Krispos the Emperor

The Tale of Krispos #3

by Harry Turtledove

Krispos had held the throne of Videssos since he was scarcely more than a peasant youth. But now a strange heresy has taken root in the land, a hidden dissent that is flaring into open revolt. As Krispos leads his legions with his three sons, against the rebels, one son disappears into the rebel ranks. Then the renegades seize the day, and Krispos wages an ever more desperate war against an implacable foe that would not scruple to set brother against brother, father against son....

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Science Fiction, Alternate History, Historical Fiction, Science Fiction Fantasy, Epic Fantasy

387 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1994

About the author

Dr Harry Norman Turtledove is an American novelist, who has produced a sizeable number of works in several genres including alternate history, historical fiction, fantasy and science fiction.

Harry Turtledove attended UCLA, where he received a Ph.D. in Byzantine history in 1977.

Turtledove has been dubbed "The Master of Alternate History". Within this genre he is known both for creating original scenarios: such as survival of the Byzantine Empire; an alien invasion in the middle of the World War II; and for giving a fresh and original treatment to themes previously dealt with by other authors, such as the victory of the South in the American Civil War; and of Nazi Germany in the Second World War.

His novels have been credited with bringing alternate history into the mainstream. His style of alternate history has a strong military theme.

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 / 5 stars

Not as interesting as the second in the trilogy, but interesting enough to keep me coming back till completion. I was not a fan of Phostis, Krispos' oldest son and heir to the throne. He comes off as a snotty little brat young adult who thinks he knows everything, at least in the majority of the story, and I wasn't fond of him as a character. I would tell myself an numerous occasions that I wouldn't care if he lived or died

I also hated how the author dealt with Dara, Kirspos' wife. That she is....

**Spoiler Alert 📢 but not really a spoiler because you find this out on page 3....so if you still don't want to know, do not read any further.....are you still reading?....then I guess you have already read the book or just don't care if I spoil it.....read on then.....



Keep going....



Almost there....




...killed off right off the bat (happened 10 years prior from the starting of the third novel) with no explanation of how it happened kinda sucks.

Anyway I still enjoyed the book regardless. There are no unexpected deaths unlike the second in the series. No big surprises either

[Brad]

This book has everything you want in a quick read. There is no question about who the good guy is and who the bad guy is... So, you just know when things go poorly, there is a bad guy behind them. And you want to know... that's the best part, Turtledove makes you want to know. I was able to finish this book in about two days, over the weekend. Like I said, just a good, quick read. I have no idea if the battle scenes in here are really accurate, since I'm not a strategist of any kind. I do know that Turtledove has also published a book called "Give Me Back My Legions" written under the poorly disguised pseudonym Harry Turtletaub (taub means dove in German). He has been a professor of Byzantine History, so I'm sure that his battle scenes follow those kind of studies.

[The_J · Rating 4 out of 5]

The completion of the trek from civil war to religious civil war, but the best was the insight as follows: "Young men could not imagine what being older was like; they lacked the experience. Perhaps because of that, they did not believe that older men retained the slightest notion of what being young meant. But Krispos knew that wasn't so; his younger self dwelt within him yet, covered over with years but still emphatically there."

[Curtiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

The third and final volume of Harry Turtledove's "Tales of Krispos" Trilogy, in which his two sons play significant roles in preserving the Empire of Videssos against the threat of a particularly virulent and nihilistic religious uprising.

[L. · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the third Krispos book, the author moves on to explore two new themes: the differences between children and their parents, which is especially important in dynastic empires; and the difficulties of heresy in a single theology state. Krispos raised his children on his stories of growing up as a lowly peasant, but they remain the pampered sons of the richest most powerful man in the world. What is a father to do? At the same time that his family is giving him trouble, his people (one people, one faith, one nation) develop a particularly nasty heresy. It is his duty to exterminate it, root and branch.

This is possibly the most realistic novel Harry Turtledove has written yet, since every King and Emperor has had to face these worries about their children, and this particular heresy broke out more than once in both Greek Orthodox and Catholic Europe

[Fantasy Literature · Rating 3 out of 5]

The opening chapter of The Tale of Krispos really sucked me in. There is realism, which I'm always a fan of, and there are hardly any wasted words. At least that's how it is at first — but more on that later. Harry Turtledove does a great job of describing what is going on by working the information you need into the narrative in natural ways rather than just straight-out telling you certain facts.

The three books that make up The Tale of Krispos — Krispos Rising, Krispos of Videssos, and Krispos the Emperor — are based on the life and times of Basil I, the founder of the Macedonian dynasty of Byzantium. As such, this story rests in the fantasy sub-genre of alternate history. There is a ... Read More:
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[Brian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a recently published omnibus edition that has all three stories of Krispos, who rises from farmer's son to Emperor. The story is basically good, and sometimes predictable, but for hardcore Turtledove fans, it's a must-read.

[Brentman99 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was the end of a of really good series. Kripos is everyman who rises high. I really enjoyed the series. Turtledove writes great characters who you enjoy following from book to book.

[Scott Gardner · Rating 1 out of 5]

1 book to many in the series