1998; 445 pages. Book 2 (out of 6) in the “Belisarius Saga” series. New Authors? : No. Genres : Alternate History; Historical Fiction;
India; Byzantine Empire. Overall Rating
: 8*/10.
The Malwa are coming! And they’re threatening to overrun the
eastern part of the (Byzantine) Roman Empire!
Quick, send somebody to give them misinformation about our armies there, to scare then by vastly overstating our strength!
Not a problem, sir. We’ll send General Belisarius to their empire
in India, and have him fake becoming a turncoat. The Malwa will never suspect they’re being
duped.
The traitors are coming! Our spies say a group of plotters plan to
assassinate the Emperor Justinian in Constantinople and overthrow the Roman
government! Quick, tell General
Belisarius to take command of the loyal Roman armies in that area!
Um, sir. He’s already on his way to India.
What’s To Like...
In the Heart of
Darkness is the second book in a 6-book series co-authored by David
Drake and Eric Flint. The series is
based on a historical military commander of the 6th-century Byzantine
Empire. The authors imagine an alternate
timeline wherein Belisarius is aided by an entity from the future.
There are two main plot
threads, as hinted at in the introduction.
The setting for the first part of the book takes is almost exclusively
India, with just a few cutaways to the Empress Theodora and Belisarius’s wife
Antonina, back in Constantinople. Both
those ladies are badass dudettes, neither of whom you’d want to get into a
fight with. In the second half of the book, Belisarius returns to
Constantinople to deal with the coup d’etat.
I enjoyed the settings in both
India and the Eastern Roman Empire in the 6th-century. They felt real to me, and introduced me to
empires and historical figures that I knew little or nothing about. In the Heart of Darkness is an
ambitious blend of Historical-Fiction and Alt-History, two of my favorite
genres.
Most of Belisarius’s successes
are due to his own well-reasoned unpredictability, but he occasionally gets
advice from “Aide”, a futuristic spirit, probably computer generated, hiding
out in an amulet Belisarius wears on a chain around his neck. Aide’s insight is valuable, but limited. His chief contribution is gunpowder,
something unknown in our 6th-century world. But his attempts to get Belisarius to make mechanized
rocket launchers is fruitless because back then the manufacturing technology was quite limited.
The ending, detailing the
resolution of the coup d’etat, covers about the last quarter of the book, yet
didn’t feel drawn out because it was exciting and action-packed, with the future
of the Byzantine Empire hanging in the balance.
The Epilogue updates a number of plot threads, and presumably sets up
the next book in the series.
Kewlest New Word ...
Bolides (n., pl.)
: very large meteors which explode in the atmosphere.
Others: Talus slope (n.);
Debouched (v.); Epicanthic (adj.), Dacoits
(n., pl.).
Ratings…
Amazon: 4.6*/5, based on 487 ratings
and 83 reviews.
Goodreads: 4.21*/5,
based on 2,682
ratings and 52 reviews.
Excerpts...
“How do you get off this foul beast?”
hissed the Empress.
“Allow me, Your Majesty,” said
Maurice. The hecatontarch came forward
with a stool in his hand. He quieted the
horse with a firm hand and a few gentle words.
Then, after placing the stool, assisted the Empress in clambering down
to safety.
Once on the ground, Theodora brushed
herself off angrily.
“Gods—what a stink! Not you, Maurice. The filthy horse.” The Empress glowered at her former mount. “They eat these things during sieges, I’ve
heard.”
Maurice nodded.
“Well, that’s something to look forward
to,” she muttered. (pg. 229)
“I know that crowd, Maurice. I grew up with them. Forty thousand Hippodrome thugs can swamp
less than a thousand soldiers—but not without suffering heavy casualties. Especially in the front ranks.”
She pointing (sic) toward the mob.
“I guarantee you, Maurice, they know it as
well as we do. And every single one of
that crowd, right this very moment, is making the same vow.”
She laughed, harshly. “‘Victory!’
is just their official battle cry.
The real one—the private, silent one—is: you first! Anybody but me!” (pg. 414)
Kindle Details…
In
the Heart of Darkness does not appear to be available as a standalone e-book,
although you can purchase it as part of a 2-book bundle that includes Book One,
An Oblique Approach, for $8.99. Curiously, the other five books in the series
are all available as discrete e-books, and cost $6.99 apiece.
“God, my husband
has the worst taste in generals!” (pg.
51)
The use of profanity is light; just 8 instances in the first 25% of the book. Most of those were of the milder ilk, but one was an f-bomb, which always feels out of place to me when the setting is the ancient world. The expletive f**k simply wasn’t around until the 16th century or so. Other R-rated stuff includes several allusions to “adult situations”.
The authors use a lot of historical
technical jargon in the text, such as “negusa
nagast”, a title for an Ethiopian prince. I liked the “realism” it imparted to the
text, but a glossary of historical terms would have been handy.
Typos were sparse; just a couple of plural/singular slips: introduction/introductions and resident/residents. And there was a chase scene which went on way too long.
More serious is the fact that
the first half of the book (set in India)
seemed completely irrelevant to the second half (set in Constantinople). I got the feeling I was reading something
that was originally conceived as two separate novellas, then got squished together
to make a full-length novel.
But if you like reading about diplomatic intricacies and you persevere through the never-ending chase, you’ll be treated to a great finish, replete with lots of thrills-&-spills, and where the
bad guys are just as resourceful as the good guys.
8 Stars. One last thing. I think this is one of those series where you really want to read it in order. I didn’t. Learn from my mistake and buy the Books-One-&-Two bundle at Amazon.
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