Empire of Lies

By: Raymond Khoury

Narrated by: Raphael Corkhill

Length: 17 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

"A deftly crafted alternate history in the best science fiction tradition, Empire of Lies showcases author Raymond Khoury's genuine flair for originality and a simply riveting narrative storytelling style." (Midwest Book Review)

Empire of Lies is a sweeping thriller in the tradition of The Man in the High Castle, Fatherland, and Underground Airlines from New York Times best-selling author Raymond Khoury.

"The best what-if thriller for a long, long time - makes you think, makes you sweat, and makes you choose, between what is and what might have been." (Lee Child)

Istanbul, 1683: Mehmed IV, sultan of the Ottoman Empire, is preparing to lay siege to Vienna, capital of the Holy Roman Empire, when a mysterious visitor arrives in his bedroom - naked, covered in strange tattoos - to deliver a dangerous, world-changing message.

Paris, 2017: Ottoman flags have been flying over the great city for 300 years, ever since its fall - along with all of Europe - to the empire’s all-conquering army. Notre Dame has been renamed the Fatih Mosque. Public spaces are segregated by gender. And Kamal Arslan Agha, a feted officer in the sultan’s secret police, is starting to question his orders.

Rumors of an impending war with the Christian Republic of America, attacks by violent extremists, and economic collapse have heightened surveillance and arrests across the empire. Tasked with surveying potential threats, Kamal has a heavy caseload - and conscience.

When a mysterious stranger - naked, covered in strange tattoos - appears on the banks of the Seine, Kamal is called in to investigate. But what he discovers is a secret buried in the empire’s past, a secret the Sultan will do anything to silence.

With the mysterious Z Protectorate one step behind, Kamal, together with Nisreen - a fierce human rights lawyer - is caught up in a race across the empire and time itself - a race that could change their world, or destroy it.

Empire of Lies is being published as The Ottoman Secret in the UK.

©2019 Raymond Khoury (P)2019 Macmillan Audio

Interesting story-Decent Reader-Odd Ending

A very interesting story. I really like this author. Unlike his other books, it takes a while to get going because he has to create a world that didn’t exist in order for the rest of the story to work. Oddly, at the climax of the story, the author moves away from the detailed engagement of the story and opts for summarizing what happens. Essential conversations that you’ve been waiting for the entire time are glossed over with a few sentences. Nonetheless, he does pull it together at the end to provide a satisfying close to the story arc. Sometimes it is harder to differentiate the characters because the readers range of voices is limited, although not so much that it distracts you from the story. Just takes getting used to.

Imaginative, Well-Crafted, and Engaging

Khoury has written an enthralling exploration of Western and Middle Eastern culture, that’s precise in its history and plausible in its hypotheses. As a Lebanese American, he intimately knows the traditions and culture of the Middle East as well as the freedom and open-endedness of West, both of which are articulately portrayed in this novel. The tensions in cultures are only surpassed by the tensions in his very human characters who’s thoughts, relationships, and lives you’re intimately connected to. It’s enthralling without resorting to tacky hooks, and insightful without being idealist. It’s a novel that makes you take your place in a history on the brink of being unwritten.

Wanted to love it...

I love Khoury's books - but not this one. Once started, I continued to listen thinking that it would get better... it did after about 7-8 hours, I found it boring for the first half. The story line was really good, but far too lengthy. Perhaps it would be more palatable if I had read the book instead of listening to it.

Interesting story, slow start.

I really liked it, but wasn’t a fan of how slow it was at first. Still good!

Excellent Alt History

Fans of time travel and alt history should definitely give this one a try. Learned a lot too.

Good, but hoping for more

I love the premise and had to listen for that reason. Here is what I liked:
- Well crafted characters
- ending was compelling and fit the book

Here is what I didn’t like:
- some of the characters decisions didn’t make sense even though their thinking was spelled out for us.
- too much explaining at times caused the story to bog down.
- a little preachy toward the end. Although it could have been worse.

All in all, a book that with the flaws I mentioned, I finished within a couple weeks anyway. Not sure I’ll read the assumed sequel, but that could change with time... ( no pun intended)

Raymond Khoury does it again...

This book delivers on all fronts.
Thrilling, entertaining and above all shows that even though various cultures are so different, people are the same everywhere, having the same goals and triggers.
I had to finish the book ASAP, as it kept me on the edge of my seat, wanting more...
Having non-white protagonists is pretty daring and it absolutely works...

super plot

I almost stopped reading this book I'm glad I pushed on simply extraordinary. I suspect you will feel the same.

Wow, just wow!

I’m a huge fan of this author and find him to even be better than Steve Berry (who is himself an incredible author). This book is no exception to his incredible stories. He brings people to life. We can totally identify with all his characters, both good and not so good. He has human nature down and brings out the good, the bad and the ugly in ways we all can identity with. The story is extremely well thought out, and is one of those few I could not stop listening to, it was riveting. As some have pointed out, he clearly draws on things currently occurring however not in a way that makes any one side any better than the other. Quite frankly he’s very dialed into forms of government and the people involved in governments. He is clearly a fan of freedom, and that makes him a patriot of first world democracies.
The narrator did nothing less than a suburb job! He brought life to the emotions and feelings of the characters, and I seriously doubt anyone could have done better.
Thank you both for a fantastic listen!
Please don’t keep us waiting too long for the next book!

Really Tried To Like It

I have read Khoury novels years ago and when this came out I was interested. It had a lot of possibilities but failed to deliver. There was not one character that I liked or felt compassion for. Very weak characters that you kept hoping would get bumped off. The story could have been better developed and 17 hrs? This book could have been done in half the time. I really couldn't recommend this book unless you are self hating.