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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Well-crafted tale of Fourth Century Roman world., December 18, 1997
This review is from: To the Ends of the Earth: A Novel of the Byzantine Empire (Hardcover)
If only the subject of History could always be so palpable, or the genre of Fiction so substantive. T. Davis Bunn has achieved both in his novel, "To the Ends of the Earth." History aficionados and devotees of drama both will appreciate Bunn's melding of historical fact with personal spirit and individual perspective. Bunn states is his acknowledgment, "Inspired by my interest in Byzantine history, this novel was developed over several years of research and reflection." Bunn's research and reflection are evident with every page turned. The Roman cities of Carthage and Constantinople become more than archeological interests; the fetid smells and dry, prevalent dust are sensed as if actually there. Moreover, the agony wrought by the mixing of political intrigue with religious faith following the death of Emperor Constantine is expressly shared with Hannibal the Merchant. Whether riding aboard captured pirate vessels on the Mediterranean or worshipping in the first public church buildings of a young religious faith, Bunn expertly crafts a sense of the places and times and people of the Roman Empire in A.D. 338. "To the Ends of the Earth" is sure to satisfy any thirst for entertaining historical fiction.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Constantine's Byzantine Era, pirates, romance and faith, February 2, 2004
By A Customer
This review is from: To the Ends of the Earth: A Novel of the Byzantine Empire (Hardcover)
I love a well researched historical novel which makes you come away from it with a little more knowledge of the times in which it was written (here, A.D. 338). All the better if it can be slipped in amidst a riveting novel with well developed characters and a sense of living life on the edge. From the opening pages where we meet with the young heir Travis and his trained guards and servants aboard a ship at sea as they wait for the pirates to strike; through intrigues, past soldiers, slaves and monasteries, the characters and times live so vividly one can see it unfold as a movie in the mind.. Informative as well as entertaining, with faith and love woven into the fabric of this work, it was an artistic gem which I enjoyed immensely.
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3 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
Just pass it by, August 27, 2002
Not worth reading. This is tortured reading due to the plodding storyline that is never developed nor are the characters developed. The only positive thing about the book is that the descriptions of the cities do have a third century feel to them (Much as the very enthusiastic reviewer states.) But, after having started the book, I was determined to finish it. The storyline concerns a young man who must leave the estate of which his retired warrior father is the caretaker. The young man seeks to "set his family" up in a Constantinople amid much turmoil in the latter stages of the western Roman Empire. There are several adventures along the way none of which are fully explained and are deliberately cryptic so that there will be some unexpected plot twists. However, the reader (this one at least) didn't care about the twists because we don't like the protagonist or anyone else in the book. By the end of the book, if you make it that far, you close it feeling that you could have better spent your time doing almost anything else.
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