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Mosaic of Shadows (Paperback)

by Tom Harper (Author)
3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)

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Product details

  • Paperback: 288 pages
  • Publisher: Century; New Ed edition (5 Feb 2004)
  • Language English
  • ISBN-10: 1844130282
  • ISBN-13: 978-1844130283
  • Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.co.uk Sales Rank: 388,325 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Product Description

Review

Murder in the Byzantine Empire in the 11th century. Demetrios Askiates, the revealer of mysteries, is approached by the court of the emperor Komnenos, and asked to investigate the death of a soldier killed by a crossbow arrow who was standing next to the emperor. It is vital to catch the assassin before he strikes again and finds a far more important victim. Demetrios' search takes him to the slums of Constantinople and he comes upon Thomas, a Frankish youth recently orphaned, and it was he that fired the bolt. Demetrios needs to find the person, known only as 'the monk', who set up the kill, and to do this he enters the world of Italian and Frankish merchants who deal with Byzantium. It is an intriguing story full of exciting things and should sell well. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


Yorkshire Post

‘It’s a world which Harper brings exuberantly to life, clearly revelling in its teeming, tumultuous extravagance.' --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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65% buy the item featured on this page:
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Customer Reviews

7 Reviews
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Average Customer Review
3.7 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
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16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Byzantine thriller, 8 Jun 2005
By N. Brett (Wiltshire, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)      
This review is from: The Mosaic of Shadows (Paperback)
This is a thriller set in the time of the Byzantine Empire. After an assassination attempt on the emperor, ex soldier Demetrios is brought in to investigate amid the politics and hierarchy of the Empire. Matters do not improve when a Barbarian army turn up and camp on the doorstep. Is this linked to the assassination attempt? Demetrios does not have much time to find out...
This is a good first novel, an engaging main character, an interesting period of history and it is written in a very readable manner.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining thriller, but lacks depth, 28 Mar 2007
By J. Aitcheson (Wiltshire, England) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   
This review is from: The Mosaic of Shadows (Paperback)
"The Mosaic of Shadows" is set in Constantinople during the winter of 1096-7, at the time of the First Crusade. Demetrios Askiates, a former mercenary and now a kind of medieval private investigator, is hired by the imperial palace to investigate a recent attempted assassination of the Emperor Alexios. The attempt seems to be connected with the arrival outside the city walls of the crusading army, who claim to be seeking passage across the Bosphorus to continue to the Holy Land, but are soon suspected of having their eyes on Constantinople itself.

As a crime thriller it reads very well, as it certainly keeps the action flowing. At the same time it is well paced, and at over 450 pages it is neither too short nor too drawn out. Unfortunately as a historical novel it is not so strong - in fact you end up feeling that the story could have been set in any era, even the present day. This is because it is hard to feel properly immersed in Demetrios' world - Harper could have done much more to bring out the vibrant character of eleventh-century Constantinople, and the richness and cultural diversity that it must have possessed. Similarly the divisions between good and bad - between the noble Greeks and the corrupt 'barbarian' outsiders pressing at the gates - are too neatly drawn. The characters, though likeable enough, are a little cliched - the plain-talking, axe-wielding guardsman Sigurd, and the obsequious eunuch Krysaphios are two examples.

Nevertheless, this is a highly readable book and a reasonable action romp which hints at bigger themes of intrigue and betrayal, but which could do more to evoke a proper sense of time and place. I would be interested to see how Harper develops both Demetrios' character and his world in the sequel, "Knights of the Cross", of which there is an excerpt at the very back of the book as a taster.
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11 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars entertaining but not engrossing, 2 Mar 2006
By Didier (Ghent, Belgium) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)   
This review is from: The Mosaic of Shadows (Paperback)
As a debut this is not bad at all, but there's a long way to go before I'll consider Tom Harper one of my favourite authors. Sure enough, it's written in an easy style, with a straightforward plot and not too many characters (no need whatsoever to keep notes while reading), so if that's what you're looking you can't miss.

But on the downside: with a top-notch historical novel you can sort of 'wake up' after 2 hours of reading and feel as if you've actually spent that much time in the period or age the novel is set in. I never had that feeling with The Mosaic of Shadows. On the contrary, it would require precious little changes to set this novel in 5th century China, or 9th century Russia, or whatever...

And neither do the characters truly come alive or develop in the course of the story. The protagonist's 2 daughters for instance are angry with him for not giving them enough attention. Does he do anything about it or learn from it? No. Does it even matter in the story? Again: no.

In a nutshell: the kind of stuff that'll easily keep you entertained for a day or two on holiday, but as easily forgotten a couple of days later.

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