Reviews

Byzantium by Stephen R. Lawhead

gadsdenlee's review against another edition

Didn't grab me, have read a lot of Lawheads works but this one just didn't do it.

nucleareaction's review against another edition

1.0

I got more out of this book learning about how books are bound than the story. That's how shitty the quality of the book was. Are you fucking kidding me, people? 4+ stars?

slash's review

dark emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Easy reading but heavy in the religious undertones (naturally as the main character is a monk). The timeline of events is a bit rushed. 

house_full_of_books's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

westcoastchelle's review against another edition

4.0

It was ok... I haven't read anything particularly mind boggling and this one falls into the "just ok" category. Felt like a lot all crammed into a single story and at times seemed to move very quickly. Also never been a huge fan of stories written in first person. Was alright though, defo worth a read.

rojo25's review against another edition

4.0

Good piece of writing. Well researched. Love the setting.

salve58's review

2.0

Waaaay too long! The editor did a poor job on this one. Also never really got into the characters.

nadoislandgirl's review against another edition

4.0

This book is a tome! Despite being a hefty book, I was always glad to pick it up again. It is one of those books that doesn't keep me up into the wee hours, but it does keep me coming back, little by little, to finish the story.

It chronicles a monk's voyage from Ireland to Constantinople and beyond with the Book of Kells. Along the way he is slave and advisor to kings. He visits the north (Skania) and Arab countries.

Worth a read, but not sure I will ever reread.

tmobil's review against another edition

5.0

Truth is a constant delight to those that love her; such beauty holds no power to offend.

...none of this surprised me; it was as if this meeting between us was foreordained by a force greater than either of us. I know I had the events wheeling swiftly over a well-traveled course to a destination long ago established. I felt as if I was merely saying the words I had been destined to say. If there was no surprise, neither was there fear or alarm. The circumstance seemed both right and natural--as if we had talked this way a thousand times, and knew well what the other would say... This is the only truth we can know in life. Nothing else in the world is certain--only this: that a man and woman should come together in love.

We kissed, then, and the ardour of her kiss stole my breath away. I returned her passion with all the fervor I possessed. A lifetime of vows and heart-felt disciplines had prepared me well, for in that kiss I sealed with all my soul the fate before me, embracing a mystery clothed in warm and yielding female flesh. Holding only the moment, with neither thought nor care for the future, I kissed her, and drank deep the strong wine of desire.

I knew, even as we touched that I had never wanted anything more in all my life. All my crabbed cravings were as a cupful of pond water beside the vast ocean of longing I felt surging through me. My head swam; my eyes blurred. I burned from the inside out as if my blood and bones were consumed with liquid fire.

Oh, but once my memories had pulsed with the blood-heat of life. In desperation, I forced myself to recall that once, I had walked with kings and conversed in languages never heard in this land. Once I had stood at the prow of a Sea Wolf ship and sailed oceans unknown to seamen here. I had ridden horses through desert lands, and dined on exotic foods in Arab tents. I had roamed Constantinople’s fabled streets, and bowed before the Holy Roman Emperor’s throne. I had been a slave, a spy, a sailor. Advisor and confidant of lords, I had served Arabs, Byzantines, and barbarians. I had worn captive’s rags, and the silken robes of a Sarazen prince. Once I had held a jeweled knife and taken a life with my own hand. Yes, and once I had held a loving woman in my arms and kissed her warm and willing lips...Death would have been far, far better than the gnawing, aching emptiness that was now my life.

Life is a school of the spirit.

We are closest to Christ when sharing the world’s misery. Think you Jesu came to remove our pains? Wherever did you get that notion? The Lord came, not to remove our suffering, but to show us the way through it to the glory beyond. We can overcome our travails. That is the promise of the cross.

Well, I was thinking this very thing. I was thinking: I am going to die today, but Jesu also died, so he knows how it is with me. And I was thinking, would he know me when I came to him? Yes! Sitting in his hall, he will see me sail into the bay, and he will run down to meet me on the shore; he will wade into the sea and pull my boat onto the sand and welcome me as his wayfaring brother. Why will he do this? Because he too has suffered, and he knows...HE KNOWS...Is that not good news?

indio_ink's review against another edition

4.0

Started slowly at first but got much better in the end.