Rulers of the Darkness - Hardcover

Turtledove, Harry

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0765300362 ISBN 13: 9780765300362

Publisher: Tor Books, 2002

Synopsis

Beginning with Into the Darkness, Darkness Descending, and Through the Darkness, bestselling author Harry Turtledove ("The master of alternative history"-Publishers Weekly) has been telling an epic tale: the story of a world war, comparable to the terrible world wars of our own 20th century, in a world where magic works.

Imagine the drama and terror of the Second World War-only the bullets are beams of magical fire, the tanks are great lumbering beasts, and fighters and bombers are dragons raining fire upon their targets. Welcome to the world of the Derlavaian War, a world that is slowly but surely being conquered, mile by bloody mile, by the forces of the Algarvian empire . . . forces whose most terrible battle magics are powered by the slaughter of innocent people, the Kaunians, whom Algarve-like much of the world-holds in disdain.

In this, the fourth volume of the series which began with Into the Darkness, the war for the continent of Derlavai builds toward its crescendo as the mages of Kuusamo, aided by their former rivals from Lagoas, work desperately to create a newer form of magic that will change the course of the war. But this is really a story of ordinary people-on all sides of the conflict-forced by fate to rise to their heroic limits . . . or sink to the level of their darker natures.

About this title

About the Author

Harry Turtledove is the Hugo-winning author of many SF and fantasy novels. His alternate-history novels, include the bestselling The Guns of the South, How Few Remain, the Worldwar series, and the recent Ruled Britannia. He lives with his wife and daughters in Los Angeles.

Reviews

The author of the Worldwar and Great War series displays his virtuoso command of the details of WWII in this fourth book (after 2001's Through the Darkness) about a conflict between mythical feudal kingdoms using magic instead of science as the basis for technology. Aficionados will enjoy picking out the parallels the Japan-analog Gyonghos Empire, for example, fights "the grinning dwarves of Kuusamo" (i.e., the United States). On the equivalent of the Eastern front, the German-based Algarvian Empire recovers from its losses in the frozen urban hell of Sulingen and prepares for its usual summer advance against the forces of King Swemmel of Unkerlant, leading to a replay of the battle of Kursk. Turtledove's great strength has always been the depiction of ordinary characters who have to live with the consequences of their superiors' decisions an Algarvian policeman in Forthweg objects to rounding up Kaunians, while a group of theoretical magicians must work on a thaumaturgical Manhattan Project. Alternate history derives half of its fun and all of its significance from the understanding it fosters of the ur-conflict, but when the Algarvians begin mass killings of the Kaunian minority in Forthweg to incorporate their life energies into potent sorceries against their opponents, only to be matched by Swemmel's willingness to slaughter his own peasantry for a similar magical advantage, one doesn't feel that our understanding of the Holocaust is advanced. Turtledove may offer few insights into WWII, but he sure knows how to use the facts to entertain.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

The worldwide conflict known as the Derlavaian War grinds on as the armies of the Algarvian empire sweep through country after country, using magic powered by the blood and suffering of a peace-loving captive nation. In desperation, former enemies unite against the merciless conquerors, and mages from the lands of Kuusamo and Lagoas strive to create a new kind of magic powerful enough to stand against the Algarvian might. The fourth novel in the "Darkness" series (Through the Darkness, etc.) brings Turtledove's retelling of World War II in a fantasy setting to a turning point. The author's grasp of military tactics as well as his talent for translating the accoutrements of modern warfare into fantasy equivalents makes this a standout choice for fantasy collections.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

The fourth volume of the alternate-history saga Darkness deals with the fourth year of a World War II colored by magic but fought with the same horrifying ferocity and devastating physical and psychological impact of the unmagical conflict we still recall so vividly. Kuusamo's sorcerous Manhattan Project has the potential to generate destructive energy by drawing on the past and the future, which is the same way the Algarvians use the life energy of murdered Kaunians. Meanwhile, more conventional counteroffensives against Algarve are in progress, with Unkerlant and Algarve reaching a gigantic confrontation in a battle recognizable as a re-imagining of the Battle of Kursk. One need not, however, be able to run down all of Turtledove's real-world parallels to appreciate how well he presents the human dilemmas of global warfare. Marshal Rathar hopes to have his head on his shoulders when the war is over, while Major Spinello is now a colonel wondering what happened to his cute Kaunian mistress. Ealstan and Vanai face the persecution of the Kaunians in the expectation of being parents. Pekka the theoretical sorcerer ends up heading the aforementioned Manhattan Project and coming to terms with her attraction to Lagoan colleague Fernao. The Sibian leviathan rider Cornelu and the peasant-bard-guerrilla leader Garivald both have bleak homecomings. And there is also much mixing and matching of national characteristics, which are full of surprises and for which Turtledove endows each nationality with a range of peculiar cuisines, art, sayings, stereotypes, and taboos. The end is a cliff-hanger promising even grimmer darkness in the two volumes that will conclude the saga. Forewarned is forearmed. Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Edition details

• Publisher: Tor Books
• Publication date: 2002
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0765300362
• ISBN 13: 9780765300362
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 656