Rating: 
Summary: Mixed feelings
Review: Anna of Byzantium tells the story of the rising and falling fortunes of Anna Comnena, a princess of the Byzantine Empire, and heir to the throne. The plot includes friendship, betrayal, power struggles, an assassination attempt, love, manipulation, and sibling rivalry, and is a fascinating glimpse into the political and family turmoil that Anna may have been caught up in. There were a lot of things about this book that were wonderful. I really enjoyed the author taking on the challenge of writing a book about the Byzantine Empire. I don't know of any other children's or teens' authors who have used this setting, and it's a unique and interesting glimpse into life in this era. The plot twists kept me reading to see how everything would turn out. I had very mixed feelings about the characterization, though. Some of the characters were really well drawn and elaborated, and I really appreciated the author's ability to portray the ways that both positive and negative character traits could be intertwined in the same person. On the other hand, though, there were several characters that were key to the plot but were not well characterized at all. For example, John, Anna's younger brother, appears as a pretty flat, inept, selfish, weak, and spoiled character throughout most of the book, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of nuancing of his character. At one point in the book however (won't give too much away) his behavior seems pretty strongly contradictory to this, and the historical note at the end of the book describes him in a way that seems inconsistent with both presentations of him. In other words, he seems almost like three different characters in three different times of his life, and there doesn't seem to be any attempt to harmonize these three or portray characteristics that would tie them together or demonstrate gradual development that might have led in that direction eventually. Instead, it feels like he fairly abruptly changed several times, and the reason for these changes are unclear. This is the case for several other characters in the book as well. This left me confused about why some of the events in the plot turned out the way they did. It seemed that the character traits of the key players that might have directed them to act as they did had not been sufficiently developed to support some of their actions. I was left asking, "but why did he do that?" or "what is his motivation here?" and commenting, "it doesn't seem like he would have done that." It seemed that a more thorough and complex characterization of the mixed traits of those characters might have helped the plot fit together more cleanly. Overall an excellent book and a fascinating look at court life in Byzantium. The unique and interesting aspects of this book definitely override its faults, and I can recommend it to anyone looking for a unique read.
Rating: 
Summary: Anna Of Byzantium
Review: Anna the princess of the Byzantium Empire will be the succesor of her father. The birth of her micheivous baby brother threatens her right to the throne. Eventually she loses her right to the throne to her baby brother and is against Anna and her mother. Her father passes away which leaves Anna in an awkard position. By th will of the Emperor her brother, she gets sent to a cenventory and her mother is sent off to Asylum. I greatly enjoy the book. At the end of each chapter it left meeh the reader hungry for more. The story was thrillinh, and it was very fun to read becasue it felt as if i was part of the conspiraory which was filled with many trangressions made by her grandmother and brother. The stay did not quite end the way a happy ending would, but even after i finished the book it makes meeh wonder what ever happened in the end to Anna and her family, even though it was historical fiction. I chose this book mainly because of the briek description about the book on the back. Instantly, I felt the i had to read this book. I do not regret picking this book up, because it is my favorite, atleast for now.
Rating: 
Summary: Fantastic! Amazing! I have my complaints, however...
Review: Anna'a character is that of a rebellious type. She is very snotty. She becomes rather nice all of a sudden. I don't understand this. T.B. is not at all clear about the character she wants to develop. I, however, feel that this book is extroadinary. I mean, you can see this in the beautiful front cover! I think the story lets you see it from her side, the anguish she must have felt, the pessimism. She was smart, and told the truth, no matter how mean she was. She wasn't really mean, though, just rich! I feel so sorry for her, the promise of her future shattered. Anna has a happier ending in this story, not like the dreary ending she really had. This may be only loosely based on the true story, but it gives a good idea of life in this period. Children will cherish this story.
Rating:
Summary: AWESOME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Review: Awesome!!! This book has a very good story line. It is nothing like any other historical fiction book I've ever read! The story is about a princess who is clever and ambitious. She lives in the Byzantine Empire. She is the heir to her father's throne, but it all gets taken away from her. Her brother is mainly the cause of all this trouble, but her evil and controling grandmother is in it too. Anna has always hated her brother since he was born and in the end tried to poison him! This is a great book and I recommend it to all readers!!!!!
Rating:
Summary: Anna of Byzantium
Review: Born in the royal purple chamber of the palace, Anna Comnena was the first born of Byzantine Emperor Alexius, and therefore his heir. She was a princess, and had maids who waited on her hand and foot. As she grew up and matured, she was taught the art of diplomacy by her grandmother. She was also taught how to battle when diplomacy didn't work and how to compromise when she was tired of battling. Her grandmother was a very manipulating woman who wanted power for herself. Anna, though, was not the type of puppet her grandmother wanted her to be. The Emperor always listened to his mother, and she, Anna's grandmother, had complete power over him. One of the most important moments in Anna's story is when her grandmother makes the Emperor change his mind about who should be the future ruler of the empire... She was very beautiful, but behind her beauty there was determination. Perhaps, if she hadn't been so determined in trying to show her independence, she would have been become Empress of Byzantium. There was a stormy relationship between Anna and her grandmother. Because of their equally strong determination, they both ended up hating each other. Anna hated her grandmother because she was always manipulating and conspiring, and all she wanted to do was to take over the Empire for herself. Her grandmother hated Anna for exactly the opposite reason, because she always told the truth, and would not let herself be turned into her puppet. This relationship was extremely tense, and gave me goose bumps any time both of them were together. The conflict throughout the whole book was thus between Anna and her grandmother. With all the hatred between them, they were always trying to find ways to humiliate to each other... As you read the book you are both anxious and frightened just by thinking of their next move. The author keeps the story constantly moving forward with many different exciting plots. Anna's grandmother teaches her how to be the ruler of an Empire while her father is away at war. Anna then realizes that her grandmother wants power for herself, and is only using Anna as her puppet. When Anna's father comes back from the war, the grandmother makes him change his mind about who should be the heir. When Anna's father dies, the throne is passed on to her little brother, with his grandmother at his side. Anna makes an attempt to kill her brother, but is betrayed and banished to a convent in the faraway mountains from where she will never be able to take revenge. Anna is visited by friends, who make her finally forget the misery of the past years and open a whole new world to her eyes. I learned from the book that you have to resist being hypocritical, untrustworthy and unjust, because it only increases your problems. Even if it makes you happy at that moment, sooner or later it will come back to you, and you will pay for it. I thought that the entire book was thrilling because something unexpected happened at the end of each chapter that made you want to keep on reading. The relationship between Anna and her grandmother was the main intrigue. The way the story was written made me feel as if I were Anna, rebelling against an outrageously unfair treatment. I sometimes felt like I wanted to go up to the grandmother and strangle her. At other times, I felt terribly sorry for Anna as, for example, the time she was betrayed by her tutor and was banished. The ending was perhaps a happier one then in reality, with Anna meeting her friends and getting one of her most cherished belongings - the book about her father -- back. Tracy Barrett is a great author. By her descriptions you can imagine what she is describing almost perfectly. The way she describes every person's character makes it seem as if they are alive. Out of all of her great writing skills, I like best the way she describes Anna's emotions and makes you share them. She makes everything have a purpose, and have its own story, every move seems as if to teach a lesson. With all the descriptions, she makes the reader feel love and hate, sadness and confusion. Tracy Barrett is a truly good writer. I loved the book, it was full of interesting events that made me either laugh or cry. The book made me feel many emotions. I would recommend it to anyone who enjoys a really good book!
Rating:
Summary: Great for people of all ages
Review: Both my daughter and I loved the story. What a creative and artistic author. We highly recommend it!!
Rating: 
Summary: Like the cover
Review: but hate the book. The message I got from the book is that women get what they want by manipulation. Grandmother, granddaughter all the same. There are no loveable characters. Her mother is nice but she is hardly heard from. Anna is about 10 years old but she is already thinking about sex and men. Her grandmother has her mouth covered with a veil since Byzantines feel 10 year olds could seduce older men. Need I say more?
Rating:
Summary: Great, but short, read...
Review: Despite my reluctance in beginning this book, it turned out to be greatly more interesting than what I first believed. After finishing Anna of Byzantium, I learned that it was based on The Alexiad, which provoked my greater interest in Anna Comnena. If you enjoy history, and if you enjoy women's place in history, you will love this book. I have since found The Alexiad at the local library where I work and can't wait to begin reading it!
Rating:
Summary: An awful book
Review: Fictitious Byzantine character passed off as the real princess. Unbelievably evil character who plots the death of her very own brother. The book has a pretty cover, don't fall for it.
Rating:
Summary: Ok..........
Review: Have you ever started reading a book just because you're really bored and it looks ok? That's the type of book this is. It starts out in a nunnery, far away in the mountains, and the naxt page you are suddenly in a Byzantine castle. Kind of throws you off, doesn't it? Also, you have to have patience while reading this book- it's really slow (and somewhat boring) at first. Don't get me wrong, I think it's a good book, but patience and tenacity are 2 key things you have to practice when reading the book.
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