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Clarion of Midnight - Megali Idea at fictionwise.com
Category:
Action/Thriller
Publisher: Rose International Publishing
ISBN-10: 1930574061
Type: Fiction
Pages: 344
Copyright: 1989, 2004
An editorial comment: "... what a knock-out, page-turning, terrific novel ... it’s rich... RICH. The characters, the situations, the suspense, the settings, the intellectual ideas... a powerful combination of so many ingredients that many writers can only hope to master a few of... "
Fast paced, Exciting, Beguiling, Controversial - From The Lands of the Morning, reverberates ... The Clarion of Midnight - Megali Idea
an international thriller, unraveling in locales which continue to create headlines. The events span exotic Turkey and Israel, and the timing is the eve of a Military coup in Turkey.
Anika Alkibiades is the most powerful, brilliant and ruthless woman straddling Europe and Asia. Hers is the Megali Idea of taking over the Government of Turkey, remold it in the glorious spirit of Byzantium, and then reappropriate Byzantium's former territories. Her dark beauty is timeless, exotic, and beguiling, men who are the movers and shakers of the land, are mere dominoes in her hand, and she is close to realizing her golden dream. She is like Catherine the Great of Russia who wanted to conquer Istanbul and replace the crescent atop the Hagia Sophia with a cross. But like all great women, Anika has one weakness: her undying passion for Shaheen, the Turk who had been her first lover.... Character Profiles: Anika Alkibiades - A Greek born in Turkey, she has risen from grinding poverty to untold riches. Powerful, brilliant and lethally ambitious, Anika is the widow and heir of Yorghos Alkibiades, the shipping billionaire whose illustrious family is traced to Byzantium (see the historical novel, Constantinople, My Love) Anika has a deep hatred of the Turks, and her dream is to restore Byzantium to its former glory. Masterminding a far-reaching, bloody plot to overthrow the Turkish Government, she is paving the road to her grandson’s succession as its absolute ruler. Leyla Kayhan - raised in Turkey as the child of an American mother and Turkish father, Leyla is fiercely loyal to her father’s beliefs and country. However, her sense of loyalty and identity will be tested when she falls in love with Mark, an American Jew. Mark Cohen - A New Yorker born of Ashkenazi parents, Mark perceives himself as an American first, a Jew second; the faith of his ancestors will begin awakening in him as he travels through Israel in quest of the stolen gold of Chatalhoyuk. The stolen gold of Chatalhoyuk is the catalyst that brings Leyla, Mark and Anika together. In the background, is Burhan’s (now the Turkish Minister of Interior and steering a dangerous course between extremist factions) personal struggle as his dark secret (his illegitimate son) is on the verge of being revealed to his wife, Ariadne.
Excerpt
Customer Reviews - Rob Preece, Author, Merchant Prince of Arcadia.
Archeology, romance, and adventure in a great mix!
Archeologist Mark Cohen is investigating an ancient shipwreck off the Turkish coast when he runs into two beautiful women on a bus. One of these, the powerful Anika Alkibiades, takes an instant liking to Mark, teasing him with her sensual body--and with archeological treasures she claims have been in her family for generations but which he suspects may have been illegally looted from Turkish digs. The second woman, whose identity he does not learn for some time, is the daughter of the Turkish Interior Minister Burhan Bey.
Mark soon finds himself caught up in Anika's plans to restore Greek rule to Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) and to recreate the ancient Byzantine Empire--the Megali Idea. Yet as Mark gets to know Leyla Kayhanoglu, Burhan's half-American daughter, he realizes that Anika's dangerous plan may be the worst thing that can happen to Turkey--and to the anti-Communist alliance. A continuing investigation into past lives and a look into the political turmoil in the Middle East and between Turkey and Greece adds interest to an exciting story.
Author Kristina O'Donnelly continues her LANDS OF THE MORNING series with an action-packed look into a Turkey torn between communists and right-wing Islamists, with a few leaders attempting to hold onto Ataturk's idea of a modern, democratic, and westward-leaning Turkey. Anika's plan is doubly appealing because another empire, the Turkish Ottoman Empire, once ruled virtually the same territory as the Byzantine Empire and, as Burhan points out, Turks, not Greeks, form the heart of what Anika would claim.
In CLARION OF MIDNIGHT, O'Donnelly combines romance with action in a page-turning thriller. You don't need to read THE HORSEMAN, the first novel in this series, but those who have will enjoy seeing Burham continue to deal with his energetic but high-maintenance wife and daughter, as well as the sweet romance between Mark and Leyla.
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