Author:Keith Topping

'Life is cheap in Byzantium. Life is cheap everywhere that the Romans are.'
Byzantium. The imperial city - rising dramatically, as if by a trick of the light, from the peninsula of the Bosphorus and the Black Sea. Its domes and towers and minarets overlook a place of intrigue, lust, power, oppression, resistance and murder.
Romans, Greeks, Zealots, Pharisees...all meet in the market squares of the great city, but mutual loathing and suspicion are rife.
In this cauldron, the Doctor and his companions arrive, expecting to view the splendour and civilisation of the Roman empire. But events cast them into a deadly maelstrom of social and political upheaval. In the eye of the hurricane they must each face the possibility of being stranded, alone and far away from their own times, in an alien culture bunker.
An absorbing, perceptive and moving tale that fans of The Memory Keeper's Daughter will lap up
—— Daily MailBeautifully plotted and breathtakingly accomplished
—— Daily ExpressAn emotional novel with lyrical touches
—— Sunday TimesA powerful saga
—— Good HousekeepingAn epic of discovery and deception
—— SheA page-turner
—— RedA shocking backdrop if recent historical events, Andrea Eames has used a fresh, candid voice to create an intimate, sensitive and moving debut novel
—— Tina Jackson , MetroIn this assured debut novel, Eames draws on her own interrupted childhood...to paint an authentic portrait of a nation on the edge
—— Emma Hagestadt , IndependentThe Cry of the Go-Away Bird is a promising debut novel, and Eames's own Zimbabwean childhood colours her writing with vivid descriptions of the earth, wildlife and Shona language
—— Syndicated Review across National PressRemarkable story
—— TLSThe most original book I have read for quite a long time
—— ObserverRiverting ... both disturbing and entertaining, with twisted low-life chracters rivalling any created by Martin Amis or Nicola Barker
—— Leyla Sanai , SpectatorSounds like a must-read
—— Reading MattersUtterly remarkable…sad in its depth, but delightful on the shimmering surface… It might only be February, but there's going to need to be some strong competition in the months to come if this doesn't end up being my book of the year
—— The BookbagA wonderful survivor’s story… It’s excellent
—— Peter Murchie , British Journal of General PracticeThis book is spooky, erotic and evocative. We loved it.
—— Richard & Judy , Daily ExpressIt is time we stopped thinking of the historical novel as a genre, and an inferior one at that. If its ostensible subject matter means that it doesn't attempt to tell us how we live now, nevertheless a novel set back in time may, if it is good, say as much about what it is to be alive as one set in the next street or another country today. Tides of War is such a novel. It is diverting, but not a diversion
—— The SpectatorA well written, engaging read...beautifully observed
—— History TodayA vivid account of a couple of years in the Peninsula Campaign and a sympathetic portrait of those left behind
—— Joanna Hines , Literary ReviewA delicious novel by an experienced author who captures the scientific atmosphere of the early 19th century with a devastating study of infidelity
—— Colin Gardiner , Oxford TimesThe real life players of the Napoleonic era spring to life
—— iCompelling
—— Big IssueHighly assured and almost educational with its broad sweep of history
—— Jane Housham , GuardianTillyard’s achievement is in this original portray log the Regency era and its relevance to our own time
—— Philippa Williams , The Ladya very human tale about passion, secrets and lies.
—— Reading MattersAn achingly brilliant piece of writing on passion and delusion. It's a pleasure to read from start to finish and reignites our love for fiction
—— Independent