Customer Reviews

Lion's Blood: A Novel of Slavery and Freedom in an Alternate America

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Lion's Blood is a satire of race relations in this country in the latter half of the 19th century. On one hand, it is an exercise in polemics and rhetoric, but on the other, it tells an engrossing story of two boys who have a complex master-slave relationship. In many ways, it resembles an inverted Roots.

In ancient times, many Greeks, including Socrates, were attracted to Egypt, especially after a wounded Alexander claimed the throne of the Pharaoh. Alexandrian Egypt, allied with Kush, established trade routes up the Nile and into southern Africa. When Rome became a commercial and military threat, Egypt and Kush allied with Carthage and defeated Rome, which sank in obscurity. When Islam arose, Bilal, a former Abyssinian slave, saved Muhammad's daughter, Fatima, from the Prophet's enemies, carried her to Abyssinia, and married her. Fatima become an impassioned leader, second only to the Prophet himself, leading her followers on the jihad that established Islam throughout Africa.

When a plague swept through the Egyptian royalty, an Abyssinian gained the throne, giving both empires a black royalty. The plague also swept Europe, killing the bulk of the population, and leaving only small villages and scattered barbarian tribes. In 1863, the Egyptian and Abyssinian empires are the two superpowers. Egypt has colonies in Bilalistan, corresponding to the Gulf states from Alabama to southeastern Texas, but most colonists are Abyssinian or Zulu. It's just a matter of time before the colonists declare their own independence.

Aiden is an Irish boy who, along with his mother and sister, has been captured by Norse raiders. They are sold in Andalus and shipped across the Atlantic to Bilalistan. Some die, the survivors are sick, and all feel they are in hell. In Bilalistan, Aiden and his mother are sold to Dar Kush, but his sister Nessa is not. When they reach Dar Kush, the estate of the Wakil Abu Ali Jallaleddin ibn Rashid al Kush, Aiden meets the second son, Kai, and aids him in a prank that gets him switched. Kai saves him from most of the punishment and selects him as his footboy. Despite their difference in status, the boys develop a strong friendship. However, situations keep happening that bring the friendship in conflict with the master-slave relation.

This story does not pull many punches in describing the effects of chattel slavery on both master and slave. However, it dwells on the worst aspects of that institution only in passing. Barnes points out the almost universal occurrence of slavery in ancient Europe and Asia. In fact, the Norse are only slightly more energetic in slave taking in this story than their historical counterparts; the Norse role in this book parallels the role of the Zulu and other warrior tribes in Africa. Barnes is particularly harsh in his portrayal of the major Zulu character, Shaka, whom Barnes probably modeled on the historical Shaka, but the other Zulus are only slightly less fierce.

Of course, Barnes had to make choices in creating his mirror image of our timeline. He choose Islam as the major religion, probably because we know more about it, but the chances of Muhammed becoming the Prophet of Allah would seem to be rather slim. After all, Muhammed drew from Christian as well as Judaic and Zoroastrian sources for his Holy Book. In this timeline, there would be no Constantine to sanction Christianity and to establish Constantinople, there would be no Byzantine Empire to influence the Arabs, hold down the Persians, and stop the tide of Islam into Eastern Europe, and thus Christianity would be a minor religion in the Near East.

The worship of Baal, however, would likely be even more pervasive with the growth of a Carthage unhampered by Rome. Slavery in Phoenicia and her colonies was much worse than that portrayed in Lion's Blood; it involved human sacrifice, among other horrors, and was more like that practiced by the Aztecs. The slavery in this book is more a matter of economics and greed like that of the latifundia of Rome and the plantations of the American South, large commercial farms which had few mechanized tools and thus needed large numbers of human laborers. Slavery was a opportunistic solution practiced in many places and times; for example, the Nazis practiced such slavery and rumors of slavers persist around Indonesia.

This is Barnes first effort at inventing a whole new world -- well, timeline -- and it is great. The scope is larger, although the cast is still kept comfortably small. The plot is predictable, but intentionally so. He succeeded in making me see slavery from the eyes of a master and a slave and I didn't like it either way. He has the best siege sequence since the Alamo, but with survivors to tell the story; his equivalent to the "cross the line" speech was a corker! At the end, the finale was a foregone conclusion, yet still an uplifting experience.

Barnes has been growing as a writer and this novel shows his versatility. While this book may bring wider fame, I hope he also keeps writing stories with less scope but more innovative plots. Recommended to all Barnes fans and anyone who has thought seriously of the effects of slavery on this country and it's peoples.

My wife gave me a copy of "Lion's Blood" for my birthday. The premise of the book intrigued me as an African-American man. Reading the book itself was exciting because it had something for everyone. There was action, an alternate history, romance, spirituality, politics, and even my opinion social commentary. This book is most important in terms of how this nation looks at the history of slavery and the sheer absurdity of it all. I think one of the most memorable and thought provoking scenes in the book was when Aidan O'Dere and Sophia encountered the white slaves who were Muslims and had African names. These people had been disconnected from their heritage and had identified with their oppressors. It was powerful.

Lion's Blood does what good science fiction should do: It makes you think. Once someone starts to think, change can be brought about. My hat's off to Steven Barnes for creating such a compelling, well researched, action packed, socially relevant story. I look forward to the movie.

When I picked this book up for the first time and read the overlying concept - an alternative history of 19th century America where the racial aspects of slavery are reversed - I confess I thought it sounded gimmicky. Curious, however, I turned to the first page and started reading. I found the writing terrible; trying too hard, streams of unfamiliar celtic terms dumped out in a "look how hard I researched!" fashion, and an over-idyllic setting. Bleh. I put it back on the library shelf.

Oh, if only I had given it a few pages more! Fortunately, I heard enough recommendations over the next couple of years that I checked it out and gave it another try. The clearing-of-the-throat narrative voice smoothes out after a couple of chapters, and with the capture of Aiden and his family by the Northmen, I was hooked.

This is a brutal story, full of death and a message that all races have the human flaws that enable them to be cruel. But it is intelligent, too. Barnes's alternative history is not just a black-white switch, it is a layered, complicated and fascinating creation - one that lives and breathes on its own. I was especially impressed with the insights on the Islamic religion from a unique perspective. But there are also explorations into the cultures of the Aztecs, Zulus, Egyptians and the Greeks - and how they would have developed over the centuries if Rome and Europe had become a backwater.

And lastly - it's simply a good read. Perhaps a little melodramatic at times, but I ate it up. It was good entertainment. Give it a try; I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Aidan O'Dere is a happy, young, Irish child growing up in the bosom of a close and happy family. He has a strong, handsome father that he respects and admires, a beautiful mother whose strength only enhances her beauty, and a twin sister that knows his every thought. Life is good for the O'Dere family until the day that the giants known as the Northman come and invade their villiage. The Northman come in and leave nothing but destruction and heartache in their wake. They have come to take the O'Dere's and those around them to a new world, a world where freedoom is a thing of the past, and slavery will be their ball and chain.

For people who were once free, being enslaved is like having your heart ripped out. As a person, a slave is not really allowed to do anything of their own free will. Women can be conquered by anyone and families can be ripped apart. Aidan feels that he is just existing from day to day in his life as a slave. He works hard from sun up to sun down and feels as though life has dealt him an awful hand. He and his mother were purchased by The Wakil, the leader of the world that they live in. The Wakil's given name is Abu Alli Jallaleddin ibn Rashid al Kushi. The estate that is owned by The Wakil is Dar Kush. Dar Kush is the center of a lot of activity and hosts many visiters.

The Wakil has three children and among them is the youngest son Kai, an awkward, shy boy who feels that he will never live up to his father's expectations. One day Kai and Aidan meet and a long and very unlikely friendship begins. Even though Aidan is viewed by Kai as a servant, along the way their relationship develops into much more.

In Steven Barnes Lions Blood, he presents a very different perspective of slavery. Instead of Blacks being slaves as was the case in history, Barnes turns the tables and puts Blacks in charge and makes Whites the slaves. Despite this twist, the author still gets the point across that slavery of any kind is wrong. This is an excellant book and in my opinion is a book that everyone should read.

Reviewed by Simone A. Hawks

After hearing Heather Alexander's Insh'Allah CD release concert, I absolutely had to read this book. Insh'Allah is the music from the world of Lion's Blood, and the two together are truly an experience. Magnifcient, the both of them. The book grabs you from the start and doesn't let you go. (I read all 450+ pages in a single day!)

On the surface, it's a great read. But the true greatness in this book is that you can go as deep into it as you like without running out of detail and nuance. Politics, religion and race relations are turned inside out and examined minutely.

Our assumptions about ourselves are called into question as we see the "what if" entailed in the saying, "There, but for the grace of God, go I." What if the roles were reversed? What if the role of white people in the new world had been as slaves, rather than as masters? What if Islam, not Christianity had historically been the dominant religion of the prime world powers?

This book makes it easy for me, a white woman of Jewish ancestry, to relate to both the white male slave of Christian and pagan descent and the Black Muslim male master who are the central characters in the book.

But most of all, this book rings true. The "what if?" does not require any great leap of faith for suspension of disbelief. It is easy to think that yes, if that had happened, maybe this is how things would be....

I'm going to have to read it again, if I can pry it out of my family memebers' hands long enough! Note: there is quite a bit of violence and sexual content. I'd be cautious letting kids younger than about 14 read this without a lot of parental discussion of the strong themes involved. This is not a book for anyone afraid of looking at basic assumptions about race, religion and morality. It's really aimed at an adult audience.

Steven Barnes has taken a daring step with Lion's Blood. This fast-paced and compelling alternate history novel takes on issues of race, religion, loyalty, and courage. In the world of Lion's Blood, America (known in the book as Balilistan) is colonized by black muslim's, who enslave white celts. The book centers on Aidan, an enslaved celt who was ripped from his life as a child and brought to Balilistan, and Kai, the younger son of Aiden's master. The two young men are in the midst of conflict between races and serious threat from an external enemy. The book is aptly timed to look at issues that are real today.
Steve has always been an excellent storyteller. In Lion's Blood, this ability shows better than ever, and the reader moves from one captivating scene to the next. I highly recommend it!

I've followed Steve Barnes' writing for many years. He always dealt with interesting subjects in a very readable way. But with Lion's Blood he has finally hit his stride. A lot of the themes he's dealt with over his career - conflict, combat, race, and identity are still there. If anything they are more prominent.

But there's a difference this time. The writing is better. The pages keep turn themselves a little more eagerly. The themes are dealt with in a more mature and sophisticated fashion. In short, he's arrived.

When I first heard this book was going to be written I had fears that it would be a simple inversion of today's world. These fears were groundless. Barnes has done his homework. He's made a plausible, well-researched world in which to explore his ideas. It's someplace else that really is someplace else. But somewhere that we could have ended up.
I look forward eagerly to the next book

If there was any question of Steven Barnes ability to write a great novel on his own, those questions are answered by LION'S BLOOD. In this powerful work of speculative fiction, Steven Barnes creates an alternate history where Carthage destroyed Rome, and the New World has been settled by Islam. With Europe still in a tribal state (this book takes place in the mid-1800's) the conquering Islamic states have taken to the practice of importing white slaves from the barbaric (to them) European nations. One of these slaves is young Aidan O'Dere who witnesses his family torn apart and everything he knows and holds dear is ripped apart as he becomes a slave on the plantation of Dar Kush.

Through strong character development and the complexity of their social interactions, Steven Barnes has crafted an absolute winner of a novel. Combined with tremendous research and knowledge of the characters social and religous beliefs and values, makes this a book of depth and resonance that will have you turning pages and stay with you long after you have finsished it. Despite what the one reviewer stated about Steven Barnes just reversing the roles of slaves and owners, the truth is that this novel is a wonderful example about the nature of the human condition and that as Harry Turtledove states it "people are people, and chance, not skin color, makes them what and who they are." In our post 9/11 society perhaps we need to remember this a little more often. If you have the oppurtunity to read this book - don't miss it. Highest recommendation.

I have been waiting an entire year for a novel that I could get lost in. I've read a number of books in 2002, yet known of them were of the "you gotta read this" genre, Lion's Blood is. This is more than a book or a novel, it is an epic that will play with your mind and your heart. It is a love story, a story of race relations, a war story and a combined fantasy of sorts. I most confess, that being a Black American and having been raised in a society where Whites rule and Blacks are the minority, it took a while for me to formulate a mental picture of the slaves being white and the ones who live in the "big house" being black. That reverse image is so instilled within, that I had a very difficult time with the royalty and masters being black and the servants being white. Steven Barnes has done a wonderful job with this story, the writing is excellent and I would like very much to see it come to life on the big screen. A must read for the serious reader and a book to get totally lost in. I LOVED IT!!!

I've been a fan of Steven Barnes for years. However in "Lion's Blood", Barnes has created his masterpiece. The story centers around two young men, Aidin and Kai, each about the same age and each from different cultures. In this Alternate history Whites are slaves, and Blacks are the masters. One of the themes that you will see when reading Barnes solo novels (and also in some of his joint efforts) is the development of trust between people of different races. They learn to find the commonalities between them instead of focusing on the differences.
Barnes manages to decry slavery and point out the inherent evil of it without condemning those on either side as completely evil, or completely good.
Bravo Mr. Barnes.
It's been a long time since Steven has published a solo novel. This extremely well written and well researched novel is well worth the wait.