Customer Reviews

In the Heart of Darkness (Belisarius)

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3 star:		(1)
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This series is, to my mind the best stuff Flint and Drake have done so far. It is fun to watch generals, armies and empires rise in fantasy lands, but I get a little more joy in seeing it happen on earth, in "real" terrain. The authors here have moved a little bit away from just the tactical, blood and guts of war (although there is PLENTY of that) and have tried to look at the grand strategy and the operational level of war, in a geographic and historical environment that we all know. This is a bold move, and I think I see where the series is headed (the term "oblique approach" is a real clue) and am very intrigued and excited. There are those who say, "It is just another general backed by a computer," and this is true, perhaps, but THIS general is opposed by an equal if not greater force, complete with its own "computer" and to win he will have to use grand strategy and operational art.

Those readers out for blood and guts will get it in this book, but the authors are really trying to do something a little bit more cognitive here and to my mind, it works. I have been a paratrooper sergeant, an Army Ranger, a infantry company commander, a battalion commander, a West Point Psychology Professor and a Professor of Military Science. I was one of the co-founders of the US Army's "Maneuver Warfare Symposium," with chapters in "Maneuver Warfare: An Anthology," and I am the author of "On Killing," a standard textbook used at West Point and in "peace studies" programs in many universities. From my own, strictly personal perspective, I think this series is the best stuff out there for the thinking fan of military SF.

In the Heart of Darkness (1998) is the second SF alternate history novel of the Belisarius series, following An Oblique Approach. In the previous volume, Belisarius came to India to gather intelligence. He convinced Lord Venandakatra -- the Vile One -- that he was ready to work for the Malwa against Justinian, if only they would meet his price.

Belisarius also contrived to free Shakuntala, the only survivor of the Satavahana dynasty. He shared rumors with Venandakatra about the depravity of the Kushans and Venandakatra replaced her guards with Mahaveda priests and mahamimamsa torturers. Three nights later, Raghunath Rao entered the palace, slaughtered the Malwa guards, hid the princess, and led the responding troops on a merry chase.

In this novel, Belisarius is allowed to observe the siege of Ranapur from a distance, but the Rajput guards are under orders to restrict the viewing times and the viewpoint. Then Lord Harsha decrees that the siege will end on a certain date and Belisarius is taken to the Imperial Pavilion on the eastern side of the city to observe the assault.

Belisarius has already learned that the city seems to have a large amount of gunpowder, but no cannon. Now he learns that the defenders include a number of miners. He considers the possibilities and decides to inform the Malwa that the attack probably will cross tunnels packed with explosives.

First he commands his men to dismount and tells Rana Sanga -- the Rajput escort commander -- to dismount his own troops. Then the world disappears in a white flash and things start to impact his vicinity. When he crawls out from under his shield, Belisarius notices bodies, parts of bodies, and parts of parts of bodies all around him, along with various other objects.

The Ranapur defenders pour over of the destroyed walls and push their way through the dazed attackers toward the Imperial Pavilion. Belisarius shows Rana Sanga the counterattack and the Rajputs hurry toward the pavilion to protect the Malwa emperor. But Belisarius and his three bucellarii approach the befuddled survivors and direct their attention to the attacking forces.

In this story, Antonina is pretending to sell out to the Malwa agents in Constantinople. She is also priming Procopius to describe her activities as lusty and lewd. Balban -- the Malwa spymaster in Constantinople -- is certain that Antonina is coming along nicely.

Meanwhile, Irene starts working as the spymaster for Theodora, although she remains on Sittas's payroll. Antonina persuades Theodora to fund John of Rhodes in his efforts to develop gunpowder weapons. And Michael of Macedonia starts recruiting Syrian peasants to use the weapons produced by John.

This story introduces Belisarius to the Malwa emperor and takes him to the Malwa capital, where he meets Link, the penultimate enemy. Aide is still learning the limitations of his allies in this timeframe and sometimes becomes impatient with Belisarius. Yet Aide does furnish him with some concepts that might be adapted to the current technology.

This volume is obviously only a small advance in the series, but it is filled with incidents, actions and stratagems. It occupied this reviewer's attention from start to finish. Enjoy!

Highly recommended for Drake & Flint fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of alternate history, military tactics, and epic drama.

-Arthur W. Jordin

For those of you who have not read AN OBLIQUE APPROACH, I suggest you do so before reading this book. It may not be strictly necessary, but it will make the series more enjoyable for you. For followers of the series, this is a strong follow-up to the first book. Depending more on individual action than intricate battle-plans, it makes a refreshing change of pace that is still absorbing.

In this second installment of the Belisarius series, Our Hero has rescued the Empress Shakuntala and finally meets his ultimate enemy face-to-face. Link, the supercomputer from the future, lives in the body of one of the Malwa royalty. Unable to hide his true intentions from the mind-reading machine, Belisarius is forced to flee India. His African, Roman, and Indian friends split up to help confuse pursuit, and much of the book is taken up with their various escapades.

On the home front, Antonina and Theodora are dealing with treachery and treason as Malwa and Romans ally to overthrow the Emperor. Antonina has not been a sluggard while her husband was away; she is the leader of the newly formed cohort of grenadiers. Rioting in the streets, attempted assassinations, and the best efforts of the Malwa empire are no match for Belisarius and his wife, but tragedy does strike the Emperor Justinian in the end.

It's difficult to review a perfect book like this one. Every superlative in the language would merely be redundant. I was hooked from the first page and by reading the first book in the series, and watching characters who have become my friends as they work, play, hope, scheme, dream, love, hate and fight against the background of a world in the shadow of monstrous evil.

As always, Flint's people are superbly drawn, and there are scenes and times in this book I will return to again and again. This book is a treasure of graceful writing, with the battle scenes, while accurately done, not done with unnecessary nastiness.

This book is the second in a series of which four have now been published. Even so, the ending, while clearly aiming at a sequel, was as logically satisfying as a proof, and as emotionally satisfying as listening to Sarah Brightman sing.

This volume is a must have, and the last paragraph on page 302 is words I will treasure all my days. Thank you, Eric.

Belisarius is one of histories great might have beens. The last Procouncil of Rome, a military leader of great genius, as an old man he lead an untrained army to destroy an invasion of barbarians. He almost united the Roman Empire, almost.

What if.... David Drake wrote that he presented S. M. Stirling with an essay on the life of Belisarius, the series "The General" resulted. If Mr. Drake did the same with Mr. Flint, than this series would be the variation on that theme.

Happily, Mr. Flint proves to be an an excellent writer, not the same writter as M. Stirling, but his own. Stirling's strength is his physical presents. You can see his story. Mr Flint's strength is his feel, you can feel his story.

The one great weakness is that while Theodora, and, to a lesser degree, Antonia, have personalities with strengths and weaknesses, the other characters, including Belisarious, are one dimentional, few doubts, no fears, to perfect.

The story itself is! a rousing yarn, filled with action, a touch of philosophy, and an emerging conflict between the idea of "the All" versus "The One", the individual of society.

I look foward with anticipation for the next installment.

David Drake has, in essence, recreated his "The General" series in the 6th century Roman Empire (Eastern) using some well known historical figures. His use of these names in the context of the story line is very compelling and inspries a very beliveable "air" to the story-line. The use of the jewel as a guide and mentor to Belisarius through his struggles and plots is a weakness to the story, as it is all to familiar to David Drake fans. I must apploigise to Eric Flint, as I have referred to only David Drake as the author when, in fact, Mr. Flint has brought much to this story as well. A "feel" for the time period that is essencial for the story to move as fluidly as it does between the main players and sub-plots. Overall, the series is entertaining and absorbing and moves well. Each book has left me waiting for the next .

This book and its series is the achime of military sci-fi. It broadens the scope of battle beyond mere skirmishes and brings it into the full context of inter-continental warfare with a Roman era technological base that is further enhanced by a living intelligence from the future, with all the knowledge that represents. It is the mix of the old and the new, the profound and the pragmatic, and finally the just and the unjust. This is a book about evil men and their weaknesses just as it is about General Belisarius and his ability to command. This book and its series differentiate the exact facets of what makes your enemy tick and how you can use that knowledge to your advantage and your enemies' disadvantage. It logically and consistently combines such military maxims as "Peace through superior firepower", "Taking an enemy intact without a fight is the achime of battle", "The First rule of battle is that no battle plan survives contact with the enemy", and "The enemy of my enemy is my friend".

The battle with the Malwa have almost reached its head. This story features the conclusion of the Byzantine politics in Rome, for better or for worse. Every facets that Belisarius can gather is being readied for the war with Malwa. Belisarius has succeeded in his "Oblique Approach" and has set up the environment necessary to beat his enemy into obliteration. The next step will be taken by Malwa, in the "Destiny's Shield".

I like the book and the one I received was of good quality, so I'm pretty happy with it all.

In the Heart of Darkness by David Drake & Eric Flint

Belisarius, a Roman general, goes to India to spy on the Malwa. His "magic" crystal informs him that the Malwa have their own "link" to the future. His adventures as a spy, turncoat and redeemer comprise the main plot line. The subplot of his wife, Irene the spymaster and Theodora the empress provide the corollary subplots.

Flint and Drake do a great job with heroes. They paint larger than life characters with noble characteristics. They also have no problem portraying strong, butt kicking female protagonists. I enjoy the empowerment of the female characters. The portrayal of ruthlessness as both positive and negative, depending on who is using it, causes one to ponder ethics in general.

I enjoyed the book, I recommend it. It is a good series and I intend to finish it.

The second book in the series, it keeps with the quality of the first book. For the most part, everything that was good about the first book remains so here. The characters, writing (especially the battle scenes), dialogue, etc.

I am also happy to see him continue working in historical events. By the second book in a series, they have usually diverged so far from history it is hard to work in anything. The Niko revolt is an interesting bit of history and I was happy to see it in here.

The only draw back is Flint clearly has more control of the writing. The dialogue gets a little goofy in places, and the crystal which was so inhuman and alien becomes fairly human. This isn't enough to kill the book for me, but I do wish flint would tone down some of his normal style.