From there the action moves to Constantinople, then to Italy, before coming back to the Byzantine capital for the siege itself in the final part of the novel. Interspersed with the actions of the Christian heroes, Hight takes us inside the Ottoman imperial household, recreating the tensions between the Sultan Murad and his young son Mehmed, who had already been an unsuccessful sultan once, before Murad's death propelled him back to the imperial throne - and his attack on Constantinople.
Hight deals with the intrigues of the Byzantine and Ottoman courts well, simplifying some of the theological details (a wise decision), and providing explanations for some of the more intriguing aspects of the siege itself - why, for example, Mehmed's Grand Vizier was executed at the end of the siege, and how the Turks managed to gain entrance to the city itself. Lacking any historical explanations, Hight's fictionalised explanations hold up reasonably well.
I enjoyed "Siege". I didn't really find the battle scenes quite as thrilling as I hoped I would; but they were solid and dependable, which is perhaps all one can ask. The love story element was rather predictable, and perhaps not entirely necessary; although it did provide some fresh motivations for the characters. Overall I would recommend the novel, particularly if one doesn't really know much about what was going on in the 15th century, particularly in the Eastern Mediterranean. I wonder whether Hight should have included a note at the end to explain quite why the fall of Constantinople to the Turks was such an important event, and how it laid open the rest of Europe to future Ottoman attempts - considering the later Ottomans made it to the gates of Vienna, the danger their capture of Constantinople presented might have been made more explicit.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
(What's this?)
The book: 1448, and the Turks are pressing ever closer to Constantinopel, the last rampart of the Eastern Roman Empire. When Emperor John VIII dies, the succession is disputed; the same goes for the succession of sultan Murad whose son, Mehmed, is over-eager to succeed his father and get to grips with the Roman capital, the Queen of Cities.
In between, and in contrast, rides Longo, a mercenary captain from Genoa, and his sidekick William, an escaped slave; and a Byzantine princess, Sofia, sister to the disputing emperors-in-waiting.
Intrigues abound while the Turkish threat to the City looms ever larger...
My opinion: yes, it all reads as if it is quite historically correct, but ithe book wears that a bit to proudly on its sleeve - and lacks a spark, a writing style with more humour and more flow. I failed to get really interested in the personages, of which there are many, and the 'top weaponry and battle scenes' lauded by the blurb leave me cold. It is all very serious and factual, and it fails to sweep me along; as a good historical novel really should. I found I was reading this out of duty rather than out of pleasure...
In between, and in contrast, rides Longo, a mercenary captain from Genoa, and his sidekick William, an escaped slave; and a Byzantine princess, Sofia, sister to the disputing emperors-in-waiting.
Intrigues abound while the Turkish threat to the City looms ever larger...
My opinion: yes, it all reads as if it is quite historically correct, but ithe book wears that a bit to proudly on its sleeve - and lacks a spark, a writing style with more humour and more flow. I failed to get really interested in the personages, of which there are many, and the 'top weaponry and battle scenes' lauded by the blurb leave me cold. It is all very serious and factual, and it fails to sweep me along; as a good historical novel really should. I found I was reading this out of duty rather than out of pleasure...
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
seige
A good historical novel with insight into life in a time gone by. The characters are all interesting from their own viewpoint and the story weaves a tale of deceit, greed and... Read more
Published 18 days ago by claphamtyke
A decent rather than a great historical novel
For such a major event, the Siege of Constantinople in 1493 has had surprisingly little attention from either historical novelists or filmmakers: the only previous novel dealing... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Trevor Willsmer
A Brilliant Historical Novel for all age groups
I really did enjoy this book: it really developed the characters and for the historical value alone it was flawless as I have really learnt a lot about a part of history I once... Read more
Published 3 months ago by M. Berto
Siege
I enjoyed reading Siege which was part of the Saladan trilogy, i had previously read Eagle which was also a good read and found both to be an exciting journey into a by gone era,... Read more
Published 4 months ago by A. Crawshaw
Great Historical Novel
As I like all aspects of history I found this book very interesting. The author tells the story of the siege of Constantinople in 1453 by the Turks. Read more
Published 8 months ago by 7csailor
An Excellent Story
I knew nothing of this period in history and so it was nice not to know the outcome until the final couple of chapters. Read more
Published 10 months ago by Memshogun
Very entertaining
I really enjoyed this book and I didn't think that I would after reading the first couple of chapters. Read more
Published 12 months ago by J. Cooper
Accurate but a bit flat
OK, so the book itself is set in 1448, Turkish armies have come up against the Jewel of the Eastern Roman Empire; Constantinople. Read more
Published 13 months ago by Pen Name
As a book, not a historical tome
Having read and enjoyed "Eagle", I looked for other works by the author, and found "Siege".
Reading for me is purely pleasure and I have no real worries if, in the... Read more
Reading for me is purely pleasure and I have no real worries if, in the... Read more
Published 15 months ago by BruceB
LOYALTY TO HISTORY PLEASE
I am just at page 50 and so far has found too many historical mistakes. Let me share. 1. In the war of Kosovo the Ottoman army was commanded by Murad the Second. Read more
Published 15 months ago by Osman Ilhan Sener
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