Rating: 
Summary: Great Beginning to what should be a great series
Review: ****
What if, sidewise fiction, alternative history -- all labels used to describe SF in which something is changed in our accepted history and the author then gets to speculate (sometimes wildly) on the results. This books falls squarely into that subgenre, and is one of the best examples of it I have ever read. In my opinion, this one is the equal of some of those by Harry Turtledove, whom some have called the current grandmaster of Alternative History. This book shows the same attention to historical detail, the same exhaustive research that makes the never-happened feel as if it is the real history, that marks Turtledove at his best. Barnes have given Turtledove a run for his money, and we, the readers, are the beneficiaries.
****
The best alternative history causes the reader to run to the encyclopedia to look up what actually happened and who these people were; this book has grabbed my imagination so much that I will be spending some time in the library to do real research on its characters and the history. Barnes has been writing for a while, but this is the first novel by him I have read. It will not be the last.Highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: A Grand Adventure!
Review: A fine tale, a grand adventure, and a rich world. I
enjoyed my visit tremendously, and very much look
forward to visiting again in the next book.Also, there's a connected sound track coming out from
Heather Alexander. I've heard some of it, and it's
wonderful. A full-sensory experience for another world! Fun!
Rating:
Summary: Profound
Review: Absolutely profound novel. No words to describe its brilliance.
Rating:
Summary: Wow. Great, gripping read
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: FREEDOM
Review: After reading "LION'S BLOOD", I now realize I don't "hate whitey." I merely dislike oppression. Read this book. Wait 3 weeks, then carefully read the "Lion's Blood" for a second time. It is worth your time to understand what other cultures feel. Barnes is a powerful and an emotional reader. Buy this book for your friends and enemies. After awhile we will a be a people who value FREEDOM!
Rating:
Summary: Slavery in a different light
Review: 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
Rating: 
Summary: Simplistic and Poorly Contrived
Review: Although it is an interesting concept to attempt to transpose the races in constructing a slave narrative, Barnes falls victim to a number of stereotypes, effectually constructing a history plagued by simplistic stereotypes. If you view his attempt at creating an alternative history, you find he has created a mere shell of a plot. He reinforces stereotypes about Africa, the Irish, and fails to create decent character development. This long, simplistic novel was an insult to my intelligence, and anyone with any semblance of intelligence will be offended by the overgeneralizations prevalent in this work. Instead of this work, I would recommend a work by his wife, Tananarive Due.
Rating: 
Summary: Slavery is bad! Gasp! Who knew?
Review: Competently written but utterly predictable story. Takes every single cliche of the plantation novel and redoes them, simply reversing the colors of master and slave. Okay read, and probably an amazing revelation if you don't know any history or haven't read many other books.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent alternative hsitory
Review: Depending on who you are the year is either 1279 or 1863. Bilalistan is divided between Aztecs mostly to the south, Zulus and Arabs in the heartland, and some Vikings to the Northeast off the ocean. The native residents fled west towards the other ocean. To work the land, ignorant barbarians taken from the continent due east toil as slaves. The coexistence between the three prime powers is turning uglier. Caught in the midst of the inevitably of war are two young boys. Slave Aidan O'Dere was taken from his Erin home while Kai is the youngest son of slavemaster Wikil Abu Ali. Though Dar Kush Plantation is known for its lenient treatment of the barbaric whites, going as far as allowing their pagan beliefs of worshipping the Son of Mary, the slaves hide their anger and humiliation. Soon due to dangerous circumstances caused by the increasing tension between the superpowers, slave Aidan and master son Wikil, though "friends" on the estate, must learn to trust one another if they are to survive. Using an incredible pivot point (Socrates fleeing Athens for Alexandria), Steven Barnes provides an amazing alternate history tale that never slows down yet makes the audience ponder events. The action packed story line contains a rich background that enables the reader to accept Mr. Barnes' premise and the occurrence of the subsequent events. LION'S BLOOD is a must read for sub-genre fans, but also historical fiction readers will want to do so too. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Lion's Blood
Review: For some reason, I stayed away from alternate history books. Yet the synopsis for this book attracted me to it. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will continue to purchase books of this genre. Barnes is a detailed writer. his research just for a fictional book was tremendous. i was happy to see he references authors such as Ivan Van Sertima. His description of war is vivid and makes me think twice about supporting conflicts. It is ugly and he pulls no punches.
I highly recommend it even if you are not into science fiction (P.S. -- i just sent a copy to a colleague in Iraq...he loves it)
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