Harper writes about that charade of religious fervour, the First Crusade of 1096-8 in all its ghastly violence and hypocrisy. The reader is spared nothing of the petty rivalries between the various Dukes and warlords, the infighting and power struggles which is all the Crusade turns out to be for these men. Harper's research is impressive. I learnt a great deal about the shenanigans of the last of the Holy Roman Empire as the main character, a Greek, Demetrios Askiates, is the Emperor's representative in Antioch. He's an irritating fellow who just wants to go home and is always falling over his feet or door sills when he fights. However he cannot go home to Constantinople until he has fulfilled his duty to his Emperor, and he doesn't want to, not with the infighting between the Lords, the plague amongst the true pilgrims, and the double crossing dealings his Emperor wishes him to be part of. So through Demetrios' eyes we stagger along with the Crusade and finally reach Jerusalem. One wonders why there was no earthquake of protest at the useless slaughter and cruel massacre but Demetrios survives, finds his family and does return them safely to Constantinople. It's a book to make you think about bigotry.
Ok, I finally finished "Siege of Heaven". I can see that the subject could be challenging, particularly as the documented historical detail relating to the crusades is somewhat scarce, and the accuracy of its recording may be questionable. I did find this novel hard work. The characters were not particularly well constructed, particularly the protagonist Demetrios. I struggled to picture the man let alone relate to him. The story didn't flow for me either, again that could well have been down to the factual holes in historical documentation. I became confused on several occasions, trying to follow the various battles and skirmishes leading up to the siege of Jerusalem. It was also difficult to clarify who was siding with whom.What did come across loud and clear though, was the thick layer of hypocrisy on which the crusades were founded. "The Army of God" were no more than a bunch of cut throat mercenaries, hell bent on blood letting and plunder; a fact that is hardly a revelation but none the less well depicted by Harper. It also underlined how little progress humanity has made when comparing the atrocities of the crusades with those we are committing today, still in the name of religion and commerce.
