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Summary: Lush, Intelligent, and a damn good read!
Review: Lion's blood is the story of Aiden and Kai, two very different young men. Aiden is a white slave from Ireland and Kai is a black landowner. When Aiden and his mother are sold to Kai's family Aiden must struggle to learn the ways of his new master to help himself- and his family. Lion's blood is set in an alternate 'reality' where white Europeans, ravaged by plague remain technologically unadvanced and Africans dominate.I really enjoyed reading about Lion's blood. In particular I enjoyed the segments about Aiden and his family. While I liked Kai, I found it difficult to relate to his religious beliefs and the manner in which women are treated in the colonies, also at times Kai is a bit shallow. Dislikes? I found some elements unbelievable. I found the 'slave rebellion' and its consequences a little fantastic. Also, I never really cared that much for Sophia, although I liked the character concept her character is undefined, and she seemed to go from tough to co-dependant too quickly and her relationship with Aiden lacked spark. Finally, the Aztec campaign was a bit rushed and I didn't feel that segment was as well written as the rest of the book. Still, all criticism aside, this is an excellent series, sure to delight any fan of alternate reality fiction. A+++ work
Rating:
Summary: Great Read
Review: Lions Blood is one of the most original fantasy books that I have ever read. Barnes masterfully creates an alternative history of the New World, in which blacks are the masters and whites are the slaves. The story is wonderful in that it makes the reader really think about what the world would be like today if this was true and it draws many interesting parallels with today's society. The characters are incredibly well drawn and the story is told in great detail. The tremendous detail is wonderful most of the time. It allows the reader to delve as deeply into the story as you like without running out of detail and nuance. However, the detail does get a little tedious at times. This is a great intense book for those who like to really get involved with what they are reading.
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Summary: The first book in years to make me really think about race
Review: Lots of people have given this book glowing reviews and it deserves all of them. This is a finely written, impeccably researched, and gripping novel that has the added benefit of inviting the reader to think very hard about things he or she may not want to think about. I'm not going to get into the specifics of the book's technical merits, as others have done that just fine. As far as I can tell, the people who gave it poor reviews either had a political axe to grind (as with the gentleman who labeled the wonderful, varied, interesting dramatis personae of this book "a collection of stereotypes") or, in the case of Karen West below, are disappointed that it wasn't racist (what else would one call the wistful desire for a book that portrays one race as inherently morally superior to another?). People who object to this book on political grounds will object to any book that challenges their views on race. And, frankly, this book deals with those issues more subtly and more engagingly than any other I've read, and that includes the work of Richard Wright and Toni Morrison. It is the sort of book that, if there's any justice in the world, will be taught in high-school English classes in 20 years.
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Summary: A Very Important Book
Review: 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.
Rating: 
Summary: I felt like a Lion had drawn Blood from my eyes
Review: Perfect example of a good author telling a bad story. This story was pretty lame. The second one, "Zulu Heart" is a much better read and is no where as nearly predictable. Read "Zulu Heart" first and if you're feeling sentimental afterwards, pick up this one.
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Summary: An incredible insight of who we might've been
Review: Steve Barnes has finally written a novel that lives up to his vast potential as a truly gifted writer. Take your place among the very best, Mr. Barnes, you've made it. Developing characters as complex as the world he meticulously created for them to live in, he has once again given the reader people to care about instead of the flat, two dimensional folks who inhabit most speculative fiction. These characters behave as real living people would, going through the events of their lives. Their frailties, passions, wants and needs make them as human as the rest of us. The vast research that went into this work are displayed in the detail and history from page one. The extropolation from a single divergent point in "our" history makes this a truly wonderful work. A superb "What If?"!! I hope that he, someday, uses this work as a "franchise" and allows other writers to "play" in his world, as Larry Niven and Michael Moorcock have done. Oh, yes, REMEMBER THE ALAMO!
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Summary: Lion's Blood Is Barnes' best yet
Review: Steve Barnes has outdone himself with his latest book! It has everything that he is known for, great character development, a plot the keeps you on the edge of your seat, and more twists than a mad python. The premise of the book, that Islam from Africa becomes the dominant world religion, may seem far fetched to some, but seems very well researched. What really moved me though, is the depth which Mr. Barnes gets the reader to feel the emotions of his characters, to understand their hope, fears and dreams. It is a must read.
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Summary: Barnes continues his climb to greatness!
Review: Steven Barnes has been writing for many years but did not find his true artistic voice until he wrote the wonderful short story entitled "The Woman in the Wall". This short story appears in the highly recommended anthology named "Dark Matter" edited by Sheree R. Thomas. That was one of the most emotional short stories that I ever had the experience of reading. If you enjoy Mr. Barnes' work, you must read this story. Now he has once again created an emotional tale full of truly three-dimensional characters. "Lion's Blood" is an intellectual experiment that asks the question, What If Africans colonized America? Barnes did a great job at world building. His land of Bilalstan is made real in this novel. Barnes' research and understanding of history is shown throughout the novel. The thing that makes this novel truly great is the characters. You will go through every emotion as you follow the lives of all the different characters. I cannot wait for Mr. Barnes next piece of fiction.
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Summary: Steven's best so far - a thoughtful and entertaining book
Review: 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!
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Summary: A must-read alternate history of the American South
Review: The "point of departure" in this alternate history seems to be the ascension of Alexander the Great to the throne of Egypt (rather than dying young in Babylon.) From there, he creates an African empire that comprises two major powers, Egypt and Abyssinia (Ethiopia). Later, Mohammed's daughter Fatima flees to Abyssinia and establishes it as a Muslim stronghold. From there, Africans colonize the New World, naming it Bilalistan after a follower of Mohammed.
Later, by the 1870s, Viking raiders are selling Irish and German slaves to the blacks who live on plantations in the south. One of these slaves is Aidan, only a boy when his father is killed and he, his mother, and his twin sister are sold into slavery. Aidan ends up on the plantation of a sympathetic and enlightened noble, the Wakil, who allows his slaves to retain some vestiges of their language, culture, and religion (a mix of Druid and Christian). The Wakil's younger son, Kai, befriends Aidan and the two grow up together, until a woman comes between them. Aidan, finally with something worth fighting for, begins to chafe at the bonds of his slavery, driving a wedge further between the two friends.
Will Aidan succeed in his efforts to free himself and find the rest of his family? Will Kai, who has embraced mystic Sufism, break with his own family and denounce the practice of slavery? Can there ever be true friendship between master and slave, or is one always using the other? And why is it always war that brings men in novels together?
This is an amazing novel, both in scope and execution. Barnes manages to create a completely believable alternate history. The comparison to our own history is heightened by both similarities and differences. Barnes is not lazy enough to simply turn the black/white divide on its head; there is a complex backstory and plenty of small details to convince you of his Bilalistan as a plausible alternative to the American South.
The only weakness? The characters. Occasionally, Kai (and to a lesser extent, Aidan) seems more motivated by plot necessity than by character. His decisions to alternately befriend, alienate, and forgive Aidan are too often made based on what Barnes needs him to do, rather than what it would actually make sense for Kai to do under the circumstances. Other secondary characters are merely sketched in; I was particularly disappointed in the one-dimensional portrayal of most of the women.
Nevertheless, this is absolutely a must-read for any fan of the Civil War, Muslim and African history, or alternate history. One of the best alternate histories I've ever read, right up there with Kim Stanley Robinson's masterpiece "The Years of Rice and Salt" (highly recommended to anyone who enjoys this book).
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