Again, a book that I read and just didn't get to reviewing. I am enjoying the fact that the Baen free ebook library enables me to try out series and authors before using a credit on them on Audible, or purchasing them some other way. Not long ago the Baen Free Radio Hour produced an audio drama of a novella based in the Belisarius Saga world. They played it over the course of four podcast episodes. The audio drama, Islands, can be found on the ebook website and was very good. I grew up with the Riders in the Sky weekly radio series and love the medium. I enjoyed the story and found the production well done. After listening to Islands, I wanted to know more about the Belisarius Saga and happened to find In the Hear of Darkness in the free library. I was disappointed that it was the 2nd book in the series, but you know what they say about looking a gift horse in the mouth. Here is a link to the Baen ebook Free Library for the book. The story was good with excellent pacing and some great action. Written in an alternate history 6th century Roman Empire made for a fun read. I'm new to David Drake, but Eric Flint wrote the last alternate history that I read, 1632. I have no doubt that there were a lot of historical facts in the book. Even though I hadn't read the first book, There was enough background that I was able to get into the story without difficulty. I could tell there was some past to the characters, but it wasn't required to enjoy the story.
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Plot: Belisarius, the brilliant general of the Roman army, has been invited to see the might of Malwa conquered India. What's difficult is that he is a there as a guest but he knows that the Malwa and the Roman Empire will eventually become enemies. What's more, he's a guest because they want him to betray his beloved empire. At home, the Malwa are busy trying to recruit others to their side, including Belisarius' wife, Antonina. While there is no question that Belisarius and his family will remain loyal to Rome, there is still the challenge to take Malwa for everything they can get before the they learn his intentions. Malwa has a wealth of gold but also new gun powder based weapons that could alter the way war is fought. It would normally be overwhelming for any soldier, but Belisarius has his Aid. A gem containing an entity from the future, Aid can speak to Belisarius and show him what other futures have down with humble beginnings that he is learning about. While being a brilliant, perhaps the most genius, tactician the world has every known Belisarius has the wisdom and folly of the future and pass at his command. But Aid has its own mission. It's looking for something and the Malwa just might have it.
My personal favorites: I really liked Belisarius' personality and resourcefulness. He was a great commander and a fun character. It was fun to try to guess the twists and turns. The plans within plans. There were also plenty of funny moments. I particularly liked Belisarius learning about why soldiers in the future dig foxholes and vowing that the very next thing they invent would be the trenching shovel. I also liked the mix of ancient and modern (or at least medieval).
Considerations: There is language in this book, but I don't remember it being distracting, perhaps the same level as the Monster Hunter books I've read. It is very important to note as well that just because modern civilization looks back to the Romans as a bright spot in the barbarism of medieval times doesn't mean they were particularly nice. There are references to torture, prostitution/rape, gruesome executions, and other things that history often overlooks. This is not to say that the book is exceedingly graphic or visceral. There were some brief graphic moments referenced in the middle of a battle that I found unnecessary. They were quite brief and the plot moved beyond them fairly quickly. There was some sensuality, but not much but it was very minimal.
The book read like a thriller with a good pace, despite the long time period. The characters were well done and I enjoyed the intrigue between the Romans and the Malwa. I will continue to look for Belisarius books and enjoy reading them as they come my way.
Plot: Belisarius, the brilliant general of the Roman army, has been invited to see the might of Malwa conquered India. What's difficult is that he is a there as a guest but he knows that the Malwa and the Roman Empire will eventually become enemies. What's more, he's a guest because they want him to betray his beloved empire. At home, the Malwa are busy trying to recruit others to their side, including Belisarius' wife, Antonina. While there is no question that Belisarius and his family will remain loyal to Rome, there is still the challenge to take Malwa for everything they can get before the they learn his intentions. Malwa has a wealth of gold but also new gun powder based weapons that could alter the way war is fought. It would normally be overwhelming for any soldier, but Belisarius has his Aid. A gem containing an entity from the future, Aid can speak to Belisarius and show him what other futures have down with humble beginnings that he is learning about. While being a brilliant, perhaps the most genius, tactician the world has every known Belisarius has the wisdom and folly of the future and pass at his command. But Aid has its own mission. It's looking for something and the Malwa just might have it.My personal favorites: I really liked Belisarius' personality and resourcefulness. He was a great commander and a fun character. It was fun to try to guess the twists and turns. The plans within plans. There were also plenty of funny moments. I particularly liked Belisarius learning about why soldiers in the future dig foxholes and vowing that the very next thing they invent would be the trenching shovel. I also liked the mix of ancient and modern (or at least medieval).
Considerations: There is language in this book, but I don't remember it being distracting, perhaps the same level as the Monster Hunter books I've read. It is very important to note as well that just because modern civilization looks back to the Romans as a bright spot in the barbarism of medieval times doesn't mean they were particularly nice. There are references to torture, prostitution/rape, gruesome executions, and other things that history often overlooks. This is not to say that the book is exceedingly graphic or visceral. There were some brief graphic moments referenced in the middle of a battle that I found unnecessary. They were quite brief and the plot moved beyond them fairly quickly. There was some sensuality, but not much but it was very minimal.
The book read like a thriller with a good pace, despite the long time period. The characters were well done and I enjoyed the intrigue between the Romans and the Malwa. I will continue to look for Belisarius books and enjoy reading them as they come my way.
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