Review by: Samantha M. Siciliano
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Quick Summary:
The Wanderer is a historical fiction novel following the life of a former church scholar/trying to practice doctor named Michael. However, this is part two of the duo of books (please see The Adventurer by Mika Waltari here: https://treatyoshelfbookreviews.blogspot.com/2025/07/the-adventurer-by-mika-waltari.html) who becomes a slave to Sultan Suleiman of the Ottoman Empire specifically in Turkey. It picks up right where we left off in The Adventurer during the mid 1520s. There is still plenty of political intrigue (especially with the Ottoman Empire which I knew very little of), religious fascination, more inequality (rich/poor, men/women, unequal statuses), strong friendships, and a thrilling ending.
The Review:
I know I said that reading about Medieval times wasn’t exciting to me, but I had a pretty good time reading this book. I did struggle with the history because I hadn’t learned about much of it until this read. But the religion, the chess game of politics and social structure, and the relationships between people were fantastically written.
If you haven’t read The Adventurer, I suggest you discontinue reading here. The history was interesting. I did struggle with understanding how some countries and leaders made the choices they did and to whom they were aligned with, but the culture, the people, and the history was interesting. I will probably have to reread The Wanderer after I educate myself more on some of the people and events that occurred in the book. It is amazing to think about how there is so much history in the whole world, that it is hard to say I’m a historian without adding to what era or country you are referring to. I am an educated historian, but I don’t know much of this history. Therefore, I found it rather engaging and intriguing to where I wanted to ask so many questions while reading, but I didn’t want to take away from the story by diving down a rabbit hole of information. So be warned, if you don’t know much about the Ottoman Empire or this period of time, I would recommend reading about the leaders of the area and how they interacted with each other. Some of the locations that were visited were Istanbul, Buda, Algiers, and Tunis.
The politics within the Ottoman Empire were engaging, while the politics of the world were less interesting to me. It always amazes me at how much is needed to control and satisfactorily run a country (or empire in this case). As a ruler, there needs to be order and Sultan Suleiman ruled by the Qur'an as well as laws that the empire had established. If a slave (anyone who works for the Sultan) brought dishonor to the Sultan, they were either killed or asked to commit suicide. I was amused at how the Sultan, the Grand Vizier (his right-hand man), the Sultan’s wife, Michael, Michael’s wife, and Mustafa ben-Nakir were constantly conniving to vie for power in some way to the Sultan while the Sultan was trying to build a larger empire. I was consistently playing chess with all the players, the reasons for why they did things, and the outcomes that would likely occur.
It was captivating to read about how anyone could become a slave to the Sultan in some form, but most of the slaves were governed by different viziers. In American history, slavery is something that was beyond traumatic, violent, and awful (I’m always at a loss of words to bring justice to those forced into slavery in America). Slavery in many different places was quite different. It wasn’t always better, don’t get me wrong, but slavery of Africans and Blacks in America was a true evil. Being a slave of the Sultan was not always a bad gig (unless something went wrong). The higher status slaves of the Sultan were treated well, given lavish presents, and had more freedoms than if they were the slave of an individual. Michael was given a home on the Bosphorus, he was gifted many items including gold and a salary, he was given a job, and he had many slaves himself. I don’t think slavery in any form is okay, however, I did learn quite a bit about social status of the following: ruler, officials to the ruler, military, mutes, eunuchs, slaves, and women. Until I taught social studies to 7th graders, I wasn’t really interested in social hierarchy. However, my mind has now acquired a how to read historical and historical fiction texts quality and I feel like I gravitate towards that information.
The relationships were engaging. I loved Andy and Michael’s brotherly relationship, the Sultan and Grand Vizier Ibrahim, and the relationship between Grand Vizier Ibrahim to Michael. They were intriguing and masterfully fun. Andy and Michael certainly act like brothers. They fight together, live together, care for each other, guide each other, and love each other even through their faults. Suleiman and Ibrahim, too, are not brothers by blood, but by friendship and circumstance. And the loyalty that is shown to Suleiman by Ibrahim was amazing and heartwarming. As well as the loyalty from Michael to Ibrahim. All of them knew what they must sacrifice for the future. Brotherhood was a strong symbol throughout the book.
I was not a fan of Guilia and Michael’s relationship. I did not care for Guilia since she entered the book. Michael’s taste in women was, questionable. Guilia was condescending, rude, a user, needy, and plain awful. Sometimes when I read Waltari’s books (I’ve read three now), I wonder if he has a thing against women because honestly, he writes women as if they are terrible humans. Cheaters, schemers, conniving, betraying, disloyal, condescending, controlling, assholes. And I can also say that about Sultana Khurrem (one of the Sultan’s wives). She was constantly scheming and trying to control the Sultan’s thoughts and the information given to him.
This book was well written and researched with the historical information I learned on the spot and the ending was truly a satisfying end to this well-crafted duology! I will give it a 4.2/5.
IN CONCLUSION, READ THE FRACKING BOOK!
Up Next: Haunted French Quarter Hotels by Nicole Beauchamp (ARC read)
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