The Dark Lord (Oath of Empire, Book 4) [Hardcover]

Thomas Harlan (Author)

Book Description

Series: Oath of Empire | Publication Date: July 19, 2002

Tom Harlan brings his Oath of Empire series to a shattering conclusion in The Dark Lord.

In what would be the 7th Century AD in our history, the Roman Empire still stands, supported by the twin pillars of the Legions and Thaumaturges of Rome. The Emperor of the West, the Augustus Galen Atreus, came to the aid of the Emperor of the East, the Avtokrator Heraclius, in his war with the Sassanad Emperor of Persia. But despite early victories, that war has not gone well, and now Rome is hard-pressed. Constantinople has fallen before the dark sorceries of the Lord Dahak and his legions of the living and dead. Now the new Emperor of Persia marches on Egypt, and if he takes that ancient nation, Rome will be starved and defeated.

But there is a faint glimmer of hope. The Emperor Galen's brother Maxian is a great sorcerer, perhaps the equal of Dahak, lord of the seven serpents. He is now firmly allied with his Imperial brother and Rome. And though they are caught tight in the Dark Lord's net of sorcery, Queen Zoe of Palmyra and Lord Mohammed have not relinquished their souls to evil.

Powerful, complex, engrossing --Thomas Harlan’s Oath of Empire series has taken fantasy readers by storm. The first three volumes, The Shadow of Ararat, The Gate of Fire, and The Storm of Heaven have been universally praised, and the author was nominated for the Campbell Award for Best New Writer of 1999 and 2000.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the fourth volume of his Oath of Empire series, Harlan (Shadow of Ararat) brings his exquisitely detailed, multifaceted saga of an alternative seventh-century Roman Empire to a satisfying close. Familiarity with the three previous installments, however, is essential to understanding the motivations of some characters, Mohammed in particular. While the author relegates some important individuals from the earlier books to bit roles in this movie-like chronicle, he develops others more fully, though with somewhat confusing attributes and rationales. Galen, emperor of Rome, continues to hold the fate of the Empire in the balance, alternately aided and frustrated by his sorcerer brother, Maxian. The resurrected Gaius Julius (Caesar) and the Duchess Anastasia intrigue against one another and the brothers, playing out the traditional Roman grasp for power. All oppose the evil Persian sorcerer, Dahak, lord of the seven serpents, who can count as his allies the King of Kings, the Palmyran queens and the raised dead. The conflict comes to a head first in Alexandria, where Aurelian, the middle brother, faces especially bloody fighting, dust and suffering. On Aurelian's death, the action moves to Sicilia, where Maxian, now emperor, finally understands the true nature of his enemy. Rip-roaring battle scenes offset the sometimes slow pace necessary to keep all the complexities of the story on track. This is opulent historical fantasy on a grand scale.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

The conclusion of Harlan's massive alternate-history fantasy The Oath of Empire isn't quite as successful as its predecessors, The Shadow of Ararat (1999), The Gate of Fire (2000), and The Storm of Heaven (2001). It is wordier than its story can support, and more populous, scene-shifting, and eventful than readers who start the tetralogy with it will be able to process. For veteran series readers, however, the abundant detail just fleshes out the narrative, making the book an outstanding feat of world building, at the very least. Certainly the last stage of the fight against the evil sorcerer Dahak is not without interest. Dahak's minions, the Persians, have captured Constantinople and now are marching on Egypt. If they capture the breadbasket of the empire, Rome is doomed. The aspiring caesar, Maxian, and the ghostly caesar, Gaius Julius, must wield their capabilities, powers, and assorted allies to prevent catastrophe. When it is all over, Maxian isn't promised a trouble-free reign, but Harlan has earned his welcome to the ranks of historical fantasists. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 512 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (July 19, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0312865600
• ISBN-13: 978-0312865603
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 1.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,760,330 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born in Tucson, AZ of scientist parents, have always drawn or told or written stories of adventure. Have had one or two adventures myself, but none more exhausting than raising my kids!

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Weak close to powerful series, August 23, 2002

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booksforabuck "BooksForABuck" (Long Beach, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Dark Lord (Oath of Empire, Book 4) (Hardcover)

Constantanople has fallen and the armies of Persia stand ready to conquer the western Empire as well. In Rome, chaos has taken control. The Emperor Galen tries to rally his troops while his spies conspire among themselves, his wife gets petty and paranoid, his brother Maxim whines for new magical toys, and the ancient and now undead Julius Caesar tries to decide whether his maste would be better served by allowing Galen to remain in control, or to toss him out.

The Persian armies, together with Greek troops who rebelled against deceitful Constantinople, and Arabs who continue to fight for their lost Mohammed, are buttressed by magic--and have their own undead forces to bear. When the Persians take a detour to Egypt (chasing the McGuffin of a magical viewer), Rome has time to prepare--but fails to use it. Meanwhile, Mohammed lies near death and receives enlightenment. The past mistakes he has made become clear to him as he lies beneath a fig tree.

Author Thomas Harlan has created a powerful and thoughtful alternate universe where Christianity never took hold and where Rome is strengthened by an ancient oath that holds the nation together--at a terrible cost of lost creativity. The Oath was the central issue in earlier volumes in the series, but by now, it has become secondary--just another source of power for the nearly omnipotent Maxim.

In the earlier volumes, a number of characters were interesting and multidimensional even when Maxim became obsessed with his magic to the detriment of those around him. By this volume, most are simplified down to two dimensions. Of the many characters, only Galen and Aurelian seem to have any nobility about them at all (Mohammed might, but he spends the book under a fig tree so this hardly counts). Maxim is critically lazy in allowing others to do his dirty work of seizing the empire (if this is what he wants) or criminally negligent in allowing Julius Caesar to plot against his brother if it isn't what he wants.

Harlan writes fast-paced action and THE DARK LORD is no exception. Fans of the series will want to read this conclusion to the series and see the new world that results from Maxim's assumption of power and his final confrontation with the Dark Lord. Perhaps some fans will join me in hoping that Mohammed and some of the others show up in a surprise book 5 and overthrow the nasty magic-driven world that is created at the end of THE DARK LORD.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Disappointment, April 28, 2003

By 

C. A. Temm (Salem, AL United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: The Dark Lord (Oath of Empire, Book 4) (Hardcover)

I had eagerly awaited this last in the series since getting involved with the story awhile back. However the book failed to live up to the first three and I finished it feeling cheated. The ending alone was incredibly weak especially after all the earlier character building. I noticed the author never went any deeper in his study of the Roman military , till the very end there was no one but centurians and legionares in the Army, no decurians, optimos, tribunes, signifers, etc etc. Also it was repeatedly stressed in the earlier books that magic had little or no effect on the Roman forces, why did it become so successful in the last book? Anyway the story lost my interest about midway and then became work to finish. It does seem like there is a sequel setup but I for one will not waste money on it...

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Schizophrenic, May 31, 2003

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Jonathan Pappas (Albany, New York United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Dark Lord (Oath of Empire, Book 4) (Hardcover)

I have enjoyed the series to this point. The tension excitement and intelligence of plot had impressed me. The Dark Lord is a meandering disappointment. While it has some decent action, it is mired in political intrigue and charcterization that is inconsistent with the story. Suddenly Nicholas is a cold blooded killer? Maxian feels he has the time to marry Martina? What happened to his focus? It is amazing that Alexandria is on the edge of destruction and suddenly Rome is mired in base political intrigue. Anastasia's departure was an impressive moment in the series. Here, she is back and Thyatis is again at her bidding. What happened to all the supposed personal change. And WHAT ABOUT THE OATH? This series could be split in two and no reader would know the difference. EVERYTHING in Rome is as it was in the first book. What was the point of earlier rifts (Galen and Maxian, Anastasia and Thyatis, Anastasia and Maxian)? Thier characters have returned to their earlier form with narry an explanation. Helen goes from helping Martina to hating her. Why? To protect her son? Martina is a fool that only becomes threatening when threatened. Why is the clear to everyone except the all knowing Duchess and The Empress of the West? Why does Helen want to rule the East now as well? Didn't she spend last book complaining about how overworked Galen is? It reads like a middle novel in a longer series. Why all the set up and intrigue? So many interesting issues have fallen by the wayside. The fate of Damawand and Ahmet is supplanted by incessant whining from Martina and the now predictable (read boring) invincibility of Thyatis. Shirin's role was ever a weak one. Her presence in this book reads like a soap opera hack job. Dahak is the strongest character in the book, yet his motives and relationship with The Royal Boar are given only a cursory treatment. I like strong female characters, but it seems Harlan felt a balance wasn't enough; almost the whole book is told from the eyes of plotting, complaining women. Is that so terrible? It is when its also boring. Maybe Harlan is on the Robert Jordan Plan. Maybe Tor editors need to start doing thier job.