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"The Sultan is on the march!" The terrible cry rang through mountains and over plains, racing up the Danube River valley in the fall of 1529. Only the old walls of Vienna stood in the path of the dreaded Turk. Could Vienna hold its gates against the conqueror?
As soldiers and refugees crowd into Vienna, Michael Laszlo, apprentice gunsmith, fears for the safety of his family in Hungary. Then while the battle rages around the city, Michael receives alarming news about his home.
Refused permission to return to Hungary, Michael runs away, taking only the wheellock gun he had forged secretly. But chance traps him within the walled city, and treachery brands him an outlaw. As the Sultan relentlessly batters at the gate and Viennese defenders flee from the walls, Michael is forced into hiding among the ruins.
Stumbling across a Turkish scheme to take Vienna by stealth, Michael cannot give warning without endangering himself. An uneasy alliance entangles him in even greater peril, and Michael is forced to fight for his life in the cold waters of the Danube.
What is the secret of the Karntnertor gate? Who is the shadowy figure stealing through Vienna's dark streets? Only Michael's skill with firearms enables him to thread his way through a maze of intrigue and danger.
Based on historical fact, The Enemy at the Gate brings to life the turbulent times of the sixteenth century and recreates in astonishing detail one of the most important sieges in history.
Jacket Design and Title Page Illustration by Lorence Bjorklund
—from the dust jacket
—from the dust jacket
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