The Shadow of God: A Novel of War and Faith

by Anthony A. Goodman

A tremendously vivid historical encounter becomes a larger-than-life canvas for this brilliant saga. The year is 1522. Two great leaders, twenty-five-year-old Suleiman the Magnificent, the absolute ruler of the mighty Ottoman Empire, and Philippe de L'Isle Adam, the grisly, fifty-eight-year-old Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, come to war on the Greek island of Rhodes. For 145 days, Philippe and 500 European Knights fight to protect their fortressed city and withstand an assault of nearly 200,000 men from Suleiman's army, in a battle that becomes the historic hallmark for siege warfare. Authentic in all its historical detail, The Shadow of God evokes a seismic clash of cultures: Muslim versus Christian, the Ottoman Empire versus the last remaining Knights of the Crusades and, most important, two of the most powerful men of their time. Embedded in this fictional account is the secret marriage of a lovely Jewish nurse to her Christian French Knight, as well as the forbidden love of the Grand Master for the beautiful Helene. An epic of bravery and courage, The Shadow of God weaves a tapestry of beauty, terror and triumph set in a forgotten time of brutality and courage, loyalty and honor.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Historical, Fiction, War

446 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2002

About the author

Anthony A. Goodman is an Adjunct Professor of Medicine in the Medical Sciences and the Microbiology departments at Montana State University in the United States. He was a general surgeon for nearly thirty years, specializing in the surgical treatment of cancer. He is also a lecturer for The Teaching Company, and a historical novelist.

Goodman currently divides his time between teaching surgical anatomy at the medical school, The Biology of Human Cancer to undergraduates in microbiology and writing historical fiction. He is currently researching and writing the sequel to The Shadow of God, which follows the Knights of St. John to their new home on the island of Malta, and the rise of the Ottoman Empire to its apogee under Suleiman the Magnificent through its ultimate decline and fall under the reign of his heirs.

Dr. Goodman is a professor Lecturer for The Teaching Company. His courses include "Understanding the Human Body: An Introduction to Anatomy and Physiology", "The Human Body: How We Fail, How We Heal" and "Lifelong Health: Achieving Optimum Well-Being at Any Age"

Reviews

[Anthony Goodman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of course!

[Bettie]

to look into. there is though, something ugly about an author rating their own work as 5* where ordinary readers are hovering around the 3* mark.

[Ulas Ergin · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title 'Shadow of God' is one of the many Ottoman Sultans used for many years and this book is a story about one of the greatest among them: Kanuni Sultan Suleyman,Souleyman the Magnificient.
The book is about the siege and surrender of Rhodoes

[Niki · Rating 1 out of 5]

Totally biased account of the Crusades.

[Henri Moreaux · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a rather vivid historical action novel about the 1522 siege of Rhodes by the Ottoman Empire under Suleiman the Magnificent and his enormous army against the occupying force of the Order of the Knights of St John who had held Rhodes for 200 years.

Whilst it starts out with a rather mysterious prologue about a traitor, it is somewhat needed to keep your attention to the rather dull opening of the novel where the book goes into grand detail about the setup and positions of both sides prior to their engagement at Rhodes.

If one is able to persevere with a pace that makes an East German Trabant feel like a Ferrari then you are rewarded with some rather atmospheric and details scenes as the full force of the Ottoman Empire slams against the fortified walls of Rhodes & the occupying force of the European Knights. At times I felt the interactions between characters were quite weak and mostly carried by the historical detail and scenes being portrayed around them.

If you have an interest in the time period you'll likely enjoy it, yet if you're just after a general historical fiction novel with no particular time period in mind I feel you would be served a better reading experience by seeking out Bernard Cornwell's Stonehenge.

[JournalsTLY]

A historical novel of the Ottoman era that weaves in the insecurity of a mighty sultan and the expectations that are his burdens.

In a world of spies and counter spies, how does one know that a messenger who rode in on a horse with a message is telling the truth ?

The messenger, exhausted after the gruelling ride across vast lands - he falls asleep after telling the words to the king - and he falls asleep a few steps away from the sultan’s tent . The royal recipients note that the messenger has not even the bit of strength to pocket the gold coins that were given to him. The pouch remained unopened as he sleeps in exhaustion. He is a true messenger of truth.

With this as opening scenario - the young prince embarks on his journey to Istanbul to be installed as the new sultan ( Shadow of God) of the Ottoman Empire and then on to the account of the invasion of Rhodes - a siege that brings out the valour of the fighters as well as wanton waste of lives because of the fighting.


The words of a powerful Sultan:

“I am protected from violence by my guards. But they also protect from truth" - Sulaiman

Words - at the first few chapters , the "cancer" was used several times to describe the Sultan's illness ie he was given the diagnosis of having a "cancer". Trivia - the word cancer was supposedly to be first used by Hippocrates around 400 BC.

[Coleen Dailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A novel of the siege of Rhodes in 1522. Based on historical fact this was an interesting read about the battle between the Knights of St. John and the troops of Suleiman the Magnificent. This story tells of the battles, the betrayals, the lives lost and determination of two men of faith in the leadership of their troops. Part of the long term battle between Christians and Muslims, the Knights of St. John were virtually abandoned by the rest of the Christian world due to their home countries infighting with each other so that several hundred men were to fight an army of several hundred thousand. Having seen Rhodes in person, one can tell why the siege lasted four plus months and the cost in lives was so high for both sides. If you are interested in the history of the area, the history of what continues to be a battle today, I would recommend this book. It is well researched as to historical fact but written in a way to make the history easy to read.

[John Wiltshire · Rating 3 out of 5]

For anyone interested in the history of the Knights of Rhodes and the second great siege there in the 1500s, this is a solid read. One of my greatest regrets is not visiting Rhodes before I left the Northern Hemisphere, and I guess I'll never get there now. I was brought up on Crusader history and have always loved reading about and visiting the places where the great battles between the Christians and the Muslims took place.
I wouldn't say this book is brilliantly written. There is an uneasy mix of history being narrated by the author combined with jumps into the fictional povs of the characters. One rather agregis example of this is giving Phillippe, the Grand Master of the Knights of Rhodes, a fictional lover who comes to the island with him. It's a pretty despicable thing to do to a man who dedicated his entire life to the Order and his consequent vows of celibacy.
But overall, this is a good read for a history buff.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I could tell this was written by a historian. The information-giving parts were better than the characters and dialog, though those were ok. I liked the book better as it went along because I started to feel the effects of the siege and how it was affecting the people on both sides. The author did a good job of being even-handed and fair to both sides of the conflict.

[Bob Spears · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

[Lucy · Rating 3 out of 5]

So much telling. Aaaallll the telling. But it was well-researched and I really enjoyed the Ottoman sections. I admit I lost the energy for it and jumped to the end.

[Kennisld · Rating 2 out of 5]

Meh

Epitome of tell don't show. Characters are one dimensional, and reads more like a textbook with some added color as opposed to a novel of historical fiction

[Feodora · Rating 2 out of 5]

Die Geschichte um Soliman dem Prächtigen war noch einigermaßen interessant, aber jetzt plätschert die Geschichte dahin.

[Aycan Ünal Batmaz · Rating 5 out of 5]

felt good to read the book in Rhodes

[Nuha Kabbani · Rating 4 out of 5]

كتاب تاريخي رائع، فيه تعيش تاريخ خمسمئة عام ماضية من جديد في وصف مفصل عن حصار السلطان سليمان خان القانوني لجزيرة رودوس في البحر الابيض المتوسط - التي كانت تحت سيطرة الفرسان الصليبيين لمدة ٢٠٠ عام - والذي دام حصارها ١٤٥يوم في عام ١٥٢٢م.
قصة فيها مزيج من الحقائق التاريخية العظيمة وقليل من نسج الخيال، مايجعلك تعيشها في ذاك الوقت وكأنك تشاهد فيلم سينمائي. ولذلك فأنا آخد وقتي في القراءة لأستمتع بالقصة وأحداثها لأكبر وقت ممكن.
القصة تعطي فكرة عن شخصيتين قويتين في التاريخ وهما السلطان العثماني سليمان الذي كان عمره ٢٦ آنذاك ورئيس الفرسان الصليبين فيليب دي لايل آدم والذي كان عمره ٥٦، وتدور وقائعها حول الحصار القوي لرودوس وعن توضيح مزايا وأخطاء الشخصيتين في وقت عصيب وحاسم.
في بعض فصول القصة وحين يسرد الكاتب تفاصيل حصار رودوس بدأت أتململ من الشرح المتكرر للحصار والمعارك وضرب المدافع والموت والذي جعل القصة تطول دون جاذبية نوعا ما.
ثم أني شعرت ان الكاتب ينحاز لتعظيم مهمة الفرسان الاستباريين "knights Hospitalier" ويصف بسالتهم ومقاومتهم وشجاعتهم التي صوّرها تفوق كل محارب تركي شجاع. لكنه كان عادلا في وصفه لأنضباط وادارة وهيبة جيش ومعسكرات السلطان سليمان.
أما ماكتب من الناحية الدينية فلم يعجبني ماكتبه عن مقارنة الأديان ببعضها حين كتب عن أن المسيحية واليهودية والاسلام كلهم شبه بعضهم وطبعا لم يكتب انهم متممين بعضهم.. وكما هو عادة الكتّاب من أصل يهودي فقد انحاز الكاتب لرسم صورة حسنة واستعطافية عن اليهود آنذاك.
I like to take my time reading all my books that have a connection to real history, because as I read, I like to go back and search names, dates, relationships, facts, and real stories behind every character. This book is a fantastic. It's about the order of the Ottoman empire and the siege of Rhodes. Reading it is like living history again in the 16th century. At the beginning of the siege I kinda got bored reading and re-reading about the killing and bombarding until I felt it will never end. Somehow it came throgh in the love stories that added a nice flavor to the book.
At major parts of the book I felt that the writer has taken side with the knights, showing their honorary religious cause, their bravery, and their courageous fights than the Turkish soldiers. How can thousands of turkish soldiers dies at the hand of few knights! Another part I felt that he sympathized with the Jewish characters more than the others as if he wants us to feel the same way too.
The historcal facts in the book are wonderful and accurate and enjoyable to read.

[Annette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shadow of God is a story based on true events of the siege of the fortress on the Greek isle of Rhodes in the year 1522. It is the struggle of two religions, two cultures and two men: the Sultan of Turkey, Suleiman is new to his throne and wants to rid his kingdom of the thieving pirates in the waters of the eastern Mediterranean who are the European knights belonging to the Order of the Knights of St. John Hospitaller; and the Grand Master of the knights, Philippe de L'Isle Adam who has been assigned to take charge and defend the island and its fortress with his 500 knights against the Sultan's army of 100,000 soldiers.

Well written, although a little stale in the middle of the story. The personal stories of the real-life characters are where the meat of the book really lies. Most of the lives of these people are tragic but the love and devotion that they share and extend to one another are what makes this story worth reading.

[JW · Rating 1 out of 5]

I barely got twenty pages into this book. There's an overwritten prologue that probably is cleared up later in the text. Then there's a lot of exposition about Suleiman including the apparent Ottoman tradition of the ascended Sultan murdering his brothers and their descendants. Okay, never mind.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

i've always avoided battle/war books but this is fabulous!
it really keeps you gripped and love the personal elements and getting to know the characters.
i really enjoyed it and it thoroughly enhanced my trip to Rhodes!

[Jaime · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the most thrilling and exciting historical action books that I have ever read. It is the tale of a battle between 16th century Muslims and European Christians. This is a stellar book!

[Terry · Rating 3 out of 5]

This historical novel uses the clash between the Ottoman Empire and the Knights of St. John on the island of Rhodes to make the point that the lack of religious tolerance leads to atrocities. Switching perspectives facilitate the depicting of the virtues and flaws of each of the leaders.

[Tugbadursun · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was a well-written page-turner. The author is a medical doctor who researched the historical facts very well. I really enjoyed reading this remarkable book. If you are interested in historical novels, you should read it.

[Paul]

Story of The Siege of Rhodes. Suleiman the Great leads the Ottoman Turks against the Knights of St.John.

[Benjamin · Rating 2 out of 5]

A few good scenes, but nothing outstanding. A nice depiction of life a castle, especially in conflict situations.

[Steven Raszewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

More good historical fiction. Great writing style.

[Stephanie Foust · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very moving novel about the clash of 3 monotheistic religions(Judaism,Islam,Christianity)culminated in the Siege of Rhodes in 1522.The unresolved past does impinge upon the future.

[Evren Akgül · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mediocre book based on real historic events. A smaller version can be found in R. Crowley's Empires of the Sea.