From Amazon.com
Eric Flint and David Drake's alt-history epic devoted to real-life Byzantine butt-kicker Belisarius has reached part three--
Destiny's Shield--and this installment finally busts loose with some serious head-to-head. Everybody's favorite general is leading an outnumbered Roman-Persian force to check Malwa aggression in the east, forced to action by the fiends' sea-borne invasion of the Tigris-Euphrates delta and their subsequent siege of Babylon. For those unfamiliar with the series, this what-if puts the Malwa Empire in control of the Indian subcontinent thanks to diabolical assistance from across time, granting their forces superior strategy and advanced weaponry. But the ever-canny Belisarius is equal to the challenge, with no small help from a telepathic crystal named Aid that acts as both adviser and seer.
The writing tandem of Flint and Drake still proves strong--relative newcomer Flint (Mother of Demons) seems well-paired with military-SF powerhouse Drake, creator of "the meanest bunch of mercs who ever nuked a world for pay" (that'd be Hammer's Slammers, natch). The two offer up their usual dose of meticulous historical detail and realistic, mud-and-blood combat and tactics. Throw in some time-bending fun like Belisarius's "invention" of the Knights Hospitaler and phrases like "fire in the hole," and you know you're in for a good time. (Of course, if you're new to the series, check out the first book, An Oblique Approach.) --Paul Hughes
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
From Publishers Weekly
Following up An Oblique Approach and In the Heart of Darkness, Flint and Drake continue their primitive warfare series set in a Roman empire that has been changed by the arrival of a time traveler. Known as "Aide," this crystalline entity, when held in the hand of the Roman general Count Belisarius, reveals enough of future technology and history that the Roman army in A.D. 531 is equipped with rockets and portable cannons, and supported by a network of semaphore towers. Ostensibly, Aide's motive is to help the Romans change the course of history by defeating their enemies, the Malwa, based in India, so that, in the distant future, Aide's people will not be enslaved by "the Great Ones." The Romans do alter the future through their actions, but the authors neither address the larger implications of time-travel paradoxes, nor reveal any of Aide's deeper motives. Instead, they dwell on the rather straightforward adventures of Belisarius, who leads the Roman army against the Malwa; his wife, Antonina, who spearheads the development of Roman weaponry; and the eight-year-old Roman emperor, Photius. The battle scenes and strategies are as expert as expected in a book with Drake's name on it, but the ending, though superficially winding up the series, has an inconclusive feel, as if there's at least one more episode to come. (July)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the
Hardcover
edition.
