Rating: 
Summary: Good Potboiler
Review: Reasonably well done historical fantasy in which magic is real and christianity does not exist.
Rating: 
Summary: Engaging and intriguing read that left me wanting more.
Review: Shadow of Ararat impressed me as a first novel in a genre - alternate history - that is one of my current favorites. It had many of the elements I most like in a work of epic fiction such as: Disparate plot lines of which most, but NOT all, converge in time and space Protagonists whose motivations can differ greatly from those individuals driving events and who come across as people, not icons, even when the details of their life story remain sketchy. A sense of verisimilitude that convinced this reader that the events were taking place in a different place and time, not the world of today with different costumes and names. There were elements that were not to my taste. The work is wordy in some sections, at times reading like a set description with more detail than is required about the nature of clothing worn or the texture of mud. It paints a very clear picture, but one my mind's eye could have filled in the details of from a more sparse description, and at times I found myself muttering "get on with it" when I wanted to find out where the constantly intriguing plot was going. Some descriptions gave this reader no information that aided understanding of characters or events, but only served only to this reader to establish a point of difference previously established, such as the frequent descriptions of who wore makeup and who did not. My biggest complaint is one of personal preference only. I wanted much more of the back story of how Mr. Harlan's world diverged from our own. I expect much of this will be found in the later works of the series, but I always want to know more about the point of divergence in an alternate history novel. All in all I recommend this work to lovers of epic fiction, military fiction, historical fiction, and just plain good yarns.
Rating:
Summary: A sweeping epic, rich in detail, but a bit too complex
Review: Shadow of Ararat is book 1 (of 4) in what is shaping up to be an epic in today's fantasy/sci-fi genre's. The author does an extremely fine job of detailing all surroundings, no matter how trivial, so as you can paint the best possible picture in your mind. The varying landscapes of this novel are a joy to read. The characters, for the most part, are interesting, and you soon take on a few favorites. However, some (not all) are very cliche, the same type you see over and over again in these types of novels. And a few of the names are hard to pronounce (because of thier heritage). Lastly there are soooo many characters to keep track of, it may get confusing at times who is on who's side, and who is related or connected to someone else. The novel itself is good, but what makes this very interesting is that there are multiple stories going on concurrently, and one overall 'big picture'. I found that the introduction of the book was fun and showed a lot of promise, but soon the story takes on a more lethargic tone, and it seems to take forever. Only until the last 100 pages, where once again the book picks up in action and resolves some plot lines. This is where the book is made, and now I MUST buy the second to see how things pan out. I personally would have liked to see much more involvement of the Egyptians, both in characters and in landscape. Though this is a book about the Roman Empire, a large portion of the book does not take place anywhere near Rome or Egypt, but Persia. Overall this 510 page book, probably could have been just as good, or better, by cutting out some non-essential occurences (maybe they were meant to flesh out chracters) and bringing it down to 350-375 pages.
Rating: 
Summary: Welcome to the world of "Oath of Empire!"
Review: Shadow of Ararat is the first of four books set in the "Oath of Empire" alternate history. It's a big, sweeping, book with a lot of action, romance, intrigue and boatloads of characters all on a collision course with destiny. Well, I would say that, wouldn't I? I did write it... Thanks! Thomas Harlan
Rating: 
Summary: Thin characters and little alternate history
Review: Shadow of Ararat starts out strong, but it doesn't last for the long haul. Where the story fails is not so much in the plot, but in the characterization. Mainly we follow 4 characters (Maxian, Dwyrin, Thyatis and Ahmet), though the story jumps from viewpoint to viewpoint willy-nilly. The characters however are cliched and in general not believable. Maxian - a healer - suddenly turns necromancer without a single moral scrupple (he agonizes a lot over other things, but never about becoming a necromancer). By the end of the book he has become a great sorceror/necromancer, though the book doesn't bother explaining why this is so. Dwyrin is a young mage of no interest in this story - probably a sequel character. Thyatis is a great woman leader - she constantly wonders why her troops follow her - after reading the book, I still wonder (a very unrealistic character). Ahmet is another mage, spending the entire book doing nothing with his magic until the end where he suddenly turns out to be a great sorcerer. There are many more huge gaping holes in the characterization (for all the major characters). One very irritating habit of the author is to gloss over important events - thus we will read that "they charge" and then shift viewpoint, so we never what happens when they charged (only the result, later). The same thing happens with emotional scenes or dialogues - the story gives the initial dialogue - then the story jumps, and later we get to understand that such and such have become lovers. It's a first novel, so a few of these episodes can be excused, but it's frustating to read (and seems lazy of the author). As alternate history, the story isn't much good: the reader is given no reason for the world (or why the West Roman Empire survived). The story occasionaly mixes up "historical facts"(unintentionally), though this is not too bad (even Turtledove does that). The worst part is probably Julius Caesar - who is not the least bit credible (the only thing remotely Caesarian about this character is his dalliance with females). I shudder to think what the next book will do to Alexander. All in all, this story might as well have been placed in any standard fantasy world - it certainly has very little resemblance to the real Roman world other than the names and descriptions of clothing (no scene without a description of the clothing - its a little excessive). So why do I give it 2 stars? Well, the battle scenes are ok (though a bit cinematic) when they don't jump. Some of the plot lines are interesting (though others are downright boring). Having bought this book at 50% discount I don't feel too bad about buying it - though I won't buy any of the sequels.
Rating: 
Summary: An epic fantasy about war and time of trial
Review: Some people will hate this book because of major character shifts while others will like it for the broad sweeping battle fantasy that it is. When you write a fantasy based on a major war you need to show several different view points and you need to see several different things and perspectives. In fact I would have preferred a view point character from the persian perspective. The characters are all different and very unique. Even the female leaders manage to come across as strong and independent and the male characters are also strong. Usually one or the other is week or over blown but we see a good balance. I enjoyed reading this book alot. I would like to point out that this is not an easy book to read with several different character shifts and many different sub plots but if you can keep it all straight in your head you will enjoy this book to its fullest and sink into the alternate history.
Rating:
Summary: "A Big Book is like a Big Evil"
Review: The quotation from Callimachus that is the title of this review could in this case be continued, "And Four Big Books...." Mr. Harlan has certainly accomplished a remarkable feat in producing so much prose in so short a time--indeed, he even managed to produce more than Tor would publish, which must be almost impossible. His website indicates that he had to cut over 300 pages. But don't worry, they have been preserved there....... The main value of these volumes is as a testimony to the lack of editors in publishing today. "Terbert Jordkind" has already demonstrated that, of course, but in Harlan's endless works we have more entire pages which could be omitted and whose omission would considerably strengthen the story. If you react to the first two volumes as I did, you will find yourself awash in a sea of words and eventually drowning in them. Everything is described in detail, and the book shifts from viewpoint to viewpoint like a kaleidoscope. Soon this whirring becomes a whirlwind and you will not remember, when you encounter Maxim, or Dyrwin, or whoever, for the fourth time, what he was up to when you last saw him. Mr. Harlan's gift for verbosity is not matched by a gift for clarity, so often you will not really be sure what happened at all--but, what the heck, just shrug and go on to the next hundred pages, I mean, what difference does it make? It's not as though this hash were carefully constructed. And, if you are like me, you will find yourself caring less and less, and skimming, and skipping, and then, at the end of volume II, going to the nearest large trash container, tossing both volumes into it, and thanking heaven you didn't buy all four. A picky, pedantic note: I will always wonder why Mr. Harlan called the King of Persia "Chrosoes" when the name of those two monarchs is spelled, in English, "Chosroes," (or Khosru Parviz). But then, he also uses the word "avtokrator" when he means "autocrator." Oh, well, as Pope said, a little learning is a dangerous thing. And as the Duke of Gloucester said, "Another da(r)ned, thick, square book! Always scribble, scribble, scribble! Eh! Mr. Gibbon?" Gibbon didn't deserve it, but Mr. Harlan.....
Rating:
Summary: "A Big Book is like a Big Evil"
Review: The quotation from Callimachus that is the title of this review could in this case be continued, "And Four Big Books...." Mr. Harlan has certainly accomplished a remarkable feat in producing so much prose in so short a time--indeed, he even managed to produce more than Tor would publish, which must be almost impossible. His website indicates that he had to cut over 300 pages. But don't worry, they have been preserved there....... The main value of these volumes is as a testimony to the lack of editors in publishing today. "Terbert Jordkind" has already demonstrated that, of course, but in Harlan's endless works we have more entire pages which could be omitted and whose omission would considerably strengthen the story. If you react to the first two volumes as I did, you will find yourself awash in a sea of words and eventually drowning in them. Everything is described in detail, and the book shifts from viewpoint to viewpoint like a kaleidoscope. Soon this whirring becomes a whirlwind and you will not remember, when you encounter Maxim, or Dyrwin, or whoever, for the fourth time, what he was up to when you last saw him. Mr. Harlan's gift for verbosity is not matched by a gift for clarity, so often you will not really be sure what happened at all--but, what the heck, just shrug and go on to the next hundred pages, I mean, what difference does it make? It's not as though this hash were carefully constructed. And, if you are like me, you will find yourself caring less and less, and skimming, and skipping, and then, at the end of volume II, going to the nearest large trash container, tossing both volumes into it, and thanking heaven you didn't buy all four. A picky, pedantic note: I will always wonder why Mr. Harlan called the King of Persia "Chrosoes" when the name of those two monarchs is spelled, in English, "Chosroes," (or Khosru Parviz). But then, he also uses the word "avtokrator" when he means "autocrator." Oh, well, as Pope said, a little learning is a dangerous thing. And as the Duke of Gloucester said, "Another da(r)ned, thick, square book! Always scribble, scribble, scribble! Eh! Mr. Gibbon?" Gibbon didn't deserve it, but Mr. Harlan.....
Rating:
Summary: An exciting and compelling story!
Review: The Shadow of Ararat is one part historical novel, two parts adventure story. This book is a lot of fun, and the reader quickly finds out that anything goes. Thomas Harlan's staggering creativity and attention to detail help him build a rich and complex backdrop for this exciting story. He creates a cadre of complex and compelling characters, then breathes life into them with lots of action, surprising plot twists and a spellbinding story. The book gets better and better as it goes along; it almost seems to pick up momentum by the page. You will NOT be bored by this novel. I can't wait for the next installment.
Rating: 
Summary: A waste of time!
Review: This book caught my interest because of the map on the inside covers. An alternative history with both East & West Rome still existing in the 7th century AD, with foederati states on the edges and an ancient foe - Persia - in the east: it looked good. I didn't exactly expect a masterpiece like Turtledove's "Agent of Byzantium" but neither was I prepared for a non-story. The book lacks a coherent storyline, credible characters who act instead of brooding over a fire, and - worst! - any explanation how this alternative to the actual history came into being. So in one word, this book is a disappointment - and a waste of time! Since it's the start of a series,if the writing in the following books doesn't improve dramatically they should be better avoided.
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