Book Review: Tales of Byzantium by Eileen Stephenson

Tales of Byzantium: A Selection of Short Stories by Eileen Stephenson
e-Book, 152 pages
CreateSpace
May 2, 2015
★★★½☆☆

Genre: Historical Fiction, Short Stories

Source: Received from author/publisher for HFVBT tour stop

A young empress defies her powerful father for love and her rightful place on the throne.

A charismatic commander takes the gamble of a lifetime to save the lives of thousands of innocents.

An exiled princess finds a new sense of purpose and creates a legacy that will stand through the ages.

These stories provide a glimpse of the dynamic and proud Byzantines who lived during the height of the empire’s splendor.

I am a fan of short stories and especially those that bring in interesting locales and time periods. Tales of Byzantium takes us through three different time periods of Byzantine history and whets the reader’s appetite for more!

This is certainly not a location that receives a great amount of fictional treatment, and I think that is a disservice. Byzantine history is full of so many interesting figures and events that it is ripe for a novel – however I think what might keep some away from this time/place is that not as many people are familiar with it and because so much of what took place was intimately tied into religion. Having recently taken a course on Byzantine History for my Masters program, I was very familiar with the Emperors and characters featured in these stories, however many would not be. I find it interesting that when writing on a location that is not frequently visited in fiction, the author chose to write about some of the lesser known of the Byzantines. Very interesting choice, but well executed. Considering that these were just short stories, I appreciated that the author gave an Author’s Note after each chapter to set the story within history, considering that most people will be unfamiliar with the timeline, this is very helpful.

Of the three stories, I found the first and second to be the most interesting while I could have done without the third (this however does not seem to be the case with all readers). All three of the stories are essentially character studies, not too much really happens in any of them, however, the third I found plot to be relatively non-existent. The characters were intriguing and I would probably enjoy a whole story built around them, particularly the second story.

If you are at all interested in finding a different locale for your reading, I encourage you to check out this short story collection as well as explore Byzantine history. It is very similar to the Roman (Western) Empire that it will be familiar to you, but still new and exciting.

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• A Bookish Affair
• Library Educated

Buy the Book: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | RJ Julia

 
Find Eileen Stephenson: Website | Facebook | Goodreads | Blog

 
Follow the Tour!!

On Twitter: #TalesofByzantiumBlogTour  #HistoricalFiction

HFVBT Website

 
Tour Wide Giveaway!

To win a Paperback copy of Tales of Byzantium by Eileen Stephenson please enter the giveaway via the GLEAM form below.  Please note this is a tour wide giveaway and any issues/questions should be directed to the tour coordinator, not me.

Rules

• Giveaway starts at 12:01am EST on December 14th and ends at 11:59pm EST on December 22nd. You must be 18 or older to enter.
• Giveaway is open internationally.
• Only one entry per household.
• All giveaway entrants agree to be honest and not cheat the systems; any suspect of fraud is decided upon by blog/site owner and the sponsor, and entrants may be disqualified at our discretion
• Winner has 48 hours to claim prize or new winner is chosen.

Tales of Byzantium

 
 


Copyright © 2015 by The Maiden’s Court

Book Review: The Secret History by Stephanie Thornton & Giveaway

The Secret History by Stephanie Thornton
Paperback, 448 pages
NAL Trade
July 2, 2013
★★★★★+

Genre: Historical Fiction

Source: Received from the author for review with Historical Fiction Virtual Book Tour

Where Theodora went, trouble followed…

In sixth century Constantinople, one woman, Theodora, defied every convention and all the odds, and rose from being a common theater tart to become empress of a great kingdom, the most powerful woman the Roman Empire would ever know. But the woman whose image was later immortalized in glittering mosaic was, in fact, a scrappy, clever, conniving, flesh-and-blood woman full of sensuality and spirit whose real story is as surprising as any ever told…

When her father dies suddenly, Theodora and her sisters face starvation on the streets. Determined to survive, Theodora makes a living any way she can—first on her back with every man who will have her, then on the stage of the city’s infamous amphitheater in a scandalous dramatization of her own invention. When her daring performance grants her a back-door entry into the halls of power, she seizes the chance to win a wealthy protector—only to face heartbreak and betrayal.

Ever resilient, Theodora rises above such trials and by a twist of fate, meets her most passionate admirer yet: the Emperor’s nephew. She will thrive as his confidant and courtesan, but many challenges lie ahead. For one day, this man will hand her a crown. And all the empire will wonder—is she bold enough, shrewd enough, and strong enough to keep it?

In terms of novels and books about the Roman Empire, the Eastern Empire often gets the short end of the stick. I can confess to knowing nothing more about Emperor Justinian and Empress Theodora than the fact that they were memorialized in mosaic (learned about in my high school art history class). However, Theodora seems to be the new “IT” girl lately and I was excited to read something more about this portion of the Roman Empire. Plus, isn’t the cover just absolutely gorgeous?! I don’t even mind that we don’t see her face because it is beautiful and different that the seemingly cut and paste style covers lately.

What is there not to love about Theodora? I dare anyone of you who reads this to not fall in love with her. She is tough, smart, politically minded, and demanding. She makes something of herself to rise up from the gutter. She is sassy and fun. A heroine that we have been lacking in HF lately, in my opinion. The other characters were awesome as well. They all had so many different qualities to them and were very real characters. Even more, I loved the dynamics between the characters. Theodora and Justinian had some great sparring matches, each trying to outwit the other. Whether dealing with other women from the lower class or engaging with the courtiers, she always came out verbally on top.

The setting of the novel was so atmospheric I could sense the world around me – the sights, smells, and sounds. I can truly say that I have a solid concept of the Eastern Empire now and can tell the marked differences between it and the old Western Empire.

The only thing that I could conceivably complain about was the jump between the last two sections of time – I obviously wanted more of it and would have liked to know a little more about the later aspects of her life. Even at 448 pages I wanted more! I would recommend this novel to any historical fiction fan. If you have liked the works of Kate Quinn and Michelle Moran (both of which were set in the Ancient World) you will love this novel!

This is author Stephanie Thornton’s debut novel. You can visit the author’s website and blog for additional information about the book. If you would like to preview the story before reading it, why not try out this excerpt of the book?

Reviews of this book by other bloggers:

• Oh For the Hook of a Book
• Flashlight Commentary

Here are some choices for purchasing the book: Amazon, B&N, RJ Julia (my fav indie bookstore).

You can follow along with the rest of the blog tour by visiting the HFVBT site or on Twitter with the following hashtag: #SecretHistoryTour.

Thanks to the HFVBT tour, I have a paperback copy of The Secret History to offer to an international entrant.  Giveaway will be open until July 14th.  Entries are made through the Rafflecopter below.  Good luck!

**Update** The giveaway also includes a Byzantine coin along with the copy of the book!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Copyright © 2013 by The Maiden’s Court