Justinian [Hardcover]

H. N. Turteltaub (Author), H. N. Turtelaub (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 1998

In this gripping novel of one of history's most desperate and determined rulers, Byzantine expert H.N. Turteltaub brilliantly speculates on the glory that was Byzantium . . . and the man who ruled it twice.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Turteltaub may be "the pen-name of a well-known writer" in Southern California, but his or her main character here needs no such disguise. Justinian II, Emperor of the Roman Empire in the seventh century, ruled the Christian world from Constantinople amid intrigue, treachery, revolt and murder. This vivid historical novel puts the reader by his side as he governs the empire with an iron hand and a bloody sword. Justinian tells this ancient tale of high drama and action through a journal, read now by a monk long after Justinian's death and interspersed with comments from his longtime companion and bodyguard, Myakes. When Justinian assumes the throne at age 16, his empire is imperiled by barbarians on all frontiers and by threats of rebellion within. Byzantine (literally) conspiracies and rivalries, and treason among his friends and enemies, especially his own family, test his youthful ability. When he fails to heed the warnings of his few true friends, he is overthrown, mutilated by having his nose cut off and exiled across the Black Sea. Ten years later, clever alliances and good luck put him back on the throne, and his thirst for revenge is all-consuming. Turteltaub's rich blend of fact and fiction brings the tyrant to life as a man obsessed with imperial power, which he achieved through brutality and bloodshed.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

While not as well known as his namesake, the Byzantine emperor Justinian I, Justinian II certainly bears investigating. Treacherous, vicious, driven, and self-serving, Justinian took the throne in 685 at the age of 15. Overthrown in 695, he was cruelly mutilated and exiled across the Black Sea, where he languished for years with his bodyguard Myakes as his only companion. Although the bulk of the story is told from Justinian's point of view, the more interesting bits are found in the asides by Myakes, who, after the death of his emperor, was blinded and sent to a monastery. In spite of lengthy and tedious descriptions of military campaigns and an underpopulated cast of characters, the reader is drawn into a Byzantine world where the glory of God and the glory of earthly power are two sides of a glittering gold coin. Turteltaub is the pseudonym of sf author Harry Turtledove. Recommended for larger fiction collections. [For a new sf book by Turtledove, see The Great War, reviewed in the SF & Fantasy column below.?Ed.]?Jane Baird, Anchorage Municipal Libs., A.
-?Jane Baird, Anchorage Municipal Libs., AK
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 511 pages
• Publisher: Forge; 1st edition (August 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312866992
• ISBN-13: 978-0312866990
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.2 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.9 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,261,021 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Drawback to Historical Imagination, April 13, 2000

By 

E. T. Veal (Chicago, Illinois USA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Justinian (Hardcover)

SF author Harry Turtledove had a utilitarian motive for publishing his first straight historical novel under a (not very opaque) pseudonym. Historical fiction (leaving aside Patrick O'Brian) doesn't sell very well. The author didn't want the bookstore chains' computers to see poor sales for a "Turtledove" title and promptly cut their orders for his future books.

Sales of "Justinian" may be further depressed by the fact (noted by many reviewers) that the protagonist is, from the modern point of view, detestable: cruel, arrogant and supremely confident that God is on his side. His courage, intelligence and genuine, albeit imperfectly realized, religious faith are buried beneath his vices.

The obstacle to making Justinian sympathetic is that the assumptions and prejudices of his age were vastly different from our own. An accurate portrait of _any_ Seventh Century man cannot avoid warts that repell us moderns (and we would probably be just as repulsive to them, if they could look at us). When the Seventh Century man was flawed even by the standards of his contemporaries, our feelings of revulsion are hard to control.

That is why most historical fiction dips its heroes and heroines in sugar. There is much to be said in favoring entertainment over truth, but it doesn't hurt to stifle our natural impulses and look truth straight in the eye now and then. "Justinian" certainly does that - and with a great deal of verve and verisimilitude, too.

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent "Straight" Historical Fiction From Harry Turtledove, January 18, 2006

By 

Caesar M. Warrington (Lansdowne, PA United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Justinian (Mass Market Paperback)

In case you didn't know, H.N. Turtletaub is actually Harry Turtledove. Besides being one of the best and foremost science fiction/alternative "what-if" history writers of all time, Turtledove also happens to have a degree in Byzantine Studies. Whereas in the past Turtledove has utilized his knowledge of Eastern Roman --Byzantine-- history, giving us THESSALONICA and the excellent AGENT OF BYZANTIUM, as well as the VIDESSOS series which relied much on Byzantine elements, JUSTINIAN is his first historical novel about an historical figure in his proper time period minus any twists of fantasy.

This is a work of fiction written as an autobiography of the Emperor of the Romans, Justinian II (685-695/705-711). Turtledove gives no slack to Justinian, who very much deserves the term "anti-hero." Coming across as spiteful, arrogant, self-centered; Justinian's only admirable quality seems to be his determination to succeed, overcoming even the mutilation of his nose --traditionally a certain impediment to anyone ever attaining the title of emperor (basileus)-- and exile to return and reclaim his throne. This was a major feat and Turtledove uses this device to keep even those of us who are familiar with the emperor's historical fate engrossed in the story.

Since Justinian II was such an unsympathetic figure, Turtledove creates the likable character of Myakes, Justinian's personal bodyguard since boyhood. Turtledove breaks up Justinian's monologue, making it a manuscript which is being read to Myakes, now an old man who was blinded and living in a monastery, by a fellow monk. Myakes' interruptions and commentary throughout the reading add levity as well as passion to an otherwise cynical and vile narrative. Justinian's narcissistic ego rarely affords us a glimpse of the many popes, patriarchs, generals or just about anyone else he comes into contact with. Justinian is too consumed by his own self-image and ambitions to care about anyone else in his story. Myakes' passages help to better enhance and round out these people, as well as to tone down the self-aggrandizement and one-sided vision of the emperor himself.

I also appreciate the historian in Turtledove for accurately presenting the so-called "Byzantine Empire" as the legitimate continuation of the Roman Empire and to show Western readers that it was Constantinople that truly saved Europe from the Arab/Muslim advance (until 1453 when the Turks conquered the city and finally brought to an end the line of the Roman Emperors).

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars As creepy and crafty as Richard III, December 8, 1999

By 

Doug Vaughn - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Justinian (Mass Market Paperback)

Justinian, the emperor, was not a nice man. Vain and self indulgent, he was overthrown and sent into exile. And while the reader may feel that he has gotten his due, this is only the first part of the story. The real fascinating part of the book is watching him plot and then execute his return to power. The reader will not identify with this character but can't help but be drawn in by his long term revenge plotting. What finally happens to him I will leave for the reader to discover, but the journey we take with this man, from childhood to his bitter end, is richly detailed and plotted, and will keep the reader entrhalled.