THE DROOD REVIEW September/October 1999
One for Sorrow, by Mary Reed & Eric Mayer
Imagine being visited by an Arthurian knight in search of
the most holy of relics, the Grail. For John, Lord
Chamberlain to Justinian, rule of the Byzantine Empire from
527 to 565, the knight is real, as is the search for what
the knight proposes is not the cup so many believe the Grail
to be, but a platter or some precious gem. Also real is the
murder of John's friend Leukos, Keeper of the Plate, which
John investigates at the request of Justinian. Historical
novels must provide enough details to clearly evoke another
place and time. This one does. Historical mysteries must
also cleverly incorporate a murder into the setting. This
one does. Thus, into Constantinople the reader plunges,
into the court, into the often seedy streets, and into
surroundings where few people can be trusted. Slipping the
search for the Grail into an historical mystery is
intriguing. Making John a eunuch, complicating the fact
with the presence of his ex-lover and their daughter (news
to John), making him a worshiper of Mithra at a time when
Christianity was supplanting Mithraism, and illustrating his
confusion through conversations with a face he sees in a
mosaic tile is as intriguing as the search for the Holy
Grail any day of the week--if not more so.
--Jean Porath
The Drood Review
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