1442: When Vlad Dracula arrives at the court of the Ottoman Sultan Murad II, his life is turned upside down. His father Dracul cannot protect him; he must battle his demons alone. And when the Sultan calls for the services of a soothsayer, even the shrewd teller of fortunes is unprepared for what he learns.
Meanwhile, the Ottoman Turks are advancing through the Balkans with Vienna in their sights and Constantinople, the Orthodox Greek capital, within their grasp. As Eastern Europe struggles against the tide of a Muslim advance it cannot counter, Western Christendom needs only one prize to overthrow its enemies.
"An ‘eye-opener’ book. Dracula may be a figure often consigned to horror stories and melodrama; here by contrast, he is enigmatic and masterful, an historical figure effortlessly characterised by Turner even as she cloaks him in mystery…This is not only a good story, but a very thought-provoking novel, artfully structured. Lucille Turner spins a compelling tale pivoting on the myth of the vampyr, or strigoi, a being who ‘can admit neither of confession, nor of prayer, nor of sacrament, since all three of these are an abomination to his kind’."
SILVERLOCK BOOK REVIEWS
"Very well researched and gripping…a far more ambitious novel than Gioconda, covering a vast sweep of time and place…a huge leap forward in scope and accomplishment. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and stayed up night after night to read it."
MARY HOFFMAN, Author of the Stravaganza series and The Ravenmaster's Boy
"Brings to life the character of Vlad Dracula and gives historical context to the powerful Dracula myths." HISTORY IS NOW MAGAZINE
"Historical fiction, but with an element of the supernatural running through it in the form of myth and legend." UNUSUAL HISTORICALS
