Strategos

Born in the Borderlands, Strategos 1

By: Gordon Doherty

Narrated by: Nigel Carrington

When the falcon has flown, the mountain lion will charge from the east, and all Byzantium will quake. Only one man can save the empire ... the Haga!

1046 AD. The Byzantine Empire teeters on full-blown war with the Seljuk Sultanate. In the borderlands of Eastern Anatolia, a land riven with bloodshed and doubt, young Apion's life is shattered in one swift and brutal Seljuk night raid. Only the benevolence of Mansur, a Seljuk farmer, offers him a second chance of happiness.

Yet a hunger for revenge burns in Apion's soul, and he is drawn down a dark path that leads him right into the heart of a conflict that will echo through the ages.

©2011 Gordon Doherty (P)2015 Gordon Doherty

Great read

Cornwellesque. A thorough look at a forgotten empire. Loved the character development of Appian and Nazir.

great book

"I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot com".

loved the book. its a great read.

Fine writing if you can take the constant violence

This story had too much violence for me to deal with. I had to skip over scenes of horrible brutality. The protagonist's injury and the ongoing pain was another distraction which added little and seemed unnecessary. However, the writing is excellent and the narration superb.

its ok

i have listened to countless stories on audiobooks and there are alot of better books i would not recommend this one at first.

Great!

I did not once get bored or anything like that, it's no Dostoevsky but if you like history and especially Byzantine history, it's a great story. Listens much like "the history of Byzantium podcast" short stories in the borderlands. Ergo pretty interesting and good fun.

The cost of war

This is a multi-layered novel set in the borderlands of the Byzantine Empire (a modern appellation, since the Byzantines, although by this time thoroughly Greek, considered themselves the true Roman Empire …and honored those ancient Western roots, in nostalgia if not practice. Although I know far less about this place and time than I do others, the history seems impeccably accurate, and the depth and specificity of detail lead me to believe that this book was thoroughly and intelligently researched.

I’ll admit to having a bit of a hard time reading it, had to read it in bits …but not because it was boring or uninteresting, or sloppily written. Just the opposite is true, actually. It was almost too detailed, too rich …to absorbing, and I found that I couldn’t just read it …I had to stop, assimilate, consider, and let my mind range through its reactions to each of the multiple layers.

First, there is the setting. It is so vividly portrayed and placed in its time, that I responded to it with all senses. I could *feel* the grit and the heat. I could *hear* the battle horns, the shouts, and the other terrible noises of war. I could *smell* the warm bread and the less pleasant scents of any Medieval city ..and the stench of the battlefields. I could *taste* the drink made from almonds and yogurt and honey, and the wine, and the honey cakes, and I could *touch* everything. In other words, this setting is a sensual feast, and a banquet of rich experiences, indeed.

Then there are the characters. Each of them, on both sides of this terrible centuries long conflict is not just well drawn, but intensely human, even the villains and the bit players. I found myself identifying with some, aching for them and caring about them, and absolutely hating others, wanting to see them be served a very large helping of very hot vengeance. Even the minor characters, many of who one sees in books about armies, are unique enough not to be one dimensional stock characters. There is the grouch, who has served so long he is cynical, impatient with new recruits and churlish …until is fighting back to back with one of them. There is the drunkard, whose main source of enjoyment involves strong drink and compliant ladies …until the enemy stands in his way, for example.

Then, there is something else. This is a brutal tale about a truly brutal time, and it impacted me on all levels, because the brutality wasn’t just physical, but emotional an spiritual as well. This land …this cradle of civilization has been a war zone for thousands of years …and the issues fought over are little different today than they were at the time of Christ, or even long before. Such constant upheaval, especially where diametrically opposed peoples, such as Byzantine Christians and passionate Islamic adherents met, created (and still create) upheavals of every sort, from clashing armies to devastated families and destroyed psyches and beleaguered souls. All of that is in this book, too …and I found myself considering how complex we are, how our beliefs affect us, and how, sometimes, we have to make choices that wrench us to the very essence of our being. Almost every major character in this book made such choices, and those choices had severe repercussions on every character.

No, this isn’t an easy book to read. It confronts the brutality of war and the brutality of man directly, and without flinching ..but it does so so very skillfully that, like a cobra readying for a strike, the reader is fascinated, and cannot step away …and in my opinion, should not, because these things are also a part of what we are.

The narrator was absolutely perfect for this book. He read with expression an skill, and had absolutely NO problem with the many specialized words and names to be found here. In addition, he just has the “right” voice for this book, and helps bring it into even more vibrant life, at least for me.

I’m not fond of rating books, but I will be giving this book and this narrator 5, and would give more, if I could. Did I “like” it? No …but I found it one of those book experiences that will stay with me for a *very* long time, and it has, via its excellence, had a profound effect on me, so I value it, highly.


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The Rise of a Byzantine General

What made the experience of listening to Strategos the most enjoyable?

The historical content. I like history.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Strategos?

When the two neighboring families had a dinner and get together before the family's sons each went off to become soldiers in opposing armies.

Have you listened to any of Nigel Carrington’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is my first book narrated by Carrington.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

Seljuk Invasion.

Any additional comments?

The story takes place in the mid 1000's in what is now the modern day part of Asia minor Turkey. The Selijuk Turks are rising in power and creating their own Empire. The Byzantine Empire is corrupt and broke with a poorly funded and supplied army.

A young Byzantine boy, Apion, witnesses his parent's deaths by what appears to be a Selijuk raiding party. Apion is severely wounded, left for dead and then enslaved until Mansur a kindly Selijuk farmer rescues and adopts him. Apion vows vengeance on those who killed his parents. Apion has a destiny to fulfill that is far greater than vengeance on his parent's killers

There are some surprises such as Mansur's motivation in adopting and raising Apion and Mansur's background. One of the villains met his fate. Will the boyhood friends who are now in two opposing armies meet in Battle? Will the Byzantine Empire be able to hold back the Selikuk Turks?

I am eagerly awaiting the sequel.


“I was provided this audiobook at no charge by the author, publisher and/or narrator in exchange for an unbiased review via AudiobookBlast dot come”

Absolute Must Read/listen!

What made the experience of listening to Strategos the most enjoyable?

Amazing blend of history, suspense, intrigue, and story telling

What was one of the most memorable moments of Strategos?

I really didn't have a most memorable part, I loved it from start to finish. If I had to choose, it was when Apion left to join the Timur and overcame the tragic wound he received when his parents were murdered.

What does Nigel Carrington bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Nigel Carrington is a legend in narration matched with a great book! Nigel provided first class entertainment to a very busy book lover.

Who was the most memorable character of Strategos and why?

Without a doubt, Apion. The author was masterful in his articulation of the Apion's tragic life and how he rose above it to meet his destiny. Can't wait for the next in the series.

Great detail in the history

Gordon Doherty seems to have done his homework. He has set the story in a location and period of history I don't know that much about, having not seen any other books that focus on this conflict.

The story is set around 1046 AD, when first contact occurs between the Byzantine Empire and the Seljuks (an empire that had only just come into being a decade before and only lasted ~150 years, thus doesn't seem to get mentioned much in history books). The hero of the story is a young man, Apion, whom is partially crippled after having barely survived a childhood tragedy that took his parents’ lives. He is taken in by an old warrior and brought up as family, being taught how to fight and how to overcome his injury, while also how to use his mind and strategise. But all through this he never gives up his quest for revenge against his parent's murderer. There is a vision he sees and a prophecy (of the Haga, as in the publisher's description here) of who he shall become.

Ultimately this is a pretty much a basic revenge story. Boy is hurt as child, grows into a man and a warrior set on getting revenge. There are surprises along the way (one fairly significant one towards the end - of which I shall mention in a little more spoiler free detail below) and some interesting characters but the story itself is not highly original.

What is great and interesting and original is the setting and the detail paid to the historical setting. I really enjoyed it, with Doherty very clearly outlining the parties involves, the political situation at the time and setting the right atmosphere around the events. It is written very well, with none of this stuff being. Right form the first few sentences I enjoyed how Doherty wrote. The story itself might not be exactly ground-breaking, but the writing and the attention to historical detail makes it more than worthwhile.

The surprise mentioned above was a little disappointing in how it was handled, in my opinion. It is revealed to the audience through a conversation between some minor characters at one point, without being revealed to Apion. This creates some nice tension as the reader knows the truth that Apion does not. Unfortunately Apion finds out extremely quickly and that tension of the reader knowing but the character not knowing fizzles. I think it would be better for the revelation to be made to both reader and Apion at the same time or for the time between when reader discovers it and when Apion does to be significantly larger. This lost opportunity is one of my bigger annoyances with the writing, which clearly isn’t a big annoyance.

Nigel Carrington performs really well. He does action really well, speeding up his narration ever so slightly through intense sections, carrying with it a tension and excitement. But if someone speaks during these intense parts it is back to normal, so that only the narrator shows tension not the characters (unless the character is required to show tension. So I enjoyed his inflection and character work. At one point the narrator mentions someone is out of breath and when that character speaks Carrington sounds out of breath.

He does a variety of accents for characters too. There was one point in which this pulled me completely from the story though - a minor character (a few lines at most) is given a Scottish accent. It just sounds very out of place. Sure most everyone else sound British, but this is fairly standard for books and movies set in Greek or Roman times. The Scottish just sounded wrong and took me out of it. Other than that minor issue I really enjoyed Carrington’s work.

This audiobook was provided by the author at no cost in exchange for an unbiased review courtesy of audiobookblast dot com

A Brilliant Weaving of History and Fiction

As one who is not familiar with 11 Century CE Byzantine history, it was with a little trepidation I began listening to the audio version of Strategos: Born in the Borderlands, the first of GordonDoherty's trilogy. The writer’s obvious extensive research as well as his strong characterization hooked me almost immediately. His writing is a mix of history and a strong fictional plot. Basically following the life of Apion, from a young cripple whose life leads him on a path of vengeance, to a soldier. His determination results in physical healing, even as his mind is consumed with his single-minded task of killing the man who murdered his parents. Doherty creates a fictional world, weaving it together with a true history of this period brilliantly. A feat difficult in the genre of historical fiction. He also makes a most effective use of a character simply known as The Crone. She appears throughout the novel, as both a healer and a bearer of cryptic messages. I enjoyed the mysterious, otherworldly element.

I listened to the audio book, narrated very effectively by Nigel Carrington. He brings the characters and this part of the world, in this time in history, to life vividly.

I learned a lot of history, enjoyed a great fictional story, and am totally addicted while moving on to Books 2 and 3.

All versions of Strategos can be purchased on Amazon and Audible.

Strategos: Born in the Borderlands, Strategos 1 by Gordon Doherty https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ZLVW23Q/ref=cm_sw_r_tw_dp_x_XASjFb5EE7KMR via @amazon