The Janissary

The King shall lose both head and crown


In The Peasant War, the first book of this amazing trilogy, the ancient prophecy came to pass, as an army of serfs and janissaries overthrew the corrupt dynasty.  Janissary General Dmitry Konchak is now an unlikely hero of the Revolution -- a military genius who is squeamish and faints at the sight of blood, an effeminate drunkard, an outsider among the political elite, the so-called New People whom he helped bring to power.


In The New People In Power, the second book of The Janissary trilogy, Field Marshal Konchak fights to reunite the empire and re-conquer breakaway regions, including his own native province.  In the village where he was born, the janissary comes face to face with his own past, as an ancient Oracle foretells a guastly future.


Konchaks destiny is mirrored by that of his friend, the brooding nobleman, Reiss Tselatse.  Tselatses infatuation with a merchants daughter leads to an unlikely act of heroism:  They must burn the secret police archives to keep them out of the hands of hostage-takers.  And yet, not all the files are burned. Several fragments turn up later as clues to condemn a spy.


As Tselatse completes his tortured journey from idealistic revolutionary to cynical secret police officer, Konchaks career falters.  A suspicious death within the government elite and the ensuing power struggles within the top triumvirate turn the two friends against one another and culminate in a horrific betrayal.


Cast down from the pinnacle of military glory to bitter exile in the frozen tundra, Konchak finds the Oracles prophecy fulfilled:  A day will come when your very survival will depend on a single bowl of soup.