Eric Flint - Destiny's Shield

Drake, David; David Drake

ISBN 10: 0671578723 / ISBN 13: 9780671578725

Published by A Bean Original/ Bean Books/ Published by Bean Publishing Enterprises, New York, 2000

About this Item

568 pp. Solidly bound copy with minimal external wear, crisp pages and clean text.

Seller Inventory # 2iiiDa0004b

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Eric Flint - Destiny's Shield
• Publisher: A Bean Original/ Bean Books/ Published by Bean Publishing Enterprises, New York
• Publication Date: 2000
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0671578723
• ISBN 13: 9780671578725
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Illustrator: Keith Parkinson (Cover Art)
• Printing: 1st Paperback Printi
• Condition: Very Good
• Seller catalogs:
  • Fiction-Science Fiction, Fantasy, Sci-Fi
  • Fiction-Fictional Novel, Literary Fiction & Novel

About this title

Synopsis

EVIL FROM BEYOND TIME

The Malwa Empire squats like a toad across 6th century India, commanded by ruthless men with depraved appetites. The thing from the distant future that commands them is far worse.

AN ADVISOR WITHOUT A BODY

Those who oppose the purulent Hell the Malwa will make of Earth have sent a crystal, Aide, to halt their advance. Aide holds all human knowledge -- but he cannot act by himself.

A CHAMPION FOR ALL TIMES

Count Belisarius, the greatest general of the age and perhaps of all ages, must outwit the evil empire -- and then, when there is no longer room to maneuver, to meet it sword-edge to sword-edge, because,

no matter what it costs

EVIL CANNOT BE ALLOWED TO RULE MEN!

Review

Eric Flint and David Drake's alt-history epic devoted to real-life Byzantine butt-kicker Belisarius has reached part three--Destiny's Shield--and this installment finally busts loose with some serious head-to-head. Everybody's favorite general is leading an outnumbered Roman-Persian force to check Malwa aggression in the east, forced to action by the fiends' sea-borne invasion of the Tigris-Euphrates delta and their subsequent siege of Babylon. For those unfamiliar with the series, this what-if puts the Malwa Empire in control of the Indian subcontinent thanks to diabolical assistance from across time, granting their forces superior strategy and advanced weaponry. But the ever-canny Belisarius is equal to the challenge, with no small help from a telepathic crystal named Aid that acts as both adviser and seer.

The writing tandem of Flint and Drake still proves strong--relative newcomer Flint (Mother of Demons) seems well-paired with military-SF powerhouse Drake, creator of "the meanest bunch of mercs who ever nuked a world for pay" (that'd be Hammer's Slammers, natch). The two offer up their usual dose of meticulous historical detail and realistic, mud-and-blood combat and tactics. Throw in some time-bending fun like Belisarius's "invention" of the Knights Hospitaler and phrases like "fire in the hole," and you know you're in for a good time. (Of course, if you're new to the series, check out the first book, An Oblique Approach.) --Paul Hughes