Enormously entertaining . . . illuminating . . . vivid . . . action-packed

A meticulously sourced work of narrative history . . . thrilling . . . Like Mantel, De Bellaigue delivers his story in a mashup of contemporary colloquialism and gorgeous descriptions . . . Sticking closely to the written records, he deploys the skills of the novelist to bring the archive thrillingly to life

Wolf Hall with sultans and eunuchs . . . vividly evokes the Ottoman emperor’s reign in all its gory glory

Epic Mediterranean naval conflicts . . . dangerous realpolitik that creates then murderously shatters alliances . . . At the centre of this web of global political intrigue sits the inscrutable Suleiman . . . [and] the sultan’s attempt to balance his geopolitical scheming with his complex family life akin to a Turkish version of Succession

Sparkling . . . saturated with vivid colour and detail . . . puts the reader directly onto battlefields, inside council chambers and often at the heart of Suleyman’s thought processes . . . the dramatic details have an uncanny power of sticking in one’s mind

Fascinating . . . glittering . . . de Bellaigue swoops through the three-dimensional chess game that was European geopolitics in the mid-16th century with airy confidence

Galloping, novelistic . . . This is not a book simply about dynastic succession . . . The Ottomans were the menacing other that occupied the thoughts of every monarch across the continent. The winner in this game of thrones mattered to them too

Narrative non-fiction with all the verve of an immersive novel . . . propulsive . . . pacy . . . the worrisome question of who should inherit his throne . . . unleash[es] murderous mayhem in the royal family

Absolutely spectacular. A book that brings the worlds of the Ottomans – and a lot more besides – to life. A triumph

De Bellaigue is at the top of his game. He has made the most captivating Ottoman sultan his own. A thunderously good read