The uneasy peace between the Empire of Videssos and the nation of Makuran was crumbling. War came, and the King of Makuran lay dead on the field of battle. Worse, a power-mad minister had seized the throne and the rightful heir had disappeared. Abivard, son of a Makuran lord who also had fallen in the same battle, realized that his only hope of saving his family and his land was to find the missing heir, though that would mean he would be branded traitor and become the target of every armed man who served the usurper - and of his nation's most powerful sorcerers.
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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.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Civil War Tales,
By
This review is from: The Time of Troubles I (Bk. 1) (Hardcover)
The Time of Troubles I (2005) is an omnibus edition of the Time of Trouble fantasy series, including The Stolen Throne and Hammer and Anvil. The civilized lands around the Sailors' Sea and beyond are dominated by the Empire of Videssos, with its capital at Videssos the City. To the west is its chief competitor, the Makuran Empire with its capital in Mashiz, and to the north are the nomads of the Pardrayan Plain.Plains dwelling nomads had long ago conquered the civilized lands between the two rivers. The Makuran empire -- ruled by the King of Kings -- is a successor to that original empire. The capital in Mashiz sits far to the east of the Makuran plateau, where it can more closely oversee the land between the rivers and the Videssian Empire. In The Stolen Throne (1995), Avtokrator Likinios of Videssos is pressing the Kubratoi nomads, trying to drive them from Videssian lands. To divert the attention of the Makuraners, he bribed the Klamorth nomads north of the Makuran Empire into raiding across the Degird river into the northwestern province of Makuran. In this novel, Abivard is the son of diqhan Godarz of the Vek Rud domain. He asks for insight into the future from his local soothsayer and receives a strange foretelling. Tanshar isn't even aware that he had spoken and so cannot explain his own words. War is expected at any time. Then the red flag is brought to Vek Rud and Abivard is allowed to ride to war with his father. All the Makuran noble castes are warriors, so naturally he is excited and pleased to be going to war. Yet Peroz King of Kings loses this war. Peroz is killed, along with most of the warriors in his army. Abivard escapes death by a fluke and survives to return home. His mother Burzoe advises him to do two things: marry his betrothed Roshnani and arrange the marriage of his older sister Denak. He sends messages to both domains and both marriages are consummated. Abivard is pleased to learn that his new wife is both good looking and smart. Soon a messenger comes asking Abivard to swear allegiance to Smerdis as King of Kings. At first he is puzzled, for his father had mentioned Sharbaraz as the heir. After the messenger explains that Peroz's son had abdicated the throne, Abivard swears fealty as diqhan of Vek Rud. Denak had married Pradtak, diqhan of the Nalgis Crag domain. About a month later, Abivard receives a letter from her stating that Sharbaraz is being held prisoner at Nalgis Crag and that he claims to be the rightful King of Kings. Suddenly affairs are no longer simple. In Hammer and Anvil (1996), Avtokrator Likinios of Videssos is overthrown by one of his generals and his family is wiped out. Sharbaraz King of Kings decides to take back the lands relinquished to Likinios while punishing the usurper Genesios. In this novel, the Maniakai had been banished to Kalavria by Likinios after Sharbaraz was restored to his throne and then they had been left in exile by Genesios. The elder Maniakes is Governor of the island and the younger Maniakes is his deputy. Their residence is within the fortress above Kastavala, the main city on the island. After half a dozen years on the island, the Maniakai spot a ship heading toward the harbor and the younger Maniakes goes down to the quay to learn the news. The ship is carrying passengers, grandees from Videssos the City. They all want to talk to Maniakes the Elder. Kourikos is the spokesman for the group and also the father of the younger Maniakes's betrothed Niphone. When the elder Maniakes comes into their presence, the grandees all fall into a full proskenesis before him. They have come to ask him to overthrow Genesios and take the throne of the empire. Genesios has been a very bad Avtokrator, killing his supposed enemies right and left and ignoring the depredations of the Kubratoi and the Makuraners. He is widely hated and feared, but admired by none. The basic question is whether anyone will defend his right to the throne. Maniakes the Elder refuses to try for the throne, but he offers his son as an alternative. The grandees agree to back Maniakes the Younger for Avtokrator, but not without inner doubts. The younger Maniakes and his cousin Rhegorios sail with most of the ships and troops of Kalavria to overcome the current Avtokrator. This series takes place in the same universe as the other Videssian series. It occurs about 150 years prior to The Misplaced Legion and about 650 years before Krispos Rising. The geography is reversed and otherwise distorted and historical sites are renamed. This series presents a modified -- and enhanced -- version of actual historical events, but the character names and some relationships are changed. However, little is actually known of this period in Byzantine history, so there is plenty of room for creative expression in the dialogues. The major cultural themes in these tales differ significantly from the actual empires. For example, the Makuran religion involves four Prophets instead of a single Prophet -- i.e., Zoroaster -- and the Videssian religion has Phos -- the Sun God -- as its major deity. Still, the everyday occurrences of daily life in both empires are much the same. The first story is obviously loosely based on events in the Sassanid and Byzantine empires, probably around 590 AD, when Chosroes Abarvez was raised to the Sassanid throne. He was opposed by Bahram, an experienced general, and Chosroes fled to the Byzantine frontier. He was given asylum in Hierapolis by Emperor Maurice. Both claimants to the Sassanid throne offered concessions, yet Maurice backed Chosroes II. The Byzantine army helped restore him to the throne within a year of his flight. The second tale is more closely based on the history of the Byzantine Empire. It starts with the overthrow and murder of Maurice in 602 AD by Phokas, one of his generals. Then in 610 AD, Phokas was overthrown and Heraclius ascended to the Byzantine throne. Highly recommended for Turtledove fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of exotic cultures, military combat, and unexpected romance. -Arthur W. Jordin
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Repackaging of 2 older Videssos novels,
By
This review is from: The Time of Troubles I (Bk. 1) (Hardcover)
With this book and The Time of Troubles II, the 4-book Time of Troubles novels are being republished. Volume I contains The Stolen Throne, which is told from the Marukaner Abivard's point of view, and Hammer and Anvil, which moves to the Videssian Empire six years later. Abivard starts off his novel as a diqhan, a landholder in the frontier area, who ends up helping the rightful King of Marukan regain his throne. In order to defeat the usurping King, Abivard must join forces with the Emperor of Videssos, and a price will be paid for that cooperation.Hammer and Anvil has protagonist Maniakes, who leads an insurrection against the bloodthirsty Videssian Emperor (who gained the throne by murdering the previous Emperor, the very one who helped Abivard in the previous novel). Once again the books closely follow the history of the Byzantine Empire, with magic overlayed here and there. This is the same formula, history meets fantasy, used in the Darkness series (which retold World War II as a sword and sorcery epic) and the Peachtree trilogy (The US Civil War). Turtledove, as always, does it well. I can't give the book (the two novels) five stars because the characters are too similar to Turtledove's other heroes: logical-thinking straight-talking types married to women much like themselves. The characters observe repeatedly that war kills people, that women do battle in the birthing bed, and that people are people the world over. The books are enjoyable but don't make the leap to profound.
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