Rating: 
Summary: I Love Belisarius
Review: A continuation of the Belisarius saga doesn't leave much to be desired. The interplay of the characters is fascinating and wonderful.
Rating: 
Summary: Fun, but definitely not Drake's finest
Review: An entertaining plot and cast of characters. Very much the epic, with tremendous amounts of attention spent on developing subplots and character backgrounds. Still, the writing style seems very childish at times. The attempts at cuteness really take away from the telling of the story. I never expected such immature writing from David Drake. I hope this Eric Flint guy is the one behind it all.
Rating:
Summary: Belisarius keeps on getting better
Review: Finally Eric Flint and David Drake have gotten up to the big confrontation with Malwa. This was the book I was waiting for from the first 2, and it delivered with the expected sneakiness of Belisarius' plans. Though I thought some of the Indian scenes just broke up the narrative. Where I really loved this book was in how it portrayed a Justinian chastened by the knowledge of his future. Anyway, if you have any interest in Byzantium or Alternate History, this is a must-read series. Can't wait for Book 4...
Rating:
Summary: A wonderfully *large* canvas
Review: Good Morning, General Belisarius. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, will be to lead your armies against overwhelming force led by the ultimate evil. If you lose, commit suicide, for humanity will enter an age of darkness that will never lift. If you or any of your companions are caught, you will face slow death by hideous torture. This message from the future will *NOT* self-destruct because you will *need* everthing it can teach you. Good luck.With this, the third (of four so far) book in the series, the overall structure of the story is now plain. We get to watch Belisarius, his wife Antonina and their friends, like the I.M. force, begin forging a boom to lower on the Malwa. The true pleasure of this series is that it's on a much larger, far more beautiful, and incomparably better painted canvas. You don't HAVE to read the earlier books to follow the story. Eric Flint intersperses enough of a situation report into the tale that you can jump in and pretty much figure out what's going on. However, there is a lot of the fun getting to know these people over the course of several books. As seems to be his habit, Flint's writing is superb, and the people, places, time and battles are well-drawn. Again, as always, there are wonderfully memorable scenes, including one particular sequence where Antonina comes into her own. If Belisarius is a Craftsmaster of War, she is a Cook, seasoning the siege of an impregnable fortress with a dash of force and a soupcon of violence in a display of lateral thinking that left me dumbfounded, admiring, awestruck, and laughing like hell. Start to finish, this book is a pure delight, and I get to start on number four at once! I have only one complaint: I agree that - the maps could be better, since much of the ground of the story is unfamiliar to those of us who are not historians. As always, Eric, thank you for hours of reading pleasure.
Rating:
Summary: A wonderfully *large* canvas
Review: Good Morning, General Belisarius. Your mission, should you decide to accept it, will be to lead your armies against overwhelming force led by the ultimate evil. If you lose, commit suicide, for humanity will enter an age of darkness that will never lift. If you or any of your companions are caught, you will face slow death by hideous torture. This message from the future will *NOT* self-destruct because you will *need* everthing it can teach you. Good luck. With this, the third (of four so far) book in the series, the overall structure of the story is now plain. We get to watch Belisarius, his wife Antonina and their friends, like the I.M. force, begin forging a boom to lower on the Malwa. The true pleasure of this series is that it's on a much larger, far more beautiful, and incomparably better painted canvas. You don't HAVE to read the earlier books to follow the story. Eric Flint intersperses enough of a situation report into the tale that you can jump in and pretty much figure out what's going on. However, there is a lot of the fun getting to know these people over the course of several books. As seems to be his habit, Flint's writing is superb, and the people, places, time and battles are well-drawn. Again, as always, there are wonderfully memorable scenes, including one particular sequence where Antonina comes into her own. If Belisarius is a Craftsmaster of War, she is a Cook, seasoning the siege of an impregnable fortress with a dash of force and a soupcon of violence in a display of lateral thinking that left me dumbfounded, admiring, awestruck, and laughing like hell. Start to finish, this book is a pure delight, and I get to start on number four at once! I have only one complaint: I agree that - the maps could be better, since much of the ground of the story is unfamiliar to those of us who are not historians. As always, Eric, thank you for hours of reading pleasure.
Rating:
Summary: 3rd in a great series !
Review: Great, great, great book. I especially enjoy a great series since I sometimes read 2 to 3 books a week. Very engaging, the characters are real and well developed, the plot is very interesting. I generally do not go in for alternate history but this one draws me in for some reason. The paperback was dadgum hard to get a hold of. I finally bought one for $20 from one of the amazon resellers. Was in good shape !
Rating:
Summary: 3rd in a great series !
Review: Great, great, great book. I especially enjoy a great series since I sometimes read 2 to 3 books a week. Very engaging, the characters are real and well developed, the plot is very interesting. I generally do not go in for alternate history but this one draws me in for some reason. The paperback was dadgum hard to get a hold of. I finally bought one for $20 from one of the amazon resellers. Was in good shape !
Rating:
Summary: An excellent continuation to an excellent series
Review: I bought this in hardcover, and I didn't feel gypped. That alone is probably enough recommendation, given my cheapness! This book continues an excellent series, with first-class combat, some interesting political angles among the Persians, and considerable character development -- even with regard to nonhuman computers. Almost turtledovian in its historical depth, and excellent characterization. Buy it. You'll like it.
Rating:
Summary: Don't wait for the paperback
Review: I came across a novel on the Baen web page called, "1632" by an author unknown to me, Eric Flint. I read the first 21 chapters on the web page and knew that this was going to be one of the top authors in science fiction. ("1632" is like "Island in the Sea of Time" if it had been was written by Leo Frankowski.) I looked up what other books Eric Flint might have written and found this series, written with David Drake. I quickly read the first two books in the series, then had to buy the hardback of "Destiny's Shield." This is the third book in the series which began with, "An Oblique Approach." I missed reading "An Oblique Approach" when it first appeared at the book stores because I assumed it was just another pseudo historical science fiction novel. It IS set during height of the Eastern Roman Empire, in an alternate universe, but this is a GREAT pseudo historical science fiction novel. There is a certain similarity to "The General" series which David Drake also coauthored, but this is better. With "Destiny's Shield," the series just gets more interesting. I'm hooked, and now I have to wait for the next novel in the series.
Rating:
Summary: Don't wait for the paperback
Review: I came across a novel on the Baen web page called, "1632" by an author unknown to me, Eric Flint. I read the first 21 chapters on the web page and knew that this was going to be one of the top authors in science fiction. ("1632" is like "Island in the Sea of Time" if it had been was written by Leo Frankowski.) I looked up what other books Eric Flint might have written and found this series, written with David Drake. I quickly read the first two books in the series, then had to buy the hardback of "Destiny's Shield." This is the third book in the series which began with, "An Oblique Approach." I missed reading "An Oblique Approach" when it first appeared at the book stores because I assumed it was just another pseudo historical science fiction novel. It IS set during height of the Eastern Roman Empire, in an alternate universe, but this is a GREAT pseudo historical science fiction novel. There is a certain similarity to "The General" series which David Drake also coauthored, but this is better. With "Destiny's Shield," the series just gets more interesting. I'm hooked, and now I have to wait for the next novel in the series.
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