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rageofachilles's review against another edition
1.0
One of the worst books I have ever read. It was just plain boring.
januaryf's review
4.0
I had started reading this book 8 years ago, and never finished. The story stuck in my mind, though, and it was always there luring me in to reread it - so I did. This time I pushed through the lull in the middle to finish, and I'm glad I did. This was a great story - sweeping in the geographic scope, and really interesting with the play of different religions and cultures.
missingcheese's review
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
2.0
This book felt way too long for me. Also I would have liked it better if it was an omniscient narrator instead of written in first person. I liked reading about a time I haven't read much about, and enjoyed the variety of locations and adventures but it felt a little contrived.
ltg61's review
2.0
In a lot of ways, this was just a heartbreaking read.
Historically, I find this to be an incredibly fascinating period. The vikings relationship with the Byzantines is something I find particularly interesting. In fact, fiction novels about the Varangian Guard are hard to come by, so I was hoping Byzantium would offer a glimpse into that, while using the young priests pilgrimage as the spine of the story. I was hoping for something with a bit of historical honesty. Instead this read like a giant religious anecdote. Any historical aspect of this novel is a bit sullied by clearly biased religious overtones.
The ending really put the nail in the coffin for this one. To sum it up "everyone converted to Christianity and lived happily ever after." Well, if you look into it, you'll see that all too frequently pagans were converted by violent and horrific means, and the ones that converted by their own free will often didn't have a clear understanding of the religion (believing Christ was a warrior who would help them in battle etc...)
If someone re-wrote this with less religious bias, I'm sure it would have been a phenomenal book. Unfortunately, this was just fluffy and dishonest.
Historically, I find this to be an incredibly fascinating period. The vikings relationship with the Byzantines is something I find particularly interesting. In fact, fiction novels about the Varangian Guard are hard to come by, so I was hoping Byzantium would offer a glimpse into that, while using the young priests pilgrimage as the spine of the story. I was hoping for something with a bit of historical honesty. Instead this read like a giant religious anecdote. Any historical aspect of this novel is a bit sullied by clearly biased religious overtones.
The ending really put the nail in the coffin for this one. To sum it up "everyone converted to Christianity and lived happily ever after." Well, if you look into it, you'll see that all too frequently pagans were converted by violent and horrific means, and the ones that converted by their own free will often didn't have a clear understanding of the religion (believing Christ was a warrior who would help them in battle etc...)
If someone re-wrote this with less religious bias, I'm sure it would have been a phenomenal book. Unfortunately, this was just fluffy and dishonest.
gbdill's review
5.0
Excellent read. Full of adventure, drama, mystery, and intrigue. Set in the 10th-century Byzantine era, an Irish monk goes on a journey where he will wrestle with his faith and come to terms with it however messy it is. In my opinion, one of the best historical fictions I have ever read. The only thing lacking is more development in its setting. Other than that, a fantastic read.
katelyn11's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
ehays84's review
3.0
Read this one a long time ago. I remember it being good,but somewhat esoteric. Avowedly Christian fiction sometimes turns out to be not as good as a book written just to be a good book.
chris_sanny's review
4.0
I felt the ending not as satisfying as I expected, and some of the plot stretched believability for me a bit, but it was certainly gripping and fun overall! I like what publisher weekly said:
“The narrative has the excitement of a good fantasy novel, a vivid historical setting and a lengthy, credible and satisfying plot”
“The narrative has the excitement of a good fantasy novel, a vivid historical setting and a lengthy, credible and satisfying plot”
eososray's review
2.0
I have had to spend some time deciding how to describe why I didn't like this book other than just writing that I found it boring.
It is not the kind of book that you would imagine as boring, once you get though the first 20 chapters, it never stops moving you through people and places. From sea wolves to emperors, forest to desert and country to city, there is always another place to be and more people to meet.
Alot of the story seemed implausible and did there really have to be so much praying?
What I finally came up with as a reason....is that I felt like I was being talked at, instead of entertained. I wasn't drawn into the story but was rather left on the outside being preached at by an Irish monk telling me his fantastical life story so I would convert.
It was okay but I feel like I've lost time that I could have used to read something better.
It is not the kind of book that you would imagine as boring, once you get though the first 20 chapters, it never stops moving you through people and places. From sea wolves to emperors, forest to desert and country to city, there is always another place to be and more people to meet.
Alot of the story seemed implausible and did there really have to be so much praying?
What I finally came up with as a reason....is that I felt like I was being talked at, instead of entertained. I wasn't drawn into the story but was rather left on the outside being preached at by an Irish monk telling me his fantastical life story so I would convert.
It was okay but I feel like I've lost time that I could have used to read something better.