The Janissary Tree

Critics

• The Janissary Tree By Jason Goodwin

  Try to think of someone in our culture who enjoys unquestioned access to both the highest chambers of power and the lowest regions of squalor; someone who is trusted by all because he poses no threat, and thus has in his keeping more information than ... (read full critics)

  bookpage published on Fri, 17 Sep 2010

• The Janissary Tree

  The Janissary Tree Jason Goodwin Picador Paperback 336 pages May 2007 The time is 1836; the place is Istanbul. A series of bizarre grisly murders have thrown the city into a panic. The Sultan and his personal protector, the Seraskier, have ordered Ya ... (read full critics)

  curledup published on Tue, 7 Sep 2010

2 Reviews

• 

  This is an unusual historical mystery set in Istanbul of the 1830's. Obviously written by a scholar of that time and place, the details of the city, surroundings and atmosphere are vivid and colorful. As I am not steeped in that area of history, the multiple layers of intrigues were difficult to fer ... (continue)

  This is an unusual historical mystery set in Istanbul of the 1830's. Obviously written by a scholar of that time and place, the details of the city, surroundings and atmosphere are vivid and colorful. As I am not steeped in that area of history, the multiple layers of intrigues were difficult to ferret out, but the author does an admirable job of sorting through the details and crystalizing the situations. I was drawn to the central character and his "side-Kick" friend....again, a most unusual duo and not at all the typical sleuth/companion pair! I really enjoyed the details of the life both inside and outside of the palace; the baths and market places were particularly delightful scenes. The central myteries were well intertwined and the descriptions of the demise of the victims most vivid. I'm sure the author drew details from his extensive knowledge of the time, but, to put it mildly, these were not the usual shoot-em, cut-em murders! Now that I know the style of writing and story telling, I'll continue with the next books in the series.

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  Kerry Jacobson said on Sep 6, 2010 about the Hardcover edition | Add your feedback

• 

  A nice historical fiction/mystery about the Ottoman Empire in the 1830's. The pacing was relatively fast without skipping richness of description. The overall story worked very well, espeically for a first novel. I look forward to seeing how the main character, a eunuch named Yashim, develops over ... (continue)

  A nice historical fiction/mystery about the Ottoman Empire in the 1830's. The pacing was relatively fast without skipping richness of description. The overall story worked very well, espeically for a first novel. I look forward to seeing how the main character, a eunuch named Yashim, develops over the course of the series.

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  Braydin said on Apr 19, 2008 | Add your feedback

Book Details

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• English Books
• Paperback 352 Pages
• ISBN-10: 0571229247
• ISBN-13: 9780571229246
• Publisher: Picador USA
• Pub date: Jan 01, 2007
• Dimensions: 1226 mm x 839 mm x 129 mm Just how big is that?
• Also available as: Hardcover
• In other languages: other languages 简体书, Livres Français, Libros en Español, llibres en català, Libri Italiani

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• The Collective (144)

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