The English Slave

Empires & Kingdoms

Fiction - Historical - Event/Era
342 Pages
Reviewed on 07/22/2017
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Author Biography

David Eugene Andrews loves languages and has studied German, Chinese, Italian, French, and Dutch. His travels have taken him to the Far East where he learned Mandarin and surveyed Chinese Art; to the Middle East where he first saw the Great Pyramids of Egypt while riding horseback across the desert with a friend; and to Europe where at the height of the Cold War an AP photographer captured him bearing an American flag while shaking hands with a Russian holding a Soviet flag. This iconic picture from the 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Bosnia, hit the front page of USA Today and other newspapers around the globe.

Following the fall of Saigon, David Eugene Andrews worked at a Vietnamese refugee camp and set up English as a Second Language classes across the state of Washington. While living in Oregon, he co-chaired an International Affairs Symposium on the Middle East and the Oil Crisis. After earning two degrees in International Affairs, including one from Columbia University in New York City, he edited and published numerous international economic forecasts for Fortune 500 companies. More recently, he has also conducted personal interviews and written entertainment articles.

    Book Review

Reviewed by Romuald Dzemo for Readers' Favorite

The English Slave (Empires & Kingdoms) by David Eugene Andrews is a thrilling historical novel that explores the identity of the stunning Turkish noblewoman who received Captain John Smith as a slave. Wounded while fighting for the Roman Empire, John Smith is sold as a slave to the Grand Vizier Yemisci Hasan Pasha. The well-dressed slave is sent in chains to Aisha, the gorgeous sister of the Sultan and fiancée of his owner. The plan is for Aisha to get and keep a ransom for the slave, but once she meets him, she discovers that he isn’t just any kind of slave and their destinies could change forever. Get ready for an exciting ride into a historical setting that will blow your mind. Here is a great entertainment that comes wrapped in wonderful romance, intense action, and a conflict that will keep the reader turning the pages.

David Eugene Andrews’ debut novel is a masterpiece and I enjoyed the masterful recreation of the cultural and historical elements of the setting. The scenes come alive with vivid clarity, thanks to the powerful prose and the author’s gift for descriptive narrative. The conversations sound natural and the characters leap off the pages with great realism. The story starts in the middle of an intense action and the reader is immediately introduced to the protagonist and to the wonderful craft of great dialogue. The English Slave (Empires & Kingdoms) reads like a great movie, a story that is just not easy to put aside once started. The author combines adventure with romance to delight readers with a story woven around a powerful conflict. I read it through the night. And, yes, I couldn’t put it aside for a moment. I enjoyed the historical references, the relevant quotes, and the vivid setting.

Gisela Dixon

The English Slave (Empires & Kingdoms) by David Eugene Andrews is a historical fiction novel about the life and experiences of the famed English explorer Captain John Smith. The English Slave begins with the capture of John Smith in a battle during the Ottoman rule, after which he is sold into slavery. A Turkish Grand Vizier buys him to be held for ransom, and gifts him to Aisha, sister of the Sultan and a young widow. Aisha is also the Grand Vizier’s fiancée and this is where the story becomes intriguing as Aisha learns more about John Smith. As a Christian slave in the Ottoman Empire, John is treated as the lowest of the low slaves, but Aisha soon finds out that here is a learned and courageous man who is no ordinary soldier. What follows is John’s personal journey to freedom and the interpersonal relationships that take shape both with the Turks and his fellow countrymen.

I found The English Slave to be an intriguing look at some of the real life events in the life of Captain John Smith. Known in American history as one of the first settlers, much is unknown or rumored about his life before coming to America. His tales of voyages at sea and his time spent among the Turks, some of it as a slave, are fascinating in themselves and need no embellishment. What this book does is make those events come alive through dialogue and the relationships between the main people involved. Another little known aspect is that of the Turkish noblewoman who owned John Smith as a slave and her subsequent role in the events. The writing style is engaging and I found it very easy to imagine myself in the bazaars of Istanbul through the vivid imagery. This book is a very interesting glimpse into history.

Mamta Madhavan

The English Slave: Empires and Kingdoms by David Eugene Andrews is about how Captain John Smith was sold into slavery, like a beast in a marketplace at Axiopolis, a former Byzantine border town. John Smith has been wounded badly and he is bought by Grand Vizier Yemischi Hasan Pasha of the Ottoman Empire, who decides to give the well-dressed slave to his fiancée, Aisha. He then writes to her, asking her to keep the slave all for herself. John Smith wanted to escape, but he did not know how to escape through the hundreds of miles of Ottoman territory. As he is handed over to Aisha, she realizes he is an Englishman and not a Bohemian, as she was told by the Grand Vizier. As Aisha finds out more about John Smith, she understands that he is no ordinary slave as she had thought, and she finds herself thinking more and more about him.

Set against the backdrop of slavery and war, the story is compelling with many layers to it. It takes readers through a gamut of emotions, action, romance, history, and mystery. The author does an excellent job of weaving them together and takes readers to a time when empires rose and fell, making it feel real and authentic to readers. John Smith’s character is strongly sketched and so are the Grand Vizier, Aisha, and the rest of them. The author manages to keep up the pace and pique the curiosity of readers in the story with his narrative skills and unconventional storyline, where history, war, and emotions run high. The black and white sketches in the book, with depictions of places and maps, help readers to understand the story better.

ERIC ZULEY

GREAT READ... Kept my attention the whole way through, beleive me that is not easy to do. :)

James Zuley

The English Slave is a novel that not only holds your interest but also is very adept at envisioning the scenes!