East & West

Byzantium, 1070 AD. Trouble is brewing on the eastern frontier of the thousand year old Empire. A new threat has appeared. Turkish horsemen, tough and lawless, have started raiding the farms and cities of Asia Minor. The Imperial authorities are struggling to react, despite a military tradition that stretches back to the days of the Caesars.

For John Lascaris, the impending crisis is but a distant rumour. In the glittering City of Constantinople, his only concerns are carousing with his wealthy friends and flirting with the likes of the beautiful co-empress Maria.

So when news comes of a worrying drop in income from his eastern estate, his natural instinct is to pass the problem on to someone else. Yet there are forces now in play beyond his control or understanding, and soon leaving the City becomes the only option.

So John Lascaris begins his journey east, into the eye of the storm. For all roads are leading to the remote outpost of Manzikert where the destiny of the Empire will be decided.

Yet for John, the war does not end here. His journey will continue, via the slave markets of Damascus and the remote hills of Syria, where love, betrayal, greed and vengeance all meet to test him to the limit.

Catharsis is the first book of the East and West trilogy. But it is not just a tale of adventure. For latter day Romans such as Lascaris, the world is changing forever. Old certainties are being shaken and what was once secure cannot be counted on.

And though the Empire teeters, it does not fall. Byzantium will be rescued, at least temporarily, by a pact with the devil in the form of armoured knights from the West, launching a Holy Crusade.

John will record his part in these events in later writings.