Rulers of the Darkness (World at War, Book 4) [Mass Market Paperback]

Harry Turtledove (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 18, 2003 | Series: Darkness

Magic and Destruction--On a World Scale

Imagine the drama and terror of the Second World War--only the bullets are beams of magical fire, the tanks are great lumbering beasts, and fighters and bombers are dragons raining fire upon their targets. Welcome to the world of the Derlavaian War, a world which is slowly but surely being conquered, mile by bloody mile, by the forces of the Algarvian empire...forces whose most terrible battle magics are powered by the slaughter of an innocent people. In this, the fourth volume of the series which began with Into the Darkness, the war for the continent of Derlavai builds toward its crescendo as the mages of Kuusamo, aided by their former rivals from Lagoas, work desperately to create a newer form of magic that will change the course of the war. But this is really a story of ordinary people--on all sides of the conflict--forced by fate to rise to their heroic limits...or sink to the level of their darker natures.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

The author of the Worldwar and Great War series displays his virtuoso command of the details of WWII in this fourth book (after 2001's Through the Darkness) about a conflict between mythical feudal kingdoms using magic instead of science as the basis for technology. Aficionados will enjoy picking out the parallels the Japan-analog Gyonghos Empire, for example, fights "the grinning dwarves of Kuusamo" (i.e., the United States). On the equivalent of the Eastern front, the German-based Algarvian Empire recovers from its losses in the frozen urban hell of Sulingen and prepares for its usual summer advance against the forces of King Swemmel of Unkerlant, leading to a replay of the battle of Kursk. Turtledove's great strength has always been the depiction of ordinary characters who have to live with the consequences of their superiors' decisions an Algarvian policeman in Forthweg objects to rounding up Kaunians, while a group of theoretical magicians must work on a thaumaturgical Manhattan Project. Alternate history derives half of its fun and all of its significance from the understanding it fosters of the ur-conflict, but when the Algarvians begin mass killings of the Kaunian minority in Forthweg to incorporate their life energies into potent sorceries against their opponents, only to be matched by Swemmel's willingness to slaughter his own peasantry for a similar magical advantage, one doesn't feel that our understanding of the Holocaust is advanced. Turtledove may offer few insights into WWII, but he sure knows how to use the facts to entertain.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

The worldwide conflict known as the Derlavaian War grinds on as the armies of the Algarvian empire sweep through country after country, using magic powered by the blood and suffering of a peace-loving captive nation. In desperation, former enemies unite against the merciless conquerors, and mages from the lands of Kuusamo and Lagoas strive to create a new kind of magic powerful enough to stand against the Algarvian might. The fourth novel in the "Darkness" series (Through the Darkness, etc.) brings Turtledove's retelling of World War II in a fantasy setting to a turning point. The author's grasp of military tactics as well as his talent for translating the accoutrements of modern warfare into fantasy equivalents makes this a standout choice for fantasy collections.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 704 pages
• Publisher: Tor Fantasy; First Edition edition (May 18, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765340755
• ISBN-13: 978-0765340757
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,093,236 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #38 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Science Fiction & Fantasy > Authors, A-Z > ( T ) > Turtledove, Harry

More About the Author

Harry Turtledove is the award-winning author of the alternate-history works The Man with the Iron Heart; The Guns of the South; How Few Remain (winner of the Sidewise Award for Best Novel); the Worldwar saga: In the Balance, Tilting the Balance, Upsetting the Balance, and Striking the Balance; the Colonization books: Second Contact, Down to Earth, and Aftershocks; the Great War epics: American Front, Walk in Hell, and Breakthroughs; the American Empire novels: Blood & Iron, The Center Cannot Hold, and Victorious Opposition; and the Settling Accounts series: Return Engagement, Drive to the East, The Grapple, and In at the Death. Turtledove is married to fellow novelist Laura Frankos. They have three daughters: Alison, Rachel, and Rebecca.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wizard Harry, October 25, 2002

By 

Matthew Wharmby (Wood Green, London United Kingdom) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rulers of the Darkness (The World at War, Book 4) (Hardcover)

Comprehensively defeated at Sulingen (Stalingrad), the Algarvian (German) invaders and their fairweather allies rally by springtime, but the summer offensive they are planning is blatantly obvious and culminates in 45 blistering pages of ferocious fighting as the Battle of Durrwangen (Kursk) explodes. As the Unkerlanters (Soviets) advance into Grelz (Ukraine) there is bitter vengeance for all collaborators... Falling back too are Plegmund's Brigade, a sort of Kaminski Brigade of bloodthirsty volunteers from Forthweg, whom I can easily predict razing Eoforwic (Warsaw) to the ground in the next book.
Further east (or west) in Algarvian-occupied Forthweg (Poland), bookkeeper Ealstan and his sorcerously disguised Kaunian (Jewish) wife Vanai try to keep a low profile as Vanai's people are in turn persecuted and massacred, but the deception is proving ever harder to maintain. Amid all this, corrupt Algarvian occupation cop Bembo can't seem to stifle the odd flickerings of a conscience every now and then.
As the tide of war turns against Algarve, collaborators in Valmiera (France) start to wonder whether they've backed the wrong horse (or behemoth, if you like). I see a shaven head and a tarring and feathering for Krasta in Book 7!
Transferred away from the forest front in remote western Unkrlant, a platoon of Gyongyosian infantry have a terrible secret to conceal that could exile them from their own people forever. Funny, I didn't like curried goat either.
In a magical world where trains are leyline-powered caravans, fighter-bombers are dragons and cinnabar is the oil that powers them, and where behemoths substitute for tanks and leviathans for U-boats, World War II progresses in the fourth of seven volumes, covering the equivalent of roughly February to November 1943.
I'm completely hooked and can't wait for the next one. Thankfully, Harry Turtledove is astonishingly prolific, keeping on the go not only this epic saga but the second of the American Empire trilogy at the moment (and those follow three Great War books and their prequel, and three more still to come!).
All proof that Potter's not the only wizard Harry in town.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The War Rages On!, April 15, 2002

By 

Wesley Lowe (Rochester, NY United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rulers of the Darkness (The World at War, Book 4) (Hardcover)

Even though less happened with the war in the series than I might have expected, I still considered it a worthwhile read. The stories of each of the characters were interesting and easy to follow. I know that some reviewers here complain about how nothing much happened with the war and how it is dragging on, but I think that is exactly the feeling that Turtledove wished to convey because that's exactly how the series' characters are feeling about the raging conflict about them, as though it is never going to end.

It was also interesting to see certain point of view characters interact as they meet for the first time. But I did feel that one of the characters: Cornlu, the leviathan rider, behaved a bit out of character in the end. I am also curious as to how the blossoming romance between the two mages, Pekka and Ferno, will develop.

I eagerly await the next installment of this fascinating series.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good series and a well done continuation, August 7, 2002

By 

Mark (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rulers of the Darkness (The World at War, Book 4) (Hardcover)

The Darkness series is one of those things that shouldn't work but does so anyways. The setting- a fantasy world war II sounds interesting, but it is little more then a backdrop. Harry Turtledove's works are usually based around their plots (as in the Great War series) being interesting Alternate History. Harry has managed to put his viewpoint characters in a world large enough that they can all be interesting, and just a little famaliar enough to us that we can nod knowingly and learn a little about real history. In this installement the war grinds on as Algarve begins to lose in Unkerlant, and Kuusamo and Legaos prepare their magic to invade Eastern Derlevai. The plot is little more then the backdrop for the personal tales of the characters, all of whom are well sketched out this far into the series, and therefore we feel empathy for them. It's much better done the say, The Center Cannot Hold, if less compelling, and provides a good setup for the decisive volume Jaws of Darkness, coming this April.