Agent of Byzantium

By: Harry Turtledove

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Synopsis: For more than a thousand years, the Byzantine Empire was the greatest power on Earth, sprawling from the Balkans to North Africa. The capital of this vast empire was glittering Constantinople-the New Rome- the world's richest, most sophisticated city. In history, this cosmopolitan culture was vanquished by brutal Turkish invasions. But imagine a world in which the Byzantine Empire did not fall, a world in which Mohammed became a Christian Archbishop and was canonized as St. Mouamet, an exotic world in which the empire's dominance and wealth surpass imagination. This is the world brought vividly to life in Agent of Byzantium. Basil Argyros serves as one of the emperor's magistriano, the elite corps of imperial agents and sometime spies who carry out the complex management of the huge (continued on back flap) empire. Argyros is keenly aware that beyond the borders are hostile threats from rising enemies who are armed with deadly new technologies including a terrifying weapon called gunpowder. As the danger sweeps closer to the hub of the empire, he is inextricably caught up in a desperate and dangerous quest to save Byzantium from utter collapse. Set against a brilliantly imagined background, Agent of Byzantium is a gripping novel of adventure and intrigue.