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A review by ltg61
Byzantium by Stephen R. Lawhead
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.