Byzantium

by Stephen R. Lawhead

book data

610 ratings, 4.10 average rating, 68 reviews (more data...)

rating	frequency	%
5		43%
4		31%
3		18%
2		4%
1		1%

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published

1996 by HarperPrism

details

Hardcover, 500 pages

isbn

0002246368 (isbn13: 9780002246361)

description

A master storyteller weaves a tale of adventure and the coming of age of a young soul in this epic novel of the early centuries of the first millenniu…more

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Jan 27, 2008

Loren rated it:

(review of isbn 0061057541)

Read in February, 2008

This story is about an irish monk, Aidan, who is chosen to embark on a journey to bring the Book of Kells to the Emporer of Byzantium (Constantinople). It has a pretty classic storyline in terms of the personal growth and trials that the main character goes through to fulfill his quest. If you enjoy historical fiction you won't be disappointed by this book. It's got plenty of action, conspiracy, and intrigue to make it a page-turner and it's enjoyably rich in culture. Be aware though (or be ...more

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Mar 23, 2009

Diane rated it:

(review of isbn 0061057541)

Read in June, 2008

This novel tells the story of Aidan, a tenth-century Irish monk who takes part in an expedition to bring the Book of Kells to the emperor in Byzantium. Before his small group of traveling companions reach the coast of France, however, they are attacked by Vikings and Aidan is carried off alone. The remainder of the book chronicles his adventures. Aidan is by turns a slave, interpreter to a king, ambassador of the emperor, suitor to an Arab lady, and again a slave. His journey brings him to dista...more

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Jan 22, 2010

Sara rated it:

(review of isbn 0061057541)

Read in January, 2010

Read this book on the advice of a friend...super fun read!

We are studying the dark ages and this book covers monks, monasteries, pilgrimages, Holy Roman Empire, Sarazens, Arabs, silver mines, vikings, slavery....you name it. It was like a Disneyworld ride through an historical era.

Epic book that I had a hard time putting down, made me ignore my children's chatter and dipped me in history.

PLUS I really liked the protaganist. He grows, he falls, he gets strong...more

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Sep 14, 2009

Robert rated it:

(review of isbn 0061057541)

A friend recommend this book to me a couple of years ago. I'm glad that i took his advice and read it. It quickly became my favorite book. I passed it along to others and they as well enjoyed it. If you life the movie Gladiator. Then you would like this book. Its similar in the sense of the main characters having to go through various life changes and losing things dear to them. It also based in a similar era. I will warn you that its a little slow to get going but once it does. It will have you...more

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Aug 17, 2008

Nikki rated it:

(review of isbn 0006482511)

bookshelves: fantasy, historical-fiction-alternatehistory

Read in July, 2009

I've found most of Stephen Lawhead's books disappointing. I read The Paradise War when I was younger and nothing else has ever quite matched up to the vibrancy and life of that one. Byzantium is a stand-alone novel, based on history, not purer fantasy with Celtic roots like The Paradise War, so perhaps that's part of it.

I actually found Byzantium a little ridiculous when I stopped to think about it. I don't presume to know how historically accurate it is, but the entanglement of Viki...more

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May 05, 2008

Debbi DeVries Dillon rated it:

(review of isbn 0061057541)

bookshelves: faith, fiction, history

Read in January, 1999

recommended to Debbi by: My dear friend Crystal

Byzantium is about a group of Irish monks who are given the task of taking The Book of Kells to Byzantium to offer as a gift to the Emperor. On the way they are kidnapped by Vikings, taken as slaves, travel to Kiev (IIRC), make it to Byzantium, end up in the silver mines as slaves again, and still make it back. The book is filled with action, many interesting characters, and great historical detail. Its obvious Lawhead did his homework for this book.

This is the only Lawhead book ...more

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Mar 28, 2007

Tara rated it:

(review of isbn 0061092967)

bookshelves: favorite-reads

<b?Favorite Quotes</b>

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 ala...more <b?Favorite Quotes</b>

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?(less)

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Jul 12, 2009

Philip rated it:

(review of isbn 0061092967)

Read in August, 2000

It's been a while since I read this one, but I ranked it (along with The Confessions of Nat Turner) as my favorite book for a LONG time.

It's about an Irish monk who has to travel to Byzantium (Istanbul) to take a manuscript the Emperor of Christendom. I thought it was a great historical-fic read.

I received it as a gift right before I took a long trip as well - quite fitting.

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Jan 23, 2009

Malinda rated it:

(review of isbn 0061057541)

Read in January, 1998

My fav book of all time. I love the adventure, and the historical fact mixed with his fictional story. Plus, the story keeps changing, everywhere he travels is so different that it is like a new story. You hardly notice the length of the book. I was sad that the story had to end when it did. I learned a valuable lesson from the line God speaks to the main character, "What did you expect?" That was so powerful. This is my one MUST READ! Cory might like it too.

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Nov 30, 2009

Ria rated it:

(review of isbn 0061057541)

Read in January, 1994

A British monk is chosen by his abbey to deliver a jeweled breviary to the high church official in Byzantium. It's been a number of years since I read this, but it is riveting complete with Vikings and slave traders. As I said before, historical fiction is fun and a great way to learn a bit about historical places and events.

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Jul 28, 2008

Kathy rated it:

(review of isbn 0061057541)

Read in August, 2008

recommended to Kathy by: Carol
recommends it for: adults

Byzantium is an adventure-driven story that takes the reader through Eastern Medieval Europe. I enjoyed Lawhead’s detailed description of the exotic settings and his glimpse of the historical spread of Christianity. The primary focus of the story was the spiritual transformation of the main character, Aiden; from devout monk, to cynical renouncer, to restored soul. Yet, it was the sub-characters who captured my attention. I especially enjoyed the Barbarian Dane, Gunnar. The themes of servi...more

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Jan 20, 2008

Kay rated it:

(review of isbn 0061057541)

bookshelves: read-in-2009

Read in May, 2009

I don't believe there is any rating I could give this book other than a 5 out of 5 stars. It has been a long while since I've read an epic. This one I loved, as it took me from Ireland of the 10th century, to "Skania", and then to Byzantium/Constantinople. In this novel or gargantuan proportions, the author wrote about 4 different cultures: Irish catholic monks, vikings, Arabs, and the Roman catholic empire.

It was a book largely about one man's struggle against his God: ...more

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Jan 16, 2009

A. T. Ross rated it:

(review of isbn 0061057541)

bookshelves: fantasy

One of my absolute favorite books of Lawhead's. A Celtic monk travels to Byzantium to deliver the Emperor a copy of the Scriptures, but along the way is captured by germanic barbarians, marries a Muslim princess, and has quite the epic adventure.

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Jan 15, 2009

Stephen rated it:

(review of isbn 0061057541)

Read in January, 2009

Incredible adventures for a innocent abroad. The story of the loss and re-gaining of faith; the meaning of suffering; the love and respect of those around you; the impact of honorable interaction with non-beleivers - something other missionaries could have learned from. My only compaint was that the book ended too soon. The adventure had not been completed.

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Feb 23, 2009

Ggce added it (review of isbn 0061057541)

Read in April, 2008

An epic adventure (historical fiction)filled with robust characters and action. An Irish monk is selected for a mission to present a manuscript to the emperor of Byzantium. It is a story of service, faith and redemption.

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Oct 03, 2008

Peter rated it:

(review of isbn 0061057541)

bookshelves: fiction

Read in January, 2009

Stephen Lawhead is one of my favorite authors. His stories are engaging, fast-paced, and authentic. I most appreciate how he deals with the reality of human suffering and disappointment, yet he almost never leaves a character in utter despair. There is always hope in the Lord.

Byzantium does not disappoint. Loosely based on legends surrounding the medieval Irish Saint Aidan, the story takes the reader on a remarkable journey from Ireland to Scandinavia to Constantinople to Arabia ...more

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Jan 11, 2010

Paula added it (review of isbn 0061057541)

Read in January, 2010

This started out as a little slower to read than his Robin Hood Series of books - but very historically interesting - and ended up not being able to set it down. A christian monk from Ireland and his adventures among the Vikings and in the lands of Constantinople. I was left thinking this was a true story but will have to check that out.

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Jun 08, 2009

Bryan Stevenson rated it:

(review of isbn 0061057541)

bookshelves: favorites

This is one of my all time favorite books. The main character's journey mirrors our walk through life. He comes to a profound realization about the suffering that Christ endured for us. Great book!

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Sep 15, 2008

Robin rated it:

(review of isbn 0061057541)

bookshelves: historical-fiction

Read in September, 2008

I found this ponderously written with occasional absorbing moments, but it is based on a real Irish monk of the late ninth-early 10th centuries. That doesn't come out until the end, but I probably would have read it differently and enjoyed it more if I'd known. This monk's adventures are pretty astonishing and it has inspired me to do more research on him. Some of the characters are memorable but the first person narrator often became repetitive and stilted. It is a period of history seldom writ...more

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