Dean Cycon
explore - engage - inspire
A Quest for God and Spices
The Emissaries Book One
A QUEST FOR GOD AND SPICES begins an epic journey across the ancient world. In the year AD 1200, a new pope agitates for a renewed crusade to reconquer Muslim-controlled Jerusalem. European monarchs largely ignore his call, too involved with squabbles among themselves. The pope chooses two men-Brother Mauro, an older monk, and Nicolo, a young, striving merchant-to traverse the treacherous political, religious, and mercantile terrain of medieval Europe and the Byzantine Empire to seek out the powerful Presbyter John, a mysterious king in the Far East who has promised to put his wealth and vast armies to the service of the pope's crusade.
Nicolo's task is to guide Mauro, but a corrupt cardinal has secretly charged the young man with finding the source of the precious spices that ensure the Venetian and Arab trade monopoly. Nicolo's youthful exuberance, carelessness, and desire to be important jeopardizes their mission, while Mauro's knowledge of scripture and pagan works has not prepared him for the schemes of doges and emirs, clergymen and kings.
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What people are saying about A Quest for God and Spices:
A captivating adventure filled with both danger and astute theological inquiry. Two unlikely candidates are sent on a dangerous mission by the Pope to Constantinople at the dawn of the 13th century in Cycon's historical novel. In this historically rigorous and dramatically absorbing tale, Brother Mauro, the quintessential intellectual, turns out to be surprisingly resourceful, and Nicolo, for all his worldly intelligence, callowly gullible. The author's writing is consistently clear ... and the plot is gripping and brimming with suspense.
--Kirkus Reviews
FIVE STARS A wonderfully well-written historical novel that captures the era perfectly. I highly recommend this novel and its follow-up, THE EMERALD SCEPTER to all readers, especially history buffs.
--Reader's Favorite
RECOMMENDED ...compelling and captivating. The writing is polished and professional, and Cycon has done the necessary research to bring these exotic locations and cultures alive with vivid sights and scents. Both the main characters are likable and flawed...The book also has a wide variety of secondary characters with their own interesting
stories and personalities.
--The US Review of Books
Opulent in historical detail and charming in its roster of characters, both authentic and imagined, Dean Cycon's A QUEST FOR GOD AND SPICES is a grand historical joyride through the medieval world. Savor seafood pies in the merchant halls of Genoa, eavesdrop on the chambers of the Vatican as a pope obsesses over a new crusade. Risk the perilous trade routes from the west of Europe deep into Byzantium. Follow secret maps, while navigating dangerous intrigues and dodging assassins-all on a quest for material and spiritual riches.
--David R.Gillham, New York Times bestselling author of City of Women, 2024 PEN/Faulkner Literary Award Nominee