Rating: 
Summary: Very Good, different from their Other Books
Review: I read this sucker in 1.5 days, and for me, that's fast...A real page turner, with some nice surprises, and really nice changes in the same series...
I have all of their books (mostly), and I actually enjoyed this one much more than the REFORMER, the 1st book in the series.
The characters are human , in the sense we see them in many ways, not jusy military.
the story is very good, in the sense of surprises, and a really big mix of different events and inluences.
It's not as good as the Belisarius series (what is?), but better than the latter books of that series.
Also the Center/Raj conversations are in another character, not the main one, a nice change.
I enjoyed the new "companions/council" players that the General creates, a la Raj, on this world; a bit different , for sure.
I heartily recommend this Book, it's a really good read in the military sci-fi, ancients tradition. Honestly, a 3rd book would be possible, as now that the continent is "pacified", they could encounter the other continents in more developped or more "evil" states that the one they are on.
The CHOSEN was good, but pretty Final; not this one.I hope Eric Flint writes it, I love his work That's all
Jean
Rating: 
Summary: A series gone awry
Review: In this eighth book in David Drake's universe of shattered human worlds struggling to regain civilization, something has gone off track. The series has been following the formula of repeating historical battles in the far future, on exotic worlds inhabited by the struggling remnants of humanity. All the previous books were full of battles and sheer grit, with strongly drawn characters smacking the heck out of each other. The details of weaponry and battles were told in an engaging, almost educational , style and the politics were almost always more vicious and dangerous than the scenes of open warfare.
Then, in "The Reformer", the Gellert brothers were introduced. Both characters were men of action but in totally different ways, both from each other and from the "Roman" types of the earlier books. The series promised to introduce the reader to the clash of Roman with Greek cultures, as the previous books had dealt with Roman vs Arab. This is pretty exotic stuff in an age long past the days of "classical" education. The reformer was ridiculously short but layed the groundwork for another worthy series.
So what happened? I can't help wondering if Mr. Flint based this book on Mr. Drake's outline, a blured memory of Mr. Stirling's penchant for Amazon warrior women, and gallons of cheap scotch. The politics are trivial, the literary illusions are so obscure as to distract, the exposition drags on and on, the few battles have none of the energy typical of the series, and the men are idiots.
Worst of all, Adrian Gellert is transformed from an intelligent man with an amazing gift into a henpecked bit player who marries into the Kennedys.
The afterword makes some of the changes understandable. I hope the new direction of the series appeals to some demographic, somewhere, because the series is no longer good "military science fiction".
Longtime fans of the series should wait and check this one out of the library. I'm donating my copy tomarrow.
Rating: 
Summary: Roman Republic in Space--interesting
Review: Justicar Demansk knows that the ancient Confederation of Vanbert is rotten. Too many aristocrats cling to the privileges of their office, oppress the people their ancestors conquered, and battle for power. Yet, what alternative exists. To the north, a pirate kingdom threatens mayhem. To the south, barbarian tribes often raid but have never been able to stand up to the Vanbert legions. Now, though, the southern tribes are aided by Adrian Gellert--the father of Demansk's grandson and sworn enemy to Vanbert. Still, a barbarian invasion, even one with weapons from the stars, offers little help for a better life. Demansk decides that the only solution is to become a traitor to his own country--to destroy the ancient democracy/plutocracy and install himself as Tyrant. Closely echoing the last days of the Roman Republic, THE TYRANT follows the paths of these two leaders as they bring their forces to bear on the aging Vanbert confederation. Modern gunpowder-based weapons give them an advantage, and Gellert's implanted intelligences give him insights into thousands of civilizations beyond the stars, yet can two men, however powerful and advantages, overthrow thousands of years of inertia? Authors Eric Flint and David Drake deliver an exciting retelling of the last days of ancient Rome--with just enough twists to keep the reader interested. The battle sequences are well detailed and give an interesting view of how Republican-era Roman-style legions might have fared had they faced gunpowder-based weapons, or been equipped with them. From a plot perspective, the inevitable alliance between Gellert and Demansk eliminated much of the uncertainty in the outcome. Armed with modern weapons, granted insight into social sciences far beyond those in their primative planet (or in Rome) and with a completely modern sense of Economics, Demansk and Gellert are virtually unstoppable. In contrast, Caesar had to face Pompey, a general as well equipped and with as great a reputation as Caesar's. Still, although the outcome is perhaps inevitable, Flint's writing keeps the reader glued to the page to see not what will happen, but how.
Rating:
Summary: The Tyrant, a solid read..........
Review: Ok, I waited for the paperback on this one, but would not have been unhappy if I had bought it hardcover. David Drake had Eric Flint rather than S.M. Stirling as co-author, and it represents an interesting departure from the tone of the rest of the series. While it had it's fair share of blody battles, they were not the primary foccus. Rather the book followed the politics and fealings of the the main character and his family as they try to aviod the fall of Rome and skip the dark ages.
This plot basis is fully in line with the idea of Center trying to create an industrial base to rebuild the old federation that created it, so I was not thrown by it's placement in the series. It also had some nicely done historical events thrown in that fit neatly into the story.
I have to agree with other reviewers that there is never any doubt of the outcome of any of the events, so it is hard to be as engrossed in the battles as one usually would be, but I could not put the book down, so I have to recomend it. I don't think fans of 1633 will be disapointed in the charecter and plot development, and there is enough action to keep the 1632 crowd involved.
This is a great business travel book to pick up at the gift shop, start on the plane, and use to wind down in the evening. It may keep you up reading later than planned, but that's what a good read does.
Rating:
Summary: Good continuation for the series
Review: This book is a great combination of Flint and Drake. I love the strong characters fighting for the salvation of civilization. It moves along at a good pace and has several places with good laughs. I enjoyed Reformer, but I like Tyrant more. Thanks guys!
Rating:
Summary: Wrong series
Review: This book is the 8th book in the Raj Whitehall Series a.k.a. The General Series. It has nothing to do with the Belisarius Series Universe. So please don't get the 2 mixed :-) Shadow
Rating: 
Summary: It just bombs! - A sad ending for a great series
Review: What is it about the covers of the Drake/Flint books? After the absolutely stupid and misleading cover of the latest installment of the Bellisarius-series the people at Baen Books have done it again: putting a Xena-style (lightly clad) female warrior on front. So what about the content? Eric Flint has achieved an almost complete break with the storyline of "The Reformer", but has it improved the book? But compared with S.M. Stirling's handling of the same scenario Eric Flint's novel just bombs! The theme developed in The General-series by Drake/Stirling was the salvation of the remaining civilization on an isolated world by a computer and its chosen man. In the original series this was on a world with a situation like the Mediterranean in 500AD, so the main hero was the Byzantine general Belliasrius a.k.a. Raj Whitehall. In the first follow-on novel "The Chosen" it was a new world with an early 20th century setting and in the second it was first century BC Rome. The computer's chosen man was a (Greek) philosopher and his mission the prevention of imperial decline. Apparently Eric Flint had other ideas about what kind of story he wanted to tell: his main character is now a Roman who wants to seize absolute power to destroy the existing corrupt order. The "Reformer" from the latest book is just one of his instruments (with the voices of the computer and Whitehall in his brain), like all other members of his family. The real problem with the book is that it apparently wants to achieve so much - explain Rome's decline and offer an alternative like jump-starting to the middle ages and industrial revolution at the same time - but looses sight of a readable story. Sometimes it seems as if the characters are reduced to their sex life ... . So it may well be that the artist creating the cover was not so far of ... It is a sad ending for a great series. I must admit that after "1632" I had some high expectations of this novel. Well I guess after it I'll skip the hardcover and wait for the pocket edition of "1633".
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