Rating: 
Summary: I don't think so...
Review: Alternative history is a dubious genre in my mind to begin with. History I can respect. Fantasy, which is fiction summoned from the author's imagination, is respectable too. But you have to be careful with alternative history, because it has an inherent cheapness that can be grating if not handled properly. In my opinion, this has happened here.Harlan's text is inconsistent, heavy in some places, thin in others, and his dialog is weak. These flaws make the careful plots and even the clever elements take on an "oh, come on" cast. It's a little like watching one of those old 50s costume epics with Tony Curtis--"Yonda is the castle of my fadda, the caliph."
Rating:
Summary: Harlan blew it
Review: By attempting to finish this second volume you experience the same frustrating sensation than with other promising alternative histories, notably Wingrove's "Chung Kuo". All the minor weaknesses present in the fist volume grow instead of being corrected. Vacilating characters, ad hoc elements and dei-ex-machina multiply, and the plot can turn to any direction within the following page. I think that Harlan gets in trouble trying to fit a custom Islam rising in the story, then breaking his "contract" with the readers (the one that goes: let's see what would happen without all these "People of the Book" around). Vocabulary and descriptions of epic and magical scenes still great, but a 500 page book can't be made with that only.
Rating: 
Summary: Better than "Shadow of Ararat" and that was a good book!
Review: Gate of Fire is pretty terrific. The action is even better than in 'Shadow' and other than the slightly - well, silly - lesbian love scene with the tinkling of ankle bracelet bells on the beach (!), Gate of Fire has all the things you look for in a sequel - explosions! death! insanity! bands breaking up! betrayal! The author continues to mature as a writer, there are still an abundance of smarty-pants italicized words to keep the dead language mavens all giggly and happy, and the story grows more compelling with each page. New favorite character: Mohammed. Read it and you are likely to love him best too.
Rating: 
Summary: The saga wanders on...
Review: Gate of Fire is vol. 2 of Harlan's Oath of Empire series of fantasy alternate history. The plot line is given above. He makes no concession if you haven't read vol. 1 (Shadow of Ararat). Then again do you want to? I'm not sure why I've continued. His writing style is thorough but most unexciting, a bit of a drag. And so much incident of doubtful relevance (or, to what?). Where was his editor? I think I keep going on the basis of his detailed descriptions and situations of a realistically described Roman Empire of the 7th century A.D., but one where magic works. Harlan has done a great amount of historical and geographic research on the background of Rome in the Near East. I find his examination of the rise of Mohammed one of the most fascinating, and timely, aspects of the saga. This volume 2 is a transitional work. Following the war against Persia (vol. 1), people are now milling around in preparation for confrontations yet to appear. While this volume omits the long travel passages 'under the blazing sun' of the first book, it also doesn't have the climactic battles that marked a conclusion of sorts. The main characters and their companions continue but break up and shift. (Some of their backgrounds also seem to be altered.) Harlan is now developing six parallel stories, with the narrative rotating among them as among as many separate novellas, so the overall pace is slow and the pages accumulate. One new featured character is introduced (a warrior barbarian), but his place in the overall saga remains to be discovered, and is merely a distraction here. For the first time several of the main characters and story lines do begin to intersect and interact, near the end of the book. Again there are ferociously graphic scenes of hacked limbs, burning skin, and bursting eyeballs as blood-sucking black powers and gods incarnate occasionally meet our heroes in malignant conflict. It includes scenes of Vesuvius right out of eyewitness Pliny the Younger. The only light touch is Julius Caesar, now brilliantly reincarnated as a comic figure! Clearly the author has something larger in mind, but we get only glimpses of what that might be, of which theme will emerge dominant. Note: the paperback has a squashed feeling compared to the generous hardback; the maps are barely legible.
Rating: 
Summary: "The Gate of Fire" is a spectacular sequel
Review: Having read "Shadow of Ararat" and not contributed any comment, I definitely have to say something about "Gate of Fire." This is a stunning, almost overwhelming sequel to "Shadow." Considering the size of the tapestry and the many threads we were given in "Shadow," "The Gate of Fire" somehow manages to weave these ever more intricately, preserving threads we had thought cut, and adding new ones to boot. In "Gate" we are introduced to a new character in the form of Nicholas, who wields his sword Brunhilde in his service as an agent of the Empire. He soon gains a sidekick who has, shall we say, a lycanthropic aspect. Other favorite characters we had thought lost are re-introduced. Necromancy abounds-I wonder if any character we love will really stay dead for long (although one of my favorites does appear to suffer a rather permanent demise). We learn that Mohammed (one of my favorite "Shadow" characters) may really be THE Mohammed of this world (although some small details insure that he can't really be the exact analog to our world's prophet of Islam). And so the threads of Jihad are now added to the weave... There are battles a-plenty, on land and sea, both great and small. Thomas Harlan can put you in the middle of a pitched combat like no other author I know of. Each scene is captured in slow-motion detail that creates poetry from the chaos of the melee. What about rest of the cast? Maxian still seeks to save Rome, but a great tragedy of timing and misunderstanding leads to one of the more ambitious climaxes and cliffhangers I've read. The survivors of Palmyra seek vengeance. More of Thyatis' history is revealed, and she is given a mission that may be the last of her career. In Persia, dark forces stir as Dahak's purposes are further revealed. The list goes on and on. Other characters are coming into their own as well-Dyrwin proves a skilled and apt pyromancer, Shirin discovers talents of her own, Krista is torn between love and loyalty. And the goals of resurrected legends become clearer... All I can say in conclusion is this: Thomas, hurry up and finish "Storm of Heaven!"
Rating:
Summary: Action and depth
Review: I have finished the first three of the Oath of Empire books. I appreciate Harlan's style and realism. The characters are distinct and undergo believable growth and change. Dahak is a superb "bad guy" his strategies and actions are intelligent and chillingly effective. He is not without weakness but he recognizes that and adjusts accordingly. Nothing is more fun than a bad guy you respect. Overall a pleasurable and intelligent read. I got a little tired of Zoe's whining though...
Rating:
Summary: Action and depth
Review: I have finished the first three of the Oath of Empire books. I appreciate Harlan's style and realism. The characters are distinct and undergo believable growth and change. Dahak is a superb "bad guy" his strategies and actions are intelligent and chillingly effective. He is not without weakness but he recognizes that and adjusts accordingly. Nothing is more fun than a bad guy you respect. Overall a pleasurable and intelligent read. I got a little tired of Zoe's whining though...
Rating:
Summary: To Joe Ferrio
Review: I have trouble seeing how you can honestly rate the second book in a series, if you haven't read the first. Because with the feeling in your words, or lack of more to say, if you had read the first book then you'd have never picked up the second had you not liked Mr. Harlan's writing style or alternate-history choice, and there would be a bad review from you listed on his first book, not the second. And, if you truly understood a little bit more about roman culture from the time period of the Empire, you would understand a little better how constricting a space that the author has to work with as far as dialouge at certain status levels of characters. The Roman Empire was built on the blood of warriors by the swords of warriors, not on the books of scholars from the thoughts of scholars. To Everyone Else - I thoroughly enjoyed it, for many reasons both historic and fantasy.
Rating:
Summary: To Joe Ferrio
Review: I have trouble seeing how you can honestly rate the second book in a series, if you haven't read the first. Because with the feeling in your words, or lack of more to say, if you had read the first book then you'd have never picked up the second had you not liked Mr. Harlan's writing style or alternate-history choice, and there would be a bad review from you listed on his first book, not the second. And, if you truly understood a little bit more about roman culture from the time period of the Empire, you would understand a little better how constricting a space that the author has to work with as far as dialouge at certain status levels of characters. The Roman Empire was built on the blood of warriors by the swords of warriors, not on the books of scholars from the thoughts of scholars. To Everyone Else - I thoroughly enjoyed it, for many reasons both historic and fantasy.
Rating: 
Summary: Gate of Fire? -more like Gate of Contract Pressures
Review: I loved the Shadow of Ararat. While this book starts out OK, it suddenly crashes. A women previously described as a delicate little persian princess is transformed during a brief sea voyage into Xena, complete with battle cry. Harlan provides a long, drawn out, predictable scenario where Thyatis, a sort of Amazon, realizes that she is a lesbian with the ersatz Xena. The scene is complete with Harlequin Romance cliche sex. We learn that the princess is perhaps Mongolian and learned to pull a bow before she could walk. Well, neither the Mongols nor the Persians taught women to use weapons. So much for historical accuracy. In the next chapter, a previously shy egyptian boy is now using 20th century-style sarcastic names for companions( "Oh Buzzard (fill in a noun)"). This is only the second book I've ever returned because I felt the author was just turning out contractually required junk. At least there is new Terry Brooks novel due in September.
| 
