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Belisarius #1
An Oblique Approach
Only three things stand between the Malwa of northern India and their plan for eternal domination--the armies of the Byzantine Empire, a crystal oracle, and Belisarius, a warrior commander who journeys into the heart of the Malwa's empire. Reissue.
467 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published July 1, 1998
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2233 people want to read
About the author
David Drake
307 books881 followersDavid Drake is an American author of science fiction and fantasy literature. A Vietnam War veteran who has worked as a lawyer, he is now one of the major authors of the military science fiction genre.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 112 reviews
January 24, 2012
Some of the best-written trash I've ever read. Trash, by the way, is a perfectly legitimate genre. There is good trash and then there is bad trash. Never turn down the opportunity to read good trash.
This is pulpy, ridiculous, muscular, high-adventure alternate history with totally implausible science fiction trappings. In fact, "An Oblique Approach" is a horrible misnomer. They should call it, "A Shameless Approach."
I don't think this book cares at all about historical accuracy, plausibility, Orientalism, subtle drama or complex psychology. Drake and Flint play fast and loose with history, wheeling in breathtaking anachronisms. The protagonist is a 6th century Roman general fighting a 15th century war against a 13th century geopolitical landscape in defense of a Pax Romana-era vision of his homeland, with a supporting cast taken from the 18th and 17th century, lead by some kind of abstract hyper-advanced thought machine from the cold and distant future.
There are famous historical figures repurposed into wildly inappropriate cameos (Tarabai the Concubine--which is about as appropriate as Queen Elizabeth the Streetwalker) and figures of marginal relevance catapulted to the front of the narrative. The authors dabble in the culture of India and Byzantium, decorate their narratives in the pulpy trappings of Vedic tradition and African culture with all the reverence for accuracy of an Indiana Jones movie.
And I love it. It's a guilty pleasure, but it's hard not to love this book. It wouldn't work, by the way, if not for Drake's fine craftsmanship. David Drake has a gift for language and an ear for rhythm and expression. He paints vivid portraits of his characters, instills them with vigor and life. His dialogue is sharp and his descriptions imaginative. He does, however, have a tendency to slip into long passages of pure diagesis and explication, and often affects a breezy manner, glossing over narratives and telling me what I wish he'd show me.
All things considered, I enjoyed this book. Drake writes well, and the quality of his authorship is enough to re-appropriate brazen implausibilities into a distinct style
This is pulpy, ridiculous, muscular, high-adventure alternate history with totally implausible science fiction trappings. In fact, "An Oblique Approach" is a horrible misnomer. They should call it, "A Shameless Approach."
I don't think this book cares at all about historical accuracy, plausibility, Orientalism, subtle drama or complex psychology. Drake and Flint play fast and loose with history, wheeling in breathtaking anachronisms. The protagonist is a 6th century Roman general fighting a 15th century war against a 13th century geopolitical landscape in defense of a Pax Romana-era vision of his homeland, with a supporting cast taken from the 18th and 17th century, lead by some kind of abstract hyper-advanced thought machine from the cold and distant future.
There are famous historical figures repurposed into wildly inappropriate cameos (Tarabai the Concubine--which is about as appropriate as Queen Elizabeth the Streetwalker) and figures of marginal relevance catapulted to the front of the narrative. The authors dabble in the culture of India and Byzantium, decorate their narratives in the pulpy trappings of Vedic tradition and African culture with all the reverence for accuracy of an Indiana Jones movie.
And I love it. It's a guilty pleasure, but it's hard not to love this book. It wouldn't work, by the way, if not for Drake's fine craftsmanship. David Drake has a gift for language and an ear for rhythm and expression. He paints vivid portraits of his characters, instills them with vigor and life. His dialogue is sharp and his descriptions imaginative. He does, however, have a tendency to slip into long passages of pure diagesis and explication, and often affects a breezy manner, glossing over narratives and telling me what I wish he'd show me.
All things considered, I enjoyed this book. Drake writes well, and the quality of his authorship is enough to re-appropriate brazen implausibilities into a distinct style
March 26, 2010
1. This is really Eric Flint writing from David Drake's outline.
2. Compare to S.M. Stirling writing from David Drake's outline in the Raj Whitehall Series.
3. It's great stuff. Great characters, great action, interesting technology and speculation.
4. If there is a primary fault, I think it's spreading the action too thin - there are always multiple plot lines to follow (as might be expected from a multi-national war and conspiracy plotline), and I found myself wondering on occasion which bizarre foreign name connected with which part of the overall plot.
All in all, a neat series, and probably a better series than the Raj Whitehall series. I'm not sure why Belisarius wins out over Raj, as both series are based on the life and exploits of the actual Byzantine general Belisarius, but maybe Drake shaped up the outlines (Raj was published first), or maybe Flint's grasp of military fiction is superior (though Stirling also does a good job with rousing battles). At any rate, I enjoyed them both, but in the end, feel that the Belisarius series is better product.
2. Compare to S.M. Stirling writing from David Drake's outline in the Raj Whitehall Series.
3. It's great stuff. Great characters, great action, interesting technology and speculation.
4. If there is a primary fault, I think it's spreading the action too thin - there are always multiple plot lines to follow (as might be expected from a multi-national war and conspiracy plotline), and I found myself wondering on occasion which bizarre foreign name connected with which part of the overall plot.
All in all, a neat series, and probably a better series than the Raj Whitehall series. I'm not sure why Belisarius wins out over Raj, as both series are based on the life and exploits of the actual Byzantine general Belisarius, but maybe Drake shaped up the outlines (Raj was published first), or maybe Flint's grasp of military fiction is superior (though Stirling also does a good job with rousing battles). At any rate, I enjoyed them both, but in the end, feel that the Belisarius series is better product.
April 20, 2014
I had rather hoped I would hate this book. Seriously. Many years ago, when I first purchased my Kindle, I downloaded dozens of books from the Baen free library. That included the first four books in this series. Those books, along with many other free/cheap books that I downloaded around that time period, have resulted in an overwhelmingly large list of books that I’m still trying to work my way through. So I thought, if I didn’t like this book, then I could delete the other three books and make a nice little dent in my list of unread books. Of course, I could have just deleted them anyway. Nobody is forcing me to read them. But it seems like, since I have them, I should at least make the attempt. Who knows? I might really like them.
As it turned out, I really liked this book! I didn’t expect to. I enjoy science fiction, but I’ve never read anything that would be classified as military science fiction and I’m not normally interested in military-types of stories. Furthermore, as I read, I found that the military aspect was quite pronounced whereas the science fiction element was barely there at all. The science fiction element has a major underlying influence, and it wouldn’t be the same story without it, but it’s not front-and-center in the story and so at times I almost forgot about it.
But I really enjoyed the story and, most of all, the characters. Their dialogue was funny -- often laugh-out-loud funny. I cared about the characters, and was always eager to find out what would happen next. I even enjoyed the military parts, because it wasn’t just death and mayhem. There were tactics and strategies and interesting character interactions. Maybe I like military stories after all.
I sometimes felt like things were a little over-the-top. There was a lot of black-and-white in the story and not many shades of gray. Brilliant, amazing heroes of great skill. Horrible, vile villains who couldn’t see past their own evil desires and whose evil desires brought about their ultimate downfall. It also seemed like everything Belisarius did worked out exactly as he planned. Of course, he was a brilliant, amazing general of great skill. And he had brilliant, amazing allies of great skill. And he had some additional advantages as well. But I kept expecting some missteps or setbacks. The lack thereof was unrealistic enough to sometimes pull me out of the story. These are the main reasons this book didn’t get a five-star rating from me. However, despite that, I always found myself rooting for everything to go well for the heroes.
The story may be a little lacking in realism and grit and despair, but it was a very fun story and it made for a good change of pace. I’m glad I gave it a try and didn’t just delete it with the assumption that I wouldn’t like it. It looks like I won’t be deleting those other three books, either!
As it turned out, I really liked this book! I didn’t expect to. I enjoy science fiction, but I’ve never read anything that would be classified as military science fiction and I’m not normally interested in military-types of stories. Furthermore, as I read, I found that the military aspect was quite pronounced whereas the science fiction element was barely there at all. The science fiction element has a major underlying influence, and it wouldn’t be the same story without it, but it’s not front-and-center in the story and so at times I almost forgot about it.
But I really enjoyed the story and, most of all, the characters. Their dialogue was funny -- often laugh-out-loud funny. I cared about the characters, and was always eager to find out what would happen next. I even enjoyed the military parts, because it wasn’t just death and mayhem. There were tactics and strategies and interesting character interactions. Maybe I like military stories after all.
I sometimes felt like things were a little over-the-top. There was a lot of black-and-white in the story and not many shades of gray. Brilliant, amazing heroes of great skill. Horrible, vile villains who couldn’t see past their own evil desires and whose evil desires brought about their ultimate downfall. It also seemed like everything Belisarius did worked out exactly as he planned. Of course, he was a brilliant, amazing general of great skill. And he had brilliant, amazing allies of great skill. And he had some additional advantages as well. But I kept expecting some missteps or setbacks. The lack thereof was unrealistic enough to sometimes pull me out of the story. These are the main reasons this book didn’t get a five-star rating from me. However, despite that, I always found myself rooting for everything to go well for the heroes.
The story may be a little lacking in realism and grit and despair, but it was a very fun story and it made for a good change of pace. I’m glad I gave it a try and didn’t just delete it with the assumption that I wouldn’t like it. It looks like I won’t be deleting those other three books, either!
August 30, 2012
This is a review of the entire six-book alt-historical military fiction series (there does not appear to be an omnibus edition that I can attach it to, sigh).
It's very much light literature: there is a science-fictional justification for the authors' mucking about with their historical setting, but it's silly and not really very important anyway. I strongly suspect they basically went "wouldn't it be cool if we could give the great Belisarius gunpowder technology and see what he'd do with it", and then thought up this silly back-story to (a) justify this and (b) provide him with a suitable enemy (since giving a general technology and no-one to use it against would be kind of pointless).
Anyway, never mind the justifications. In 6th-century Constantinople, Belisarius is the greatest general of the Roman Empire. And he's got gunpowder. And the Malwa dynasty of India is nasty and wants to take over the world, so he'd really better stop them (they have gunpowder too). And off we go into...well, I'd almost call it a romp, except romps don't usually involve massive body-counts.
But still. There's an awful lot of fairly graphic violence, and people being killed in really unpleasant ways, and illustrations of the awfulness of the Malwa (one of their main generals is nick-named "the Vile", which pretty much tells you most of what you need to know right there). But there's also lots of noble behaviour, and codes of honour, and displays of mercy. And politicking, and intrigue, and wise-cracking (lots of wise-cracking), and geography. And loads of really great characters.
I never had any real fear that Belisarius et al might fail, or even be especially impeded in their task. And they don't and aren't. It's just not that kind of story. It's fluff. Fluff with blood and guts, yes, but fluff just the same. And it has two attributes that are relatively rare in military fiction: it has a great deal of humour, and it passes the Bechdel test.
It's very much light literature: there is a science-fictional justification for the authors' mucking about with their historical setting, but it's silly and not really very important anyway. I strongly suspect they basically went "wouldn't it be cool if we could give the great Belisarius gunpowder technology and see what he'd do with it", and then thought up this silly back-story to (a) justify this and (b) provide him with a suitable enemy (since giving a general technology and no-one to use it against would be kind of pointless).
Anyway, never mind the justifications. In 6th-century Constantinople, Belisarius is the greatest general of the Roman Empire. And he's got gunpowder. And the Malwa dynasty of India is nasty and wants to take over the world, so he'd really better stop them (they have gunpowder too). And off we go into...well, I'd almost call it a romp, except romps don't usually involve massive body-counts.
But still. There's an awful lot of fairly graphic violence, and people being killed in really unpleasant ways, and illustrations of the awfulness of the Malwa (one of their main generals is nick-named "the Vile", which pretty much tells you most of what you need to know right there). But there's also lots of noble behaviour, and codes of honour, and displays of mercy. And politicking, and intrigue, and wise-cracking (lots of wise-cracking), and geography. And loads of really great characters.
I never had any real fear that Belisarius et al might fail, or even be especially impeded in their task. And they don't and aren't. It's just not that kind of story. It's fluff. Fluff with blood and guts, yes, but fluff just the same. And it has two attributes that are relatively rare in military fiction: it has a great deal of humour, and it passes the Bechdel test.
June 8, 2024
The Belasarius series is a six-volume alternate history that pits the legions of Rome against the Malwa empire of northern India within a science fiction infrastructure of time travel and artificial intelligence. It's a vast, sprawling fantasy with many characters and enough manly derring-do to satisfy any fan of Conan. The story was devised and outlined by David Drake, a master of both military science fiction and an expert on Roman history, and the books were written by Eric Flint, who was a relatively new writer when he began the work. Drake plotted it as a trilogy, but Flint added depth and details that caused the doubled expansion. Trying to keep the historical details straight from the time-changed anachronisms became challenging, but I found the plots captivating throughout. I enjoyed checking to see which characters were fictional and which were taken from history. Flint diverged a bit from Drake's plot in the first book which caused some problems later on in the series, but it recovered quite satisfactorily. There's adventure and romance and philosophy and gritty military action and good (if occasionally rough) humor and I enjoyed it all immensely. I read the first five books back-to-back in 2001 (and the details have merged in my memory, which is why I'm using the same comments for all the book listings here), but I remember how impatient I was for the final volume and how much I enjoyed it after a five year wait. Good stuff!
November 22, 2013
Typical Eric Flint: inventive story, great storytelling.
Historical fiction in only the loosest sense of the term, An Oblique Approach uses the persons and places of the sixth century as a springboard to a fanciful, fun adventure. Along the way, Flint's protagonist (Belisarius, arguably the best field commander in history) collects the usual--for Flint fiction--band of allies and followers and takes on the world.
Unlike Guy Kay's Sarantium Mosaic series, Flint doesn't delve deeply into the complexities of Byzantium. He goes straight for the action. Oh, his characters are developed enough to be believable, but their still come off as caricatures. Flint's forte is the plot.
Two quibbles, one technical and one philosophic. First, Flint and Drake's paragraphing is so disjointed that the reader often has to stop and re-read portions just to figure out who said what to whom. That knocks the reader out of the spell of the story.
Second, Even if "Aide" provides infallible information of the history of our timeline, once events in Belisarius' time start to diverge from that history everything thereafter becomes doubtful. Especially when major battles change, or future technologies are introduced, or key players go different places and do different things. The reliability of even simple records of who was born or died when become increasingly unlikely--even natural events may eventually be altered.
A very good read.
Historical fiction in only the loosest sense of the term, An Oblique Approach uses the persons and places of the sixth century as a springboard to a fanciful, fun adventure. Along the way, Flint's protagonist (Belisarius, arguably the best field commander in history) collects the usual--for Flint fiction--band of allies and followers and takes on the world.
Unlike Guy Kay's Sarantium Mosaic series, Flint doesn't delve deeply into the complexities of Byzantium. He goes straight for the action. Oh, his characters are developed enough to be believable, but their still come off as caricatures. Flint's forte is the plot.
Two quibbles, one technical and one philosophic. First, Flint and Drake's paragraphing is so disjointed that the reader often has to stop and re-read portions just to figure out who said what to whom. That knocks the reader out of the spell of the story.
Second, Even if "Aide" provides infallible information of the history of our timeline, once events in Belisarius' time start to diverge from that history everything thereafter becomes doubtful. Especially when major battles change, or future technologies are introduced, or key players go different places and do different things. The reliability of even simple records of who was born or died when become increasingly unlikely--even natural events may eventually be altered.
A very good read.
October 5, 2022
2018 reread: Superb, one of the greatest series of novels that it has been my great pleasure to have read.
December 11, 2020
Notes:
I only found about 10% of the book to be interesting. Good concepts but awkward progression.
At least I was lucky & this is a library loan. Yay for libraries!
I only found about 10% of the book to be interesting. Good concepts but awkward progression.
At least I was lucky & this is a library loan. Yay for libraries!
March 17, 2014
Read at least (3) times
I think I read this series more than that too, but I can't remember exactly, this is at least my third time reading it though.
I talked to my dad for the first time today and cried a little during the conversation. He was... glad! I called and told me that he wants me to be happy. It's amazing feeling wanted like that. I'm still avoiding doing my homework though XD. I'm really glad I chose to read this again while I was going through this, reading about good people, being *people* doing the best they can and fighting against wickedness as well as honorable enemies was really helpful. I also was able to laugh at the funny bits!!! Thank you David Drake and Eric Flint~
I think I read this series more than that too, but I can't remember exactly, this is at least my third time reading it though.
I talked to my dad for the first time today and cried a little during the conversation. He was... glad! I called and told me that he wants me to be happy. It's amazing feeling wanted like that. I'm still avoiding doing my homework though XD. I'm really glad I chose to read this again while I was going through this, reading about good people, being *people* doing the best they can and fighting against wickedness as well as honorable enemies was really helpful. I also was able to laugh at the funny bits!!! Thank you David Drake and Eric Flint~
June 12, 2020
There's something wrong with you and your book if you're skilled enough to tackle such a ridiculous idea and do it well, but you still feel compelled to stuff in rape in such amounts it goes beyond shock value and into the "disturbing fetish normal people don't want to partake in" territory. Which apparently gets confirmed by the following books.
December 28, 2014
Okay...I know you guys are all rolling your eyes at the cover/synopsis to this book...and it is hideously nerdy and silly sounding, but since I resignedly watched the ashes of my Cool Card blow away in the wind many years ago this was a really fun and rewarding book. It combines a few genres to interesting effect, being a kind of "alternate historical science fiction" mutant beast. It's about the famous Byzantine ("Wahhh they considered and called themselves Romans and there was arguably no discernible split between the Eastern and Western Empires!!!" -Irritable history nerds, but fuck them) general Belisarius, who might be most familiar to the 21st century reader from Robert Graves' novel Count Belisarius. I have not read Mr. Graves' book as of this review, but I can confidently state that it doesn't have an advanced AI from the future enlisting Belisarius in a coming war against another AI who has turned the obscure Indian kingdom of Malwa into a giant evil empire conquering the shit out of everyone.
What is most likely a very stern-looking Belisarius complete with cool haircut. He's standing next to the out-of-frame Emperor Justinian, whom he re-conquered a lot of fallen Roman territory for, including Italy and Rome herself.
I imagine I turned off 90% of the people who read all that and fascinated the rest. If this even sounds remotely cool to you, check this out and you will probably be pleasantly surprised. And this is coming from a guy who found Flint's 1632 disappointing and often just dumb. Apparently Drake just provides the concepts and outlines or whatever, but it seems even that level of involvement was enough to tip the scales to me thoroughly enjoying a Flint book. The prose is hardly anything to write home about and the characters aren't particularly vivid but the setting, plot and action are all consistently fun and well-developed. Clearly things go hilariously ahistorical pretty quick in this series but the historical setting is convincing and consistently well-researched...as I admit remembering from 1632. A lot of it takes place in Persia and India as well, so you're not getting the usual Eurocentric look at stuff. There's even a group of Axumite (Ethiopian) dudes hanging out with the Byzantines. You're getting a pretty broad look at a part of the world that has a lot of different nations/races/cultures/whatever intersecting, which was always refreshing.
There are plenty of real people populating this book, some of which I knew and others I did not. I read this on my girlfriend's Kindle, and I was surprised when I kept using that highlighting feature to look at characters and saw that they had a historical parallel. Flint obviously knows his setting and is not just throwing out famous names like Justinian and then making up a bunch of bullshit. Or at least the bullshit he makes up is consistently credible. As far as characters go, you're definitely buying it for Belisarius. He's textbook Mary Sue with his goodguyery and unerring generalship and military brilliance as well as being an amazing swordsman, but fuck it. It was fun to watch him do his thing. A lot of this series seems like it's gonna focus heavily on military stuff, particularly concerning concepts like grand strategy, deception, arms technology and that kind of thing...stuff on the "cerebral" side of war, really. The awesome title is a big indicator. If you're into this shit (and I certainly am) BUY THIS BOOK! Flint does seem to be somewhat of an authority on all things war.
It probably helps that I was not expecting a hell of a lot from this book. The cover is hardly impressive, although it does make an effort to stick Belisarius in passable-looking Byzantine gear. It also makes it look very heavy on the sci-fi elements, which this book really isn't. There's no alien invasion or cataphracts shooting lasers or any truly outlandish shit. The AIs aren't just handing out AK-47s, it's more like they're slowly and gradually giving each side ahistorical technological advancements. Most of the time it feels like a pretty straight alternate history in which there's a war between Byzantine and Indian empires, just with cool toys. It's not a classic piece of literature, but I also hesitate to just call it "dumb fun". It's dumb fun, written well and cleverly and with detail. I guess what I'm trying to say is that people who are well-versed in their history will have their issues, but Flint did a great job of minimizing those through actually knowing some shit. Not sure I could read 3,000 pages of this series in one go but I'll certainly read the next entry at some point in the future.
What is most likely a very stern-looking Belisarius complete with cool haircut. He's standing next to the out-of-frame Emperor Justinian, whom he re-conquered a lot of fallen Roman territory for, including Italy and Rome herself.
I imagine I turned off 90% of the people who read all that and fascinated the rest. If this even sounds remotely cool to you, check this out and you will probably be pleasantly surprised. And this is coming from a guy who found Flint's 1632 disappointing and often just dumb. Apparently Drake just provides the concepts and outlines or whatever, but it seems even that level of involvement was enough to tip the scales to me thoroughly enjoying a Flint book. The prose is hardly anything to write home about and the characters aren't particularly vivid but the setting, plot and action are all consistently fun and well-developed. Clearly things go hilariously ahistorical pretty quick in this series but the historical setting is convincing and consistently well-researched...as I admit remembering from 1632. A lot of it takes place in Persia and India as well, so you're not getting the usual Eurocentric look at stuff. There's even a group of Axumite (Ethiopian) dudes hanging out with the Byzantines. You're getting a pretty broad look at a part of the world that has a lot of different nations/races/cultures/whatever intersecting, which was always refreshing.
There are plenty of real people populating this book, some of which I knew and others I did not. I read this on my girlfriend's Kindle, and I was surprised when I kept using that highlighting feature to look at characters and saw that they had a historical parallel. Flint obviously knows his setting and is not just throwing out famous names like Justinian and then making up a bunch of bullshit. Or at least the bullshit he makes up is consistently credible. As far as characters go, you're definitely buying it for Belisarius. He's textbook Mary Sue with his goodguyery and unerring generalship and military brilliance as well as being an amazing swordsman, but fuck it. It was fun to watch him do his thing. A lot of this series seems like it's gonna focus heavily on military stuff, particularly concerning concepts like grand strategy, deception, arms technology and that kind of thing...stuff on the "cerebral" side of war, really. The awesome title is a big indicator. If you're into this shit (and I certainly am) BUY THIS BOOK! Flint does seem to be somewhat of an authority on all things war.
It probably helps that I was not expecting a hell of a lot from this book. The cover is hardly impressive, although it does make an effort to stick Belisarius in passable-looking Byzantine gear. It also makes it look very heavy on the sci-fi elements, which this book really isn't. There's no alien invasion or cataphracts shooting lasers or any truly outlandish shit. The AIs aren't just handing out AK-47s, it's more like they're slowly and gradually giving each side ahistorical technological advancements. Most of the time it feels like a pretty straight alternate history in which there's a war between Byzantine and Indian empires, just with cool toys. It's not a classic piece of literature, but I also hesitate to just call it "dumb fun". It's dumb fun, written well and cleverly and with detail. I guess what I'm trying to say is that people who are well-versed in their history will have their issues, but Flint did a great job of minimizing those through actually knowing some shit. Not sure I could read 3,000 pages of this series in one go but I'll certainly read the next entry at some point in the future.
February 17, 2013
The mix of Drake's driving battlefield action and Flint's combination of deep philosophy and charming irreverence makes for a great read.
This is very much in the heroic fantasy mode with larger-than-life characters though the underpinnings are SF. On one level it’s an alternate history romp across the ancient world with rapidly evolving technology. On another it’s a philosophical essay on the very meaning of humanity.
The idea that core ‘human’ values like Freedom, Compassion, Curiosity and Love, bind us more strongly than any outward trappings of physical form or cultural custom is a common theme in Fantasy and SF and is the main reason they are my favourite genres. This series epitomises this ideal.
This is very much in the heroic fantasy mode with larger-than-life characters though the underpinnings are SF. On one level it’s an alternate history romp across the ancient world with rapidly evolving technology. On another it’s a philosophical essay on the very meaning of humanity.
The idea that core ‘human’ values like Freedom, Compassion, Curiosity and Love, bind us more strongly than any outward trappings of physical form or cultural custom is a common theme in Fantasy and SF and is the main reason they are my favourite genres. This series epitomises this ideal.
August 26, 2020
The book is so good that I probably should downgrade 5 star reviews I gave to other books earlier this year.
July 29, 2022
Couldn’t finish this book, which is definitely in the “beach read” category. It started off entertainingly, and I appreciated the authors’ genuine interest in the world of the sixth century AD, though they play fast and loose with the details whenever it suits their narrative. The alternate history premise, which involves mysterious forces from the far future intervening in the long-ago past, is fairly creative. One faction has provided some advanced (for the sixth century) knowledge to a rising new power on the Indian subcontinent called the Malwa Empire, notably the secret to making gunpowder. However, another faction lends its assistance to the person they deem best suited to opposing the Malwas, the brilliant real-world Byzantine general Belisarius, who’s the main protagonist here (with considerable fictional liberty taken). In his case, he receives “visions” from a strange crystal that an associate of his found in a cave. This isn’t a novel that takes itself very seriously; there’s lots of tongue-in-cheek humor and a spirit of good-old fashioned Indiana Jones-style pulpy adventure, starring a rag-tag crew of wisecracking heroes. It’s all comparable to some of Neal Stephenson’s historical epics, but less geeky.
So, that’s the good part. What’s not so good is the writing and the repetitiveness of the storytelling. For one thing, the authors are constantly breaking the show-don’t-tell rule. For example, there are many sequences in which some characters trade stories that the authors assure the reader are appalling or hilarious, but don’t actually SHARE any of. This basic storytelling fault happens over and over. For all the bloat of Stephenson’s novels, he’d give the reader the deets.
For another thing, all the good guys here are cast from pretty much the same mold. Each one is some combination of supreme badass warrior/cunning tactician/learned thinker/skilled linguist/possessor-of-ravenous-sexual-appetite. Over-the-top-ness can be fun in small doses, but it gets boring after a few hundred pages. Well, at least for me. (As an American, I get more than enough such fantasy from the self-presentation of my countrymen on the internet.) As for the chief villain, he’s the predictable, boring, mustache-twirling sort and his henchmen are anonymous spear carriers.
I decided to put the book down after a sequence in which a young prince is pimped out to provide his involuntary sexual services to a parade of women as part of an elaborate scheme. It’s played for laughs because ha, ha, every young lad likes sex in the end, even when it’s compelled on him after his protests, but it's a little icky -- and we never do hear how the girls involved feel about the whole experience. Also, not really the kind of thing I see people from long-ago Christian societies getting carried away with. Yeah, I could have powered through this dumb, somewhat sexist sequence had I been enjoying the novel in other respects, but I realized at that point that I was just bored of it, and had no interest in reading the rest of the series.
Oh well, one that started off promisingly, maybe even as a potential four star book, but whose flaws caught up a few hours of audiobook time in. It was unfortunate, because I liked the attention paid to some less well-known peoples of the sixth century, such as the powerful Ethiopian kingdom of Aksum.
So, that’s the good part. What’s not so good is the writing and the repetitiveness of the storytelling. For one thing, the authors are constantly breaking the show-don’t-tell rule. For example, there are many sequences in which some characters trade stories that the authors assure the reader are appalling or hilarious, but don’t actually SHARE any of. This basic storytelling fault happens over and over. For all the bloat of Stephenson’s novels, he’d give the reader the deets.
For another thing, all the good guys here are cast from pretty much the same mold. Each one is some combination of supreme badass warrior/cunning tactician/learned thinker/skilled linguist/possessor-of-ravenous-sexual-appetite. Over-the-top-ness can be fun in small doses, but it gets boring after a few hundred pages. Well, at least for me. (As an American, I get more than enough such fantasy from the self-presentation of my countrymen on the internet.) As for the chief villain, he’s the predictable, boring, mustache-twirling sort and his henchmen are anonymous spear carriers.
I decided to put the book down after a sequence in which a young prince is pimped out to provide his involuntary sexual services to a parade of women as part of an elaborate scheme. It’s played for laughs because ha, ha, every young lad likes sex in the end, even when it’s compelled on him after his protests, but it's a little icky -- and we never do hear how the girls involved feel about the whole experience. Also, not really the kind of thing I see people from long-ago Christian societies getting carried away with. Yeah, I could have powered through this dumb, somewhat sexist sequence had I been enjoying the novel in other respects, but I realized at that point that I was just bored of it, and had no interest in reading the rest of the series.
Oh well, one that started off promisingly, maybe even as a potential four star book, but whose flaws caught up a few hours of audiobook time in. It was unfortunate, because I liked the attention paid to some less well-known peoples of the sixth century, such as the powerful Ethiopian kingdom of Aksum.
November 1, 2019
I'm a little conflicted about this book. On the one hand, this was some of the best shameless tripe I've ever read. It's an alternate history in which some kind of far-future AI gets in touch with the legendary Byzantine general Beliarius, alerting him to the danger posed by a burgeoning Indian empire. There's action, battles, way-cool technological advances, intrigue, cleverness, impassioned philosophical debate, legendary assassins and a mission to rescue a captured princess. The book swings between downright hilarity and way-over-the-top purple melodrama at the drop of a hat. The history - well, there's a way to do historical inaccuracy that shows that you don't care and haven't done your homework; and there's a way to do historical inaccuracy that shows that you do care and have done all your homework, and this book fits into the latter category. In short: this book is here to give you a good time, and unlike much of the shameless tripe on the market, it succeeds brilliantly.
On the other hand, I'm not sure I'll be continuing any further with this series, because as the book continued the subject matter just got more and more prurient. Flint and Drake don't cross the line into outright explicit content; but the goings-on were such that eventually I just stopped caring for the protagonists or respecting the authors.
That's a shame, because not only does this book seem otherwise tailor-made to my interests, but I thoroughly enjoyed at least the first half and took detailed notes on some of the literary techniques used. I lay the series aside with disappointment.
On the other hand, I'm not sure I'll be continuing any further with this series, because as the book continued the subject matter just got more and more prurient. Flint and Drake don't cross the line into outright explicit content; but the goings-on were such that eventually I just stopped caring for the protagonists or respecting the authors.
That's a shame, because not only does this book seem otherwise tailor-made to my interests, but I thoroughly enjoyed at least the first half and took detailed notes on some of the literary techniques used. I lay the series aside with disappointment.
February 15, 2020
Fictionalized history, especially with military intrigue, can be fun. But this book has an awful lot of rape. Discussed or just "off camera" but a lot. Gang rape by conquering armies too. The good guys don't rape, they whore. Except the extra good main character who is totally faithful to his hot older wife (a former whore.) It's accurate to the time but still. Yikes. Several mentions of pedophilia as well.
The sci fi aspects of the series don't get fleshed out in this book. There's a magic sentient rock that tells the future.
The author goes off on so many tangents. Often we hear all about a character's life long-term, then go back to the present when none of that has happened. I guess it's the precognisent rock effect but it gets tedious.
My husband really likes this series, it's just not my cup of tea.
The sci fi aspects of the series don't get fleshed out in this book. There's a magic sentient rock that tells the future.
The author goes off on so many tangents. Often we hear all about a character's life long-term, then go back to the present when none of that has happened. I guess it's the precognisent rock effect but it gets tedious.
My husband really likes this series, it's just not my cup of tea.
August 15, 2021
I would have given this series 4 stars except the humor was heavy handed and annoying to me.
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Reread the series in 2021. I think I just accepted the heavy handed humor this time. It's a pretty enjoyable series if you ignore it and some of the repetition based upon it. Such as "mumble mumble mumble" and similar other things.
Otherwise it was quite a fun reread. I think I like it a lot more than the General series, which is vaguely a similar series in concept, even if it's kind of a reverse.
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Reread the series in 2021. I think I just accepted the heavy handed humor this time. It's a pretty enjoyable series if you ignore it and some of the repetition based upon it. Such as "mumble mumble mumble" and similar other things.
Otherwise it was quite a fun reread. I think I like it a lot more than the General series, which is vaguely a similar series in concept, even if it's kind of a reverse.
May 29, 2023
There are only a few books and series I have read in my life that I would read again. I am currently rereading this series because it is one of those rare exceptions.
I cannot recommend the Belisarius novels highly enough. If you like military history, great sweeping drama, well developed three-dimensional characters, political intrigue, quite a bit of humor, and the ultimate triumph of good over evil, this series is what you must read.
If this is the first time you are reading this series, I envy you.
I cannot recommend the Belisarius novels highly enough. If you like military history, great sweeping drama, well developed three-dimensional characters, political intrigue, quite a bit of humor, and the ultimate triumph of good over evil, this series is what you must read.
If this is the first time you are reading this series, I envy you.
July 13, 2022
Detta var nästan perfekt gladvåld, trots den misshandlade delen av den indiska historien och det faktum att nästan alla karaktärer är utbytbara mot varandra. På sitt sätt är frånvaron av karaktärisering nästan en fördel - det ger historien en lättflytande karaktär som ökar underhållningsvärdet. Ja, det var precis lagom helgläsning.
June 15, 2009
Read as an ebook. A free download from \\www.baen.com/library Baen Free Library.
August 24, 2025
I like the Byzantine history, I like Science fiction, I like fantasy, but I can't get into this book. So I had to quit after 133 pages.
December 29, 2023
I loved it. More like 4.75 stars than 5 though.
I had picked it up as a free eBook from Baen several years ago, but hadn't gotten around to reading it. With the passing of David Drake I thought I might give it a listen in remembrance of him. I rented it from the library as an audioBook to listen to in the car, but got so engrossed in it I listened to it in the house as well.
I loved the story, and the characters, especially some of the side characters, were absolutely fabulous. The reason I downgraded a quarter star is because some of the exposition regarding the jewel was a little lengthy and tedious at times. And some of the character interactions didn't ring true. But otherwise the action moved along pretty well. Belasarius was the most fleshed out character. But I absolutely loved the banter between Anastasius and Valentinian, and the commentary from the dawass "slave" Ousanas. I'm a little unclear on just how Ousanas is a slave, given the fact that he volunteered and competed to be dawass. Indentured servant maybe? It seems like he could probably leave at any time, but is simply having fun.
I curious to see where the rest of the series takes the reader. The first book was certainly fun.
The audioBook was well formatted with no issues in playback. It was kind of nice to hear the pronunciations of the various names/places before reading them, as I always end up having to correct myself when I read them first before hearing them. (Hyperbole still comes out like hyper-bowl in my head when reading.)
I had picked it up as a free eBook from Baen several years ago, but hadn't gotten around to reading it. With the passing of David Drake I thought I might give it a listen in remembrance of him. I rented it from the library as an audioBook to listen to in the car, but got so engrossed in it I listened to it in the house as well.
I loved the story, and the characters, especially some of the side characters, were absolutely fabulous. The reason I downgraded a quarter star is because some of the exposition regarding the jewel was a little lengthy and tedious at times. And some of the character interactions didn't ring true. But otherwise the action moved along pretty well. Belasarius was the most fleshed out character. But I absolutely loved the banter between Anastasius and Valentinian, and the commentary from the dawass "slave" Ousanas. I'm a little unclear on just how Ousanas is a slave, given the fact that he volunteered and competed to be dawass. Indentured servant maybe? It seems like he could probably leave at any time, but is simply having fun.
I curious to see where the rest of the series takes the reader. The first book was certainly fun.
The audioBook was well formatted with no issues in playback. It was kind of nice to hear the pronunciations of the various names/places before reading them, as I always end up having to correct myself when I read them first before hearing them. (Hyperbole still comes out like hyper-bowl in my head when reading.)
February 24, 2018
I thought I had read this previously, but I was incorrect. This is the first book in a six-volume series about Belisarius, one of history's greatest generals, and how he saved the future [although not quite the future as we know it]. It starts off with "smallish" cast of characters, which then swells a bit before shrinking, and then the cast breaks up into disparate parts to further enhance the play. I think it has pretty decent character development in it, overall. Obviously, in such a large novel, some characters get better development than others. That is okay. It covers a wide area, from Byzantium Rome eastwards to India. It is quite ambitious in its scope, in my opinion.
Belisarius apparently preferred to choose the placed of battle by creating fortified positions or further enhancing natural fortifications and forcing his opponents to come to him in order to attack him. This would help ensure his opponent's forces would be more tired, more exhausted, prior to the battle than his forces would be. It also helped ensure his opponent might be more apt to make mistakes from which he could take advantage and definitely turn the battle's tide in his favor.
There was a lot more humor in this book than I expected. I found myself smiling, chuckling, and laughing over the course of the book. It was just "little" things, where close friends were making comments back and forth to each other. There were plenty of ripostes flying back and forth which I found pretty hilarious.
I also enjoyed the introduction of various characters over the course of the novel. It helped keep the story moving along, and also provided periodic moments of humor. Ousanas was pretty hilarious, too, especially how he related to Prince Eon over the course of the novel.
I enjoyed reading this book. It was a fast read, and I realized after finishing it that it was the first time I had read it. It starts off a bit slow, but I felt that, once it got moving, it kept up a steady pace that held my interesting throughout the entire reading. I am glad that I decided to read this series fully and start over with the first book (as opposed to starting with the fourth book and finishing, then apparently reading the third book after finishing the series). It will be interesting to learn about what I missed by not reading the first three books the first time around.
Belisarius apparently preferred to choose the placed of battle by creating fortified positions or further enhancing natural fortifications and forcing his opponents to come to him in order to attack him. This would help ensure his opponent's forces would be more tired, more exhausted, prior to the battle than his forces would be. It also helped ensure his opponent might be more apt to make mistakes from which he could take advantage and definitely turn the battle's tide in his favor.
There was a lot more humor in this book than I expected. I found myself smiling, chuckling, and laughing over the course of the book. It was just "little" things, where close friends were making comments back and forth to each other. There were plenty of ripostes flying back and forth which I found pretty hilarious.
I also enjoyed the introduction of various characters over the course of the novel. It helped keep the story moving along, and also provided periodic moments of humor. Ousanas was pretty hilarious, too, especially how he related to Prince Eon over the course of the novel.
I enjoyed reading this book. It was a fast read, and I realized after finishing it that it was the first time I had read it. It starts off a bit slow, but I felt that, once it got moving, it kept up a steady pace that held my interesting throughout the entire reading. I am glad that I decided to read this series fully and start over with the first book (as opposed to starting with the fourth book and finishing, then apparently reading the third book after finishing the series). It will be interesting to learn about what I missed by not reading the first three books the first time around.
November 21, 2023
I read a later book in this series (can't remember the title now) and loved it, and I have always intended to go back and read the rest of the series. Belisarius is one of the great generals of Antiquity, famous for his use of maneuvers to consistently win battles against larger armies. In this retelling, he has the help of an alien intelligence who is trying to prepare Justinian's Rome for combat with India, which is being boosted by a different alien intelligence. This means that the tech levels are going to be rising through the series. The stirrup gets introduced early in this one. It's interesting for an historian to read because the two authors introduce a lot of historical figures and concepts, but the book itself left me feeling rather flat as Belisarius spends most of it traveling to scope out the enemy. It just wasn't exciting.
October 29, 2024
DNF. I picked this up because I really like Drake's RCN series. Anyway I quit pretty early on because of the MC. As the book story began it made the MC out to be a very cool character. That kinda went to shite all of a sudden. The MC, who for some reason married a prostitute, found out that she had been lying to him for years. She told him she was periodically visiting her sister. In actuality she was visiting a child she had with another man. Of course he was very angry. But then some religious guy who was there when he found out rebuked and shamed him for his anger. He, unbelievably, immediately got contrite and subservient.
I became disgusted and ashamed to watch a man so debase himself. No respect at all for the MC and no desire to read further.
I became disgusted and ashamed to watch a man so debase himself. No respect at all for the MC and no desire to read further.
May 29, 2019
Wow! This one was really good!
The whole concept is amazing, the combination of SF with historical accuracy was really, really good. And the humour! It isn't something I've expected in this book, but I have absolutely loved it.
I liked the characters but some of them were a bit too-perfect and sported morals that were a bit too modern. Also the changes of narration sometimes got confusing but that is only a minor gripe.
I really, really liked this book and what is even more important I am VERY EAGER to see what happens in the next volumes.
The whole concept is amazing, the combination of SF with historical accuracy was really, really good. And the humour! It isn't something I've expected in this book, but I have absolutely loved it.
I liked the characters but some of them were a bit too-perfect and sported morals that were a bit too modern. Also the changes of narration sometimes got confusing but that is only a minor gripe.
I really, really liked this book and what is even more important I am VERY EAGER to see what happens in the next volumes.
March 11, 2022
Fucking bullshit ridiculous trash.
Byzantine general is guided by a time travelling AI from the future of transhuman society to fight an Indian empire located half a world away, itself fighting on the other side of the time travelling war between gods.
Fucking stupid ass shit, that's somehow the most amazing thing ever conceived of.
Not to mention the authors know their shit. They know how to write good characters, good dialogue, good rising action. They know their history and their military theory.
It's so good that it's stupid. It's so stupid that it's good.
Byzantine general is guided by a time travelling AI from the future of transhuman society to fight an Indian empire located half a world away, itself fighting on the other side of the time travelling war between gods.
Fucking stupid ass shit, that's somehow the most amazing thing ever conceived of.
Not to mention the authors know their shit. They know how to write good characters, good dialogue, good rising action. They know their history and their military theory.
It's so good that it's stupid. It's so stupid that it's good.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2025
One of my favourite books; I've read this four or five times now. I'm always struck by the brilliant weaving of characters and historical facts. It's campy, fun, and occasionally serious. It even digs into questions about destiny and the future -- the Great Man of History theory.
Its biggest problem is the laid back writing style. There's lot of modern slang that wouldn't be out of place in an 80s action film. But I don't mind. After all, our ancestors weren't stupid. They had the same potential as us, they just knew "less".
Its biggest problem is the laid back writing style. There's lot of modern slang that wouldn't be out of place in an 80s action film. But I don't mind. After all, our ancestors weren't stupid. They had the same potential as us, they just knew "less".
January 24, 2019
There is a series of books started by Eric Flint where the good guys (Belisarius) and the bad guys (the Malawi empire in India) are assisted in warfare with help from far future information. We are seeing the historical situation (Belisarius lived from 500-565AD), and see what happens when they learn more modern technology and needs.
This book is about something mentioned in other books, where they rescue an Indian princess from the bad guys - they will need her later.
This book is about something mentioned in other books, where they rescue an Indian princess from the bad guys - they will need her later.
July 9, 2021
I like history, I like historical fiction, I like science-fiction, and sometimes I even like alternative histories - but I could not get into this book at all. The entry here says this is written by David Drake, who I have read a number of sf books by, but the cover I have says David Drake and Eric Flint and Flint's writing style just doesn't work for me. There are some sources that say the series was plotted by Drake and written by Flint, which I find very plausible.
Not recommended.
Not recommended.
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