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Rating: 
Summary: Wonderful book
Review: Byzantium has a lot going for it: Good character development, an engaging plot, an interesting historical setting,a lot of characters I really cared about, and a bittersweet ending. One of the best books I've read.
Rating: 
Summary: Excellent Historical Fiction
Review: I haven't read a lot of historical fiction, but I have an interest in Celtic and Viking cultures and history, so I gave "Byzantium" a try. Lawhead's book is a great mix of action, mystery, humor, anthropology, and theology. The book is epic in scope, and there are a lot of interesting plot twists in its nearly 900 pages. Lawhead does a great job of portraying a variety of setting and cultures -- Irish, Viking, Byzantine, Saracen. I read the first half of the book while on a trip to Scandinavia, and Lawhead's Viking characters helped bring to life the sites I visited. My only complaint with the novel is that the hero's spiritual struggle, while incredibly realistic and authentic, was paced poorly at times. I can't say anything more about this without giving away the plot, but the pacing of this struggle is the reason I gave the book 4 and not 5 stars. I've noticed that most of the historical fiction in my local Christian book store seems a bit too, well, romantic for my tastes. "Byzantine" is much closer to what I look for in Christian fiction. It's a great book.
Rating:
Summary: A Wonderful Tale
Review: Like the other reviewers I thoroughly enjoyed this book. This was the first Lawhead book I read and I was very pleasantly surprised by it. The story is incredible with epic scope and marvelous detail. I was especially impressed with how Lawhead takes the protagonist, a humble monk and slave, through a series of incredible adventures and intrigue. I had a few complaints with the story. I found the concept of a small war band of hardened vikings attempting to sack a fortifted city as large as Byzantium a bit absurd. Surely these wily veterans would have realized the impossibility of their task, especially once they saw the extent of the Byzantium fortress and military might. I also thought that Lawhead relied a little too much on coincidences. Characters pop in and out of the story a bit too conveniently. While Aiden's spiritual struggle was important to the story, I found that in describing his feelings the author seemed to reiterate the same idea using similar language. I found this tiresome and skimmed many of those repetative sections. All in all though, it was a fantastic historical novel and a great summer read.
Rating:
Summary: ENTERTAINING HISTORICAL FICTION
Review: The groan factor began almost immediately and stayed for about the first 100 pages of the book - well past my "get me in 50 or your donated edict." I'm glad I stuck with it despite the flat start, because this book clips right along and kept me turning the pages, which is all anyone wants - to look forward to the time when you can dive back in.
Others moan about the absence of "nail on the head" historical accuracy of the book, I however didn't encounter any passages that failed so bad as to pull you out of the story.
From the Viking vessels that the Sea Wolves used and how they were forced to portage on certain parts of the Dneiper & the barbarian mentality are all accurate and extremely interesting. The Description of Byzantium (Constantinople, currently Istanbul) and the Emperor Basil is also equally fascinating and accurate.
Pros: Solid Historical Fiction with a fast moving plot and a satisfying conclusion. I will read more Lawhead books.
Cons: 1st person narrated, which is constricting - but not enough to sink this story.
Go for it!
Rating:
Summary: monk turned warrior turned slave turned survivor
Review: This is the story of Aidan - a man who was son of a family of rulers in Ireland, who were killed. He was sent to a monastery, where he became a monk. And that's where the story begins. Aidan is chosen to be involved in a long trip with several other monks to Byzantium, where he and his fellows will present a manuscript to the Emperor. However, before long, things get sticky; the monks fight off a group of Vikings (Sea Wolves), their ship sinks, Aidan becomes separated and becomes a slave, a spy, a Viking, even a Sarazen. So much happens to him, in fact, it's nearly impossible for an accurate description. He becomes betrothed to the daughter of the amir of the Arabic peoples. He loses his faith in God - and, very suddenly, the betrothal is cancelled. Just as suddenly, he gains back his faith. He becomes friends with his enemies, enemies with his friends - all in a space of 870 pages. This novel is a true epic. At times, I'll admit, I hated the book - it was far too wordy; I was sick of reading it and wanted so much to read something different. However, at the same time, I loved it. Not a word was wasted and it is truly something that I would recommend to anyone, whether they be Christian, Catholic, Jewish, or whatever. This is my first novel by Stephen R. Lawhead, and trust me: it won't be my last.
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