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Belisarius #1-2
Belisarius I: Thunder at Dawn
Two complete novels in one volume—the beginning of the Belisarius saga.
An Oblique Approach : In northern India the Malwa have created an empire of unexampled evil. Guided or possessed by an intelligence from beyond time, with new weapons, old treachery, and an implacable will to power, the Malwa will sweep over the whole Earth. Only three things stand between the Malwa and their plan of eternal domination: the empire of Rome in the East, Byzantium; a crystal with vision; and a man named Belisarius, the greatest commander Earth has ever known.
In the Heart of Darkness : Having conquered sixth century India, the Malwa Empire is forging the subcontinent's vast population into an invincible weapon of tyranny. Belisarius, the finest general of his age, must save the world. Guided by visions from a future that may never be, he and a band of comrades penetrate the Malwa heartland, seeking the core of the enemy's power. And when Belisarius leads the forces of good, only a fool would side with evil.
An Oblique Approach : In northern India the Malwa have created an empire of unexampled evil. Guided or possessed by an intelligence from beyond time, with new weapons, old treachery, and an implacable will to power, the Malwa will sweep over the whole Earth. Only three things stand between the Malwa and their plan of eternal domination: the empire of Rome in the East, Byzantium; a crystal with vision; and a man named Belisarius, the greatest commander Earth has ever known.
In the Heart of Darkness : Having conquered sixth century India, the Malwa Empire is forging the subcontinent's vast population into an invincible weapon of tyranny. Belisarius, the finest general of his age, must save the world. Guided by visions from a future that may never be, he and a band of comrades penetrate the Malwa heartland, seeking the core of the enemy's power. And when Belisarius leads the forces of good, only a fool would side with evil.
784 pages, Hardcover
First published September 1, 2008
69 people are currently reading
188 people want to read
About the author
Eric Flint
250 books874 followersEric Flint was a New York Times bestselling American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works were alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures.
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Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
March 17, 2014
Read at least (3) times
Helped me to get through some hard times! Reading about people being victorious over the insupportable gave me hope that my own life would go okay as well. (also there were lol's) Thanks Eric Flint and David Drake!!
Helped me to get through some hard times! Reading about people being victorious over the insupportable gave me hope that my own life would go okay as well. (also there were lol's) Thanks Eric Flint and David Drake!!
December 16, 2021
Almost as good as the first time!
I read this series when I was in my young teens and loved it then. It is one of my favorite series. Rereading now at forty, well, I still love it!
I read this series when I was in my young teens and loved it then. It is one of my favorite series. Rereading now at forty, well, I still love it!
February 25, 2018
This was a fast read! I enjoyed the compilation (especially as that means I have all six novels in hardback form! hahahah) as it put the first two novels together and I could not find copies of the paperbacks at my local used bookstore. It tells the story of "history's greatest general" and what happens when he is called upon to save the future by changing history. He has a team of trusted individuals who travel with him into the enemy's camp so they can learn as much as possible about their foe before returning home to try to prepare for the coming onslaught. Like any "story" with a giant cast, it has good character development poor character development, and a bunch of cardboard cutouts (who still manage to stand out, at times, for various reasons).
It has a quirky sense of humor that runs throughout both novels; there is more humor in the first novel than the second, but the humor still can be found in the second book. I did find myself laughing (chuckling) during the second book, but not quite as much as the first.
As much humor as the books have in them, they are equally brutal in many parts (especially in the second book). I know it was a brutal time in history, but the authors do not mince words when it comes to describing the wounds inflicted and the means by which some individuals died. I know words can never adequately describe what people went through, but the authors are quite descriptive in their telling of this tale.
I enjoyed the scheming and plots-within-plots that went on in this book. It was pretty crazy, how far in advance Belisarius was anticipating events to happen in this book. He was assuredly out-thinking his future opponents as he traveled throughout India with the Malwa forces. He was presented as definitely enjoying feints, maneuvers, and deception(s) to win battles more than relying upon brute force (perhaps that is because his opponents tended to have armies that were larger than the forces he had under his command?).
There is a lot going on in this book, that is for sure! You have intrigue, betrayal, attempted betrayal, the formation of new alliances, political maneuvering and infighting, assassinations, battles, seduction(s) and attempted seduction(s), espionage, land warfare, naval warfare, pirates attacking, siege warfare, discussions on how to create twentieth-century weapons in the Sixth Century AD using the technology of the time, time-travel, history being altered, masquerades, deep deceptions, talks of treason, and shenanigans of various sorts being undertaken. Friendships are formed, alliances forged, marriages tested, and hearts broken by betrayal. Suffice to say, there is a lot that happens in this book.
I really liked the cover of the book; I know they say you cannot judge a book by its cover, but this cover still grabbed my attention. I enjoyed this compilation and look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.
It has a quirky sense of humor that runs throughout both novels; there is more humor in the first novel than the second, but the humor still can be found in the second book. I did find myself laughing (chuckling) during the second book, but not quite as much as the first.
As much humor as the books have in them, they are equally brutal in many parts (especially in the second book). I know it was a brutal time in history, but the authors do not mince words when it comes to describing the wounds inflicted and the means by which some individuals died. I know words can never adequately describe what people went through, but the authors are quite descriptive in their telling of this tale.
I enjoyed the scheming and plots-within-plots that went on in this book. It was pretty crazy, how far in advance Belisarius was anticipating events to happen in this book. He was assuredly out-thinking his future opponents as he traveled throughout India with the Malwa forces. He was presented as definitely enjoying feints, maneuvers, and deception(s) to win battles more than relying upon brute force (perhaps that is because his opponents tended to have armies that were larger than the forces he had under his command?).
There is a lot going on in this book, that is for sure! You have intrigue, betrayal, attempted betrayal, the formation of new alliances, political maneuvering and infighting, assassinations, battles, seduction(s) and attempted seduction(s), espionage, land warfare, naval warfare, pirates attacking, siege warfare, discussions on how to create twentieth-century weapons in the Sixth Century AD using the technology of the time, time-travel, history being altered, masquerades, deep deceptions, talks of treason, and shenanigans of various sorts being undertaken. Friendships are formed, alliances forged, marriages tested, and hearts broken by betrayal. Suffice to say, there is a lot that happens in this book.
I really liked the cover of the book; I know they say you cannot judge a book by its cover, but this cover still grabbed my attention. I enjoyed this compilation and look forward to reading the rest of the books in the series.
December 16, 2021
CW for sexual assault.
Where do I even start with this book.
How about the low-hanging fruit then: the violence. I'm not by any means squeamish, but the violence was so excessive it became boring. Yadda yadda, here's two pages of brutal dismemberment, yadda yadda, two more. It doesn't advance the plot, it doesn't develop the characters, it's just gorn for the sake of gorn.
And then there's the sexual violence.
In this entire book, there are only two (or three, depending on how you count Great Lady Holi) named female characters, and barely any unnamed, who are not a) sex workers/former sex workers b) survivors of sexual violence c) both. Usually both. The amount of rape is entirely unnecessary, wholly pervasive throughout the book, and viscerally off-putting. Let's not forget the scene where two of the good guys are implied to be discussing having sex with a woman too drunk to consent, either. Or the part where a teenage boy - still very much treated as a child by the characters and the narrative - is pressured into having sex he doesn't want to have for months by adult men, who tell him to stop complaining because he should be happy to be sleeping with so many women. And of course, Antonina, whom the narrative can't go more than two paragraphs without informing us that she's a whore. (She's not, technically. She used to be one.) In fact, one of her first markers as to why Belisarius is Such a Good Guy is that he's the only man that doesn't call her a whore! (Until he does).
*I'd like at this point to put in a prediction that Irene, one of the two women who has so far escaped being a rape victim, will in a future book get brutalized by a gang of thugs, lose her joie-de-vivre, get nursed back to health thanks to her former employer-and-pretend-paramour-Sittas (whether he discovers unseen depths of sensitivity, or shocks her back into her old self by being boorish and unsympathetic), and then she falls in love with him.
Sometimes the women get their crack at excessive bloodshed too. Except, unerringly, it plays out like this - a woman is in a trapped situation. She starts fighting multiple attackers. She does brutally well until - oh no! She's overstepped herself. She's about to be murdered/brutalized/etc. And then! a male character swoops in to save her.
Equally pornographic, in some ways, is the way this book fetishizes Western military tactics and the supposedly "infernally clever" mind of Belisarius. Belisarius is not an incredibly intelligent character. He is a character of average intelligence, who has extremely privileged access to information, that only comes across as intelligent because every other character in the books is incapable of thinking ahead for more than a step. And the constant deep dives into military tactics, of planning this siege and that assault, were just as snooze-worthy as the bloodbaths. If I wanted to read about tactics, I would pick up a textbook, and then at least I wouldn't have to read as much about sexual assault.
To that point, it's very telling that the sum entirety of the information the crystal gives Belisarius is all military technology. Of all the many, many, many technological advancements it could impart on him, it makes no mention of say, penicillin. Or germ theory. Or inoculation. Or improved methods of agriculture. All things that could potentially save hundreds of thousands of lives, and still be useful to an army (because soldiers can die of smallpox too). But no, the only information deemed worthy in this paean to heteromasculine intellectual violence is how to kill more people, more efficiently.
The enemy crystal, Link, comes across as a very odd and uncompelling villain. Its reasoning for backing the Malwa Empire and changing history is to avert human destruction of Earth via eugenics, which somehow can only be accomplished by the Malwa defeating Rome because the Malwa have a caste system. This is bizarre on several levels. For one thing, Link is presented as an entirely unemotional, logical, cold-facts kind of intelligence. The kind that makes no value judgments. But eugenics is entirely about value judgments. There is nothing impartial about eugenics at all. It is a heavily, unfortunately, human way of looking at the world. And the justification that a Malwa superiority instead of Roman superiority will lead to worldwide eugenics is both kind of racist and and an unfounded assumption, given that the caste system in India lasted far, far longer than the Roman Empire ever did, and also there have been quite a few Western thinkers and politicians who went very hard for eugenics with terrible, terrible results.
The only reason this book got two stars instead of one - and the only reason I'm going to finish the series - is the female characters. Despite the heavily sexualized way the narrative treats them, despite everything else going on in these books, these women are genuinely interesting! There's a lot of great interplay and dynamism in our major female characters - Antonina, the prostitute-turned-people's hero, Irene the cunning spymaster, Theodora the vengeful empress, and Shakuntala the deposed empress ready to take back her throne, and Lady Sati, raised to be a vessel for an inhuman intelligence - and I'm invested in their stories. Far more so than I am any of the male characters, who are either just endless variations on The Noble Man Soldier (if they're good) or craven villains (if they're bad). (And I do wish more had been made of the initial claim that Theodora and Antonina are both witches, because that would have been very interesting.) There's an alternate universe version of this book somewhere, written by a woman, focusing on the female characters, and I'm eternally sad we got stuck with this version instead.
Where do I even start with this book.
How about the low-hanging fruit then: the violence. I'm not by any means squeamish, but the violence was so excessive it became boring. Yadda yadda, here's two pages of brutal dismemberment, yadda yadda, two more. It doesn't advance the plot, it doesn't develop the characters, it's just gorn for the sake of gorn.
And then there's the sexual violence.
In this entire book, there are only two (or three, depending on how you count Great Lady Holi) named female characters, and barely any unnamed, who are not a) sex workers/former sex workers b) survivors of sexual violence c) both. Usually both. The amount of rape is entirely unnecessary, wholly pervasive throughout the book, and viscerally off-putting. Let's not forget the scene where two of the good guys are implied to be discussing having sex with a woman too drunk to consent, either. Or the part where a teenage boy - still very much treated as a child by the characters and the narrative - is pressured into having sex he doesn't want to have for months by adult men, who tell him to stop complaining because he should be happy to be sleeping with so many women. And of course, Antonina, whom the narrative can't go more than two paragraphs without informing us that she's a whore. (She's not, technically. She used to be one.) In fact, one of her first markers as to why Belisarius is Such a Good Guy is that he's the only man that doesn't call her a whore! (Until he does).
*I'd like at this point to put in a prediction that Irene, one of the two women who has so far escaped being a rape victim, will in a future book get brutalized by a gang of thugs, lose her joie-de-vivre, get nursed back to health thanks to her former employer-and-pretend-paramour-Sittas (whether he discovers unseen depths of sensitivity, or shocks her back into her old self by being boorish and unsympathetic), and then she falls in love with him.
Sometimes the women get their crack at excessive bloodshed too. Except, unerringly, it plays out like this - a woman is in a trapped situation. She starts fighting multiple attackers. She does brutally well until - oh no! She's overstepped herself. She's about to be murdered/brutalized/etc. And then! a male character swoops in to save her.
Equally pornographic, in some ways, is the way this book fetishizes Western military tactics and the supposedly "infernally clever" mind of Belisarius. Belisarius is not an incredibly intelligent character. He is a character of average intelligence, who has extremely privileged access to information, that only comes across as intelligent because every other character in the books is incapable of thinking ahead for more than a step. And the constant deep dives into military tactics, of planning this siege and that assault, were just as snooze-worthy as the bloodbaths. If I wanted to read about tactics, I would pick up a textbook, and then at least I wouldn't have to read as much about sexual assault.
To that point, it's very telling that the sum entirety of the information the crystal gives Belisarius is all military technology. Of all the many, many, many technological advancements it could impart on him, it makes no mention of say, penicillin. Or germ theory. Or inoculation. Or improved methods of agriculture. All things that could potentially save hundreds of thousands of lives, and still be useful to an army (because soldiers can die of smallpox too). But no, the only information deemed worthy in this paean to heteromasculine intellectual violence is how to kill more people, more efficiently.
The enemy crystal, Link, comes across as a very odd and uncompelling villain. Its reasoning for backing the Malwa Empire and changing history is to avert human destruction of Earth via eugenics, which somehow can only be accomplished by the Malwa defeating Rome because the Malwa have a caste system. This is bizarre on several levels. For one thing, Link is presented as an entirely unemotional, logical, cold-facts kind of intelligence. The kind that makes no value judgments. But eugenics is entirely about value judgments. There is nothing impartial about eugenics at all. It is a heavily, unfortunately, human way of looking at the world. And the justification that a Malwa superiority instead of Roman superiority will lead to worldwide eugenics is both kind of racist and and an unfounded assumption, given that the caste system in India lasted far, far longer than the Roman Empire ever did, and also there have been quite a few Western thinkers and politicians who went very hard for eugenics with terrible, terrible results.
The only reason this book got two stars instead of one - and the only reason I'm going to finish the series - is the female characters. Despite the heavily sexualized way the narrative treats them, despite everything else going on in these books, these women are genuinely interesting! There's a lot of great interplay and dynamism in our major female characters - Antonina, the prostitute-turned-people's hero, Irene the cunning spymaster, Theodora the vengeful empress, and Shakuntala the deposed empress ready to take back her throne, and Lady Sati, raised to be a vessel for an inhuman intelligence - and I'm invested in their stories. Far more so than I am any of the male characters, who are either just endless variations on The Noble Man Soldier (if they're good) or craven villains (if they're bad). (And I do wish more had been made of the initial claim that Theodora and Antonina are both witches, because that would have been very interesting.) There's an alternate universe version of this book somewhere, written by a woman, focusing on the female characters, and I'm eternally sad we got stuck with this version instead.
April 21, 2020
A new classic
The volume, and series, has its flaws. It can be repetitive, rambling, even disjointed.
It is also full of twists, turns, action, adventure, and memorable characters.
Highly recommended.
The volume, and series, has its flaws. It can be repetitive, rambling, even disjointed.
It is also full of twists, turns, action, adventure, and memorable characters.
Highly recommended.
January 22, 2021
Very good read
This book is the start of a very good relationship between myself and the characters that Eric has brought to life. You will enjoy this book and not want to put it down.
This book is the start of a very good relationship between myself and the characters that Eric has brought to life. You will enjoy this book and not want to put it down.
December 16, 2025
One of my favourite series. Alternative history of conquest.
Omnibus edition of 2 novels within the series.
Omnibus edition of 2 novels within the series.
March 26, 2016
Of the two original books combined in this edition I had a harder time to find pleasure in the first one. The outset into this divergent universe came rather rough and i found it not too nice to read as it was presented (in form of a vision telling decades of a war in the future for bycantine-roman general Belisarius). Then there was a lot of talk about the court at Constantinople and the intrigues connected to it. Flint finally found his rhythm back with the second half / book of this compilation when it turned from planning a counter-conspiracy to the announced danger from Malwa-India to actively doing something (a reconnaissance mission under cover of an embassy sent by the emperor but secretly trying to defect to the indian empire that is already reaching out to conquer Persia and then "Rome" (still the eastern half as in this continuity Belisarius won't go on his campaign reconquering the western mediterranean for Justinian))
The travel through India was mostly interesting due to the "Mission: Impossible like plan Belisarius prepares from the outset on, using his talks with the despicable indian villain lord to create suspicions in the evil man, counting on his eagerness to think as badly about others as he is used to act himself, thereby enraging part of his troops. Ultimately both future allies as future enemies are made and present themselves at their best and their worst... Rana Sanga, the lowly Rajput cavalry leader is screaming "general of the baddies armies" the louder the longer he is present in the story... going as far as to put Sherlock Holmes to shame by retelling the scheme of Belisarius from minor hints once he is given free reign over the pursuit. The dynastical generals on the other hand are at best described as "best of the worst" if not outright incompetent and unable of proper warfare and strategizing.
Climax of the book and for now conclusion to the two book long lead up to the expected war is a giant battle inside of Constantinople when a Malwa delegation conspires with local dignitaries to overthrown the Emperor and replace him with their own marionette ruler, but Belisarius preparations on the homefront pay out when he returns just in time for the strike from his indian mission. His wife and loyal subordinates have prepared a regiment of their own with some of the weapons divined from his visions and trained for some new tactics the wily general has developed based on it. It's enough to wipe out the insurgents, safe the lives of Emperor and Empress (Theodora who sponsored the secret preparations as Justinian is too paranoid to tolerate mighty and well armed generals as a danger for his throne) but not the eyesight of Justinian who gets mutiliated as that will disqualify him for the monarchy. On the large Belisarius is successful, the conspiracy for now vanquished, the army well underway to prepare for the new enemy and allies in the egyptian Axumites and the Malwa-conquered Mahratans building a resistance force in exile.
I'm not a big fan of the two counterhistorical factions waging this timewar through the indian and roman militaries, both "Aide", the crystalline intelligence providing Belisarius with future knowledge and "link" the cybernetic computer directing the slow but unstoppable rise of the malwa Empire to rule over India and commanding them to try and conquer Persia and Rome as they were identified as origin of the "dangerous" liberal ideas that lead to the future struggles between genetically modified "Great Ones" and fanatical anti-modification fundamentalist "New Gods", do not really work in a way that i'd enjoy reading and the insights into a war a million years and more distant as seen through the eyes of a bronze age general come along pretty psychedelic and I for my part cannot really emotionally connect to these mostly theoretical constructs without real personality...
So to make it short after i've already meandered so much through the book and its aspects... i liked the style Flint takes up when he directly deals with ancient lifestyle and warfare, the descriptions come alife and the story feels more authentic than anything connected to the discontinuity / Althis bits... Some times i had wished that a clearer break between ancient understanding and modern jargon had been chosen (Katjusha as name for the rocket launcher? And the greco-roman army adopts the foreign word? Grenade might at least be interpreted as half-translated from the greek word for pomegranate or something like that, but some things just sound wrong when laid in mind and mouth of Belisarius....) but the glorious descriptions of cavalry charges and roman army tactics were a big soothing factor for me, making it all worthwhile.
The travel through India was mostly interesting due to the "Mission: Impossible like plan Belisarius prepares from the outset on, using his talks with the despicable indian villain lord to create suspicions in the evil man, counting on his eagerness to think as badly about others as he is used to act himself, thereby enraging part of his troops. Ultimately both future allies as future enemies are made and present themselves at their best and their worst... Rana Sanga, the lowly Rajput cavalry leader is screaming "general of the baddies armies" the louder the longer he is present in the story... going as far as to put Sherlock Holmes to shame by retelling the scheme of Belisarius from minor hints once he is given free reign over the pursuit. The dynastical generals on the other hand are at best described as "best of the worst" if not outright incompetent and unable of proper warfare and strategizing.
Climax of the book and for now conclusion to the two book long lead up to the expected war is a giant battle inside of Constantinople when a Malwa delegation conspires with local dignitaries to overthrown the Emperor and replace him with their own marionette ruler, but Belisarius preparations on the homefront pay out when he returns just in time for the strike from his indian mission. His wife and loyal subordinates have prepared a regiment of their own with some of the weapons divined from his visions and trained for some new tactics the wily general has developed based on it. It's enough to wipe out the insurgents, safe the lives of Emperor and Empress (Theodora who sponsored the secret preparations as Justinian is too paranoid to tolerate mighty and well armed generals as a danger for his throne) but not the eyesight of Justinian who gets mutiliated as that will disqualify him for the monarchy. On the large Belisarius is successful, the conspiracy for now vanquished, the army well underway to prepare for the new enemy and allies in the egyptian Axumites and the Malwa-conquered Mahratans building a resistance force in exile.
I'm not a big fan of the two counterhistorical factions waging this timewar through the indian and roman militaries, both "Aide", the crystalline intelligence providing Belisarius with future knowledge and "link" the cybernetic computer directing the slow but unstoppable rise of the malwa Empire to rule over India and commanding them to try and conquer Persia and Rome as they were identified as origin of the "dangerous" liberal ideas that lead to the future struggles between genetically modified "Great Ones" and fanatical anti-modification fundamentalist "New Gods", do not really work in a way that i'd enjoy reading and the insights into a war a million years and more distant as seen through the eyes of a bronze age general come along pretty psychedelic and I for my part cannot really emotionally connect to these mostly theoretical constructs without real personality...
So to make it short after i've already meandered so much through the book and its aspects... i liked the style Flint takes up when he directly deals with ancient lifestyle and warfare, the descriptions come alife and the story feels more authentic than anything connected to the discontinuity / Althis bits... Some times i had wished that a clearer break between ancient understanding and modern jargon had been chosen (Katjusha as name for the rocket launcher? And the greco-roman army adopts the foreign word? Grenade might at least be interpreted as half-translated from the greek word for pomegranate or something like that, but some things just sound wrong when laid in mind and mouth of Belisarius....) but the glorious descriptions of cavalry charges and roman army tactics were a big soothing factor for me, making it all worthwhile.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
May 22, 2019
A great read. A hero to fall in love with. Chatacters that are unforgetable. A plot that keeps all the threads clear and moving forward. And I think, a foreshadowing of a major twist to come in the next books.
February 4, 2011
Whoa...An Oblique Approach is the first in the Belisarius series, a somewhat paranormal historical fiction series. Somewhat paranormal as the entire story revolves around a "live" crystal which shows the future to anyone who holds it. Set in Constantinople in 528 in the reign of the Emperor Justinian with his Empress Theodora, the crystal, it appears, has been seeking General Belisarius, a soldier who is not a warrior. A man of compassion and intelligence who can change the future and defeat the Malwa.
This was a fascinating story of tactics of war and politics in the Byzantine court. Flint and Drake create characters with whom one identifies and roots strongly for victory (or defeat!). And, yeah, the title so fits this story. The crystal definitely takes an oblique approach to achieving its aims.
In the Heart of Darkness is the second paranormalish, historical fiction installment in the Belisarius series. Our heroes are off to India to spy on the Malwa in 529 A.D. General Belisarius firmly believes in knowing one's enemy and he is determined to wrest the secret of the Malwan weapons to use on the behalf of Constantinople. With the help of a new ally, Prince Eon of the Auxmites. Merging their small entourages together, Belisarius and Eon penetrate India, the heart of darkness, the conquered lands of the Malwa to learn what they can.
Lots of adventures and action, rescuing a princess, thwarting an alien entity, escaping a massive manhunt only to arrive back in Constantinople in time to put down a coup d'etat against Justinian. I rather envy Belisarius his crystal as it aids him in learning languages, interpreting the weapons used by the Malwa, and planning their improvement.
Flint and Drake create such incredible characters---there were even a couple on the enemy side for whom I have hopes! I'm very anxious to discover how the new Empress fares against the Malwa with her allies.
Man, I cannot wait to start the third in the series, Destiny's Shield.
This was a fascinating story of tactics of war and politics in the Byzantine court. Flint and Drake create characters with whom one identifies and roots strongly for victory (or defeat!). And, yeah, the title so fits this story. The crystal definitely takes an oblique approach to achieving its aims.
In the Heart of Darkness is the second paranormalish, historical fiction installment in the Belisarius series. Our heroes are off to India to spy on the Malwa in 529 A.D. General Belisarius firmly believes in knowing one's enemy and he is determined to wrest the secret of the Malwan weapons to use on the behalf of Constantinople. With the help of a new ally, Prince Eon of the Auxmites. Merging their small entourages together, Belisarius and Eon penetrate India, the heart of darkness, the conquered lands of the Malwa to learn what they can.
Lots of adventures and action, rescuing a princess, thwarting an alien entity, escaping a massive manhunt only to arrive back in Constantinople in time to put down a coup d'etat against Justinian. I rather envy Belisarius his crystal as it aids him in learning languages, interpreting the weapons used by the Malwa, and planning their improvement.
Flint and Drake create such incredible characters---there were even a couple on the enemy side for whom I have hopes! I'm very anxious to discover how the new Empress fares against the Malwa with her allies.
Man, I cannot wait to start the third in the series, Destiny's Shield.
December 15, 2012
I picked this book up at a local library while visiting my daughter. I read the first chapter before I had to leave it, and afterward sought it out to complete the story. The premise is one of alternate history, using real historical characters from the Byzantine Empire. Belisarius was a real general, considered by some one of the greatest military geniuses of all time. In this book, he is given a gem which allows him to communicate with a being from the future who tells him of a great evil empire that is forming in India, which will one day overcome the world. The battle is one of two rival alien powers, one which is behind the evil empire in India, and the other power which fights it through Belisarius and the Byzantine Empire and its allies. Interesting reading, mostly because I am a big fan of alternate histories.
May 20, 2017
Once the gist of what's going on is grasped and the deviation from history (it is fiction) is accepted, the story gets better and better.
Because of the development of the pro- and antagonist faction the stand alone novels would have been a disappointment -- barely three stars each. Read back to back -- the first the Western (HRE?) and Belisarius' situation at this point in history , the second the fictionalized Indian (Eastern) faction -- the books elevate to 3 1/2 stars each.
Combined in one tome results in a 4-star intro to what promises to be a grand epic battle of good versus evil between advanced species employing Sixth Century surrogates.
Because of the development of the pro- and antagonist faction the stand alone novels would have been a disappointment -- barely three stars each. Read back to back -- the first the Western (HRE?) and Belisarius' situation at this point in history , the second the fictionalized Indian (Eastern) faction -- the books elevate to 3 1/2 stars each.
Combined in one tome results in a 4-star intro to what promises to be a grand epic battle of good versus evil between advanced species employing Sixth Century surrogates.
April 24, 2016
This is a rating of the entire series.
It's excellent pulp fiction with no pretensions to be anything more. More importantly it's actually well-written pulp fiction with genuine notes of emotion among the swashbuckling blood and guts action.
As an ethnic Indian, I have to say I always loved the fact that this is one of the few sf/fantasy series which involves an Indian/Indian-inspired setting.
It's excellent pulp fiction with no pretensions to be anything more. More importantly it's actually well-written pulp fiction with genuine notes of emotion among the swashbuckling blood and guts action.
As an ethnic Indian, I have to say I always loved the fact that this is one of the few sf/fantasy series which involves an Indian/Indian-inspired setting.
October 9, 2008
This book was a joy to read. The characters were rather predictable, but the intrigue and the way the story was told was good.
I like how the series is about Rome and India. Don't know much about the Indian culture or history. I just hope that I don't get my facts wrong when talking to Indians. =P
Can't wait to continue to read more of this series.
I like how the series is about Rome and India. Don't know much about the Indian culture or history. I just hope that I don't get my facts wrong when talking to Indians. =P
Can't wait to continue to read more of this series.
November 28, 2023
Little long winded, with repeat information as if originally written as standalone short stories. Really enjoyed and will continue the series.
2nd Read 12 years later, just as good but still looking for book 3?
2nd Read 12 years later, just as good but still looking for book 3?
December 28, 2013
A great concept! It was a mix of sci-fi and history. It helped that I am a fan of the real Belisarius so reading this tale of his exploits was a lot of fun. Nice plot with lot's of detail and entertaining characters. If you are a fan of history then you'll enjoy this!
Want to read
March 11, 2010 I read the Belisarius's books awhile ago. Now that they are out in a couple of omnibus editions, I plan to re-read them.
July 24, 2015
well researched and intriguing 'what-if' of Roman Empire vs. Malwa Empire (e.g. Western civilization vs. Eastern) circa 300AD
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