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Belisarius #5-6
Belisarius III: The Flames of Sunset
Concluding the popular Belisarius saga, with two full-length novels in one
The Tide of The creators of the monster called Link once were human, but that was distant ages in their past. Now, from the far future, they have sent their creation back to rule the Malwa Empire, then to conquer and shape the world of the sixth century A.D. into the form that will make their own foul existence possible. Those in the future who never were human have sent their own messenger to the Aide, a gleaming jewel who has come to Belisarius, the greatest general of the sixth century and perhaps any century. Between them they have forged an alliance of all the world against the evil fro the far future—and an army that can be the spear through evil’s heart.
The Dance of The Malwa and their evil have been driven back to their Indian heartland, but there they coil to strike again. Ruled by a monster from the future that is part computer and part demon, they prepare a fresh attack whose success will leave them rulers of the world—and the monster that guides the Malwa will rule the whole future. Guided by Aide, Belisarius has arrayed the forces of Mankind against the Malwa evil. There is no hope for Mankind if he fails—so he must not fail! The triumphant conclusion of the Belisarius saga.
The Tide of The creators of the monster called Link once were human, but that was distant ages in their past. Now, from the far future, they have sent their creation back to rule the Malwa Empire, then to conquer and shape the world of the sixth century A.D. into the form that will make their own foul existence possible. Those in the future who never were human have sent their own messenger to the Aide, a gleaming jewel who has come to Belisarius, the greatest general of the sixth century and perhaps any century. Between them they have forged an alliance of all the world against the evil fro the far future—and an army that can be the spear through evil’s heart.
The Dance of The Malwa and their evil have been driven back to their Indian heartland, but there they coil to strike again. Ruled by a monster from the future that is part computer and part demon, they prepare a fresh attack whose success will leave them rulers of the world—and the monster that guides the Malwa will rule the whole future. Guided by Aide, Belisarius has arrayed the forces of Mankind against the Malwa evil. There is no hope for Mankind if he fails—so he must not fail! The triumphant conclusion of the Belisarius saga.
928 pages, Hardcover
First published August 1, 2009
About the author
Eric Flint
270 books892 followersEric Flint was a New York Times bestselling American author, editor, and e-publisher. The majority of his main works were alternate history science fiction, but he also wrote humorous fantasy adventures.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
December 9, 2021
This is an eminently stupid book whose only saving grace is that large chunks of it are thoroughly skippable.
In my previous review for this series, I said the only thing that made these books worth reading were the female characters. Well, unfortunately, by the time this installment was concluded, most of those characters had been thoroughly sidelined: Irene and Shakuntula, who both despite attaining thrones, became reduced on-page to doting wives and mothers, Theodora practically written out entirely, and Sati a complete robot. The new female characters introduced were practically all carbon copies of each other: spunky, nubile teenagers, devoted to the husbands chosen for them, who like to read because they're "not like other girls." Of course, every time a female character that the narrative wants you to like is introduced, the point is sure to be made that yes, she likes to read, to the shock of all the men around her! As if female illiteracy was a universal constant or as if being able to read is the only indicator of a person's intelligence.
Multiple marriages are arranged in this book, and in every single one the women are treated like chattel, traded around and arranged for without a single consideration of what they might want. The most notorious example of this is Valentinian and Anastasius, middle-aged men, deciding for themselves that they want to marry two teenage girls they rescued out of sex slavery, and not once does the narrative depict what feelings those girls might have on the matter other than a casual "they're fine with it." Far more time is spent on their father's thoughts than their own.
Speaking of arranged marriages, the subplot of Photius and Tahmina, and the way it depicted the nascent sexual awakening of a ten-year-old child was so thoroughly offputting to read I cannot fathom why it was included in the first place. Those were easily the most uncomfortable passages in the entire book, with the exception of...
When I read that the requirement to be a vessel for Link was not only being female, but autistic, my jaw practically dropped. To take autism, a condition already belittled and harshly stereotyped for being unfeeling and subhuman, and present it as a requirement for being characters who are not only stripped of their souls and possessed by an evil supercomputer but unfailingly depicted as coldly logical, unfeeling, and eerie, is such a stunning act of ableism that I had to do a double take.
Some other minor thoughts:
Anna and Calphodius' storyline made no sense and was very uninteresting.
Really the only interesting character was Antonina.
The good guys almost always won everything and even their losses turned out all right in the end, and the bad guys were very stupid. I would have almost welcomed a downer ending because it would have proved that for all his arrogance, Belisarius wasn't unbeatable.
Boy, am I glad to be done with this.
In my previous review for this series, I said the only thing that made these books worth reading were the female characters. Well, unfortunately, by the time this installment was concluded, most of those characters had been thoroughly sidelined: Irene and Shakuntula, who both despite attaining thrones, became reduced on-page to doting wives and mothers, Theodora practically written out entirely, and Sati a complete robot. The new female characters introduced were practically all carbon copies of each other: spunky, nubile teenagers, devoted to the husbands chosen for them, who like to read because they're "not like other girls." Of course, every time a female character that the narrative wants you to like is introduced, the point is sure to be made that yes, she likes to read, to the shock of all the men around her! As if female illiteracy was a universal constant or as if being able to read is the only indicator of a person's intelligence.
Multiple marriages are arranged in this book, and in every single one the women are treated like chattel, traded around and arranged for without a single consideration of what they might want. The most notorious example of this is Valentinian and Anastasius, middle-aged men, deciding for themselves that they want to marry two teenage girls they rescued out of sex slavery, and not once does the narrative depict what feelings those girls might have on the matter other than a casual "they're fine with it." Far more time is spent on their father's thoughts than their own.
Speaking of arranged marriages, the subplot of Photius and Tahmina, and the way it depicted the nascent sexual awakening of a ten-year-old child was so thoroughly offputting to read I cannot fathom why it was included in the first place. Those were easily the most uncomfortable passages in the entire book, with the exception of...
When I read that the requirement to be a vessel for Link was not only being female, but autistic, my jaw practically dropped. To take autism, a condition already belittled and harshly stereotyped for being unfeeling and subhuman, and present it as a requirement for being characters who are not only stripped of their souls and possessed by an evil supercomputer but unfailingly depicted as coldly logical, unfeeling, and eerie, is such a stunning act of ableism that I had to do a double take.
Some other minor thoughts:
Anna and Calphodius' storyline made no sense and was very uninteresting.
Really the only interesting character was Antonina.
The good guys almost always won everything and even their losses turned out all right in the end, and the bad guys were very stupid. I would have almost welcomed a downer ending because it would have proved that for all his arrogance, Belisarius wasn't unbeatable.
Boy, am I glad to be done with this.
November 5, 2021
This is one of the finest stories have I have ever read. It's hard to imagine a series holding your attention over so many, many pages. But this one does. Literally brought me to tears at the end.
December 16, 2025
One of my favourite series. Alternative history of conquest.
Omnibus edition of 2 novels within the series.
Omnibus edition of 2 novels within the series.
November 7, 2015
Overall, I loved the whole Belisarius saga. The characters are well-developed and interesting, the story is engaging, multifaceted and clips along at a good pace and the whole idea of a clearly defined 'good vs evil' works well here, where it wouldn't in other stories. Belisarius and his wife Antonina are interesting lead characters, and the supporting cast is extensive and entertaining also, especially the 'hero' characters who are clearly modelled after those from the epics of old. Some might be put off by the near superhuman abilities of these characters, and of course it is unrealistic, but in a series where gritty realism is NOT the aim, I feel it works well. I only have two gripes, and they are very minor. Firstly, the good guys never really experience a major set back, and you never feel like they have a chance of losing. I understand that this is a narrative choice, and the author clearly wishes to depict Belisarius as an unbeatable military mastermind, but when you never feel that he can lose, there is less weight to the narrative. Secondly, with the odd very rare exception, every time a good guy does die it is due to bad luck rather than a bad decision or the skill of the enemy. Most of the major deaths occur when a character is hit by a stray bullet or cannonball, and usually the military action that they were taking part in succeeds without them anyway. This is related to the first point in that even when deaths occur, the main characters never truly fail. Furthermore, all of the enemy characters that have any ability end up fighting with the heroes in the end anyway, so the only 'true' enemy with any skill is the 'big bad' itself, Link. Despite this however, the books are still well worth a read, and I feel that my five star rating is justified. Very enjoyable.
April 15, 2010
Does anyone read these reviews? Or are we just writing for ourselves?
I have just finished the Belisarius series and was greatly impressed.
A mixture of science fiction and alternate history with a heavy dose of fantastic narrative.
Top rating in my book.
Over the series I grew to thoroughly enjoy the characters - their triumphs and failures; their successes and short comings.
And behind it all - an evil cyborg from the distant future and an equally good 'spirit' from the future.
Jump in with both feet and enjoy.
I have just finished the Belisarius series and was greatly impressed.
A mixture of science fiction and alternate history with a heavy dose of fantastic narrative.
Top rating in my book.
Over the series I grew to thoroughly enjoy the characters - their triumphs and failures; their successes and short comings.
And behind it all - an evil cyborg from the distant future and an equally good 'spirit' from the future.
Jump in with both feet and enjoy.
October 7, 2016
This was a very long, very complicated series, and it took a lot to end it. That being said, I felt like the last section of this book was cumbersome and pondering. Not much battle, a lot more strategy and tactics. It was like watching two grand masters play chess. Fine if you like chess, but if you are looking for a boxing match, this really wasn't it. The early books had a lot more action.
May 17, 2020
Shockingly Good
This is a compilation of two excellent books. The combining was kind of lazy, creating numerous formatting and layout issues. The books themselves have inconsistencies between volumes.
Irrelevant.
This is a masterful conclusion to an outstanding series of books. It is absolutely worth reading and rereading. As I have done every few years, for twenty years.
This is a compilation of two excellent books. The combining was kind of lazy, creating numerous formatting and layout issues. The books themselves have inconsistencies between volumes.
Irrelevant.
This is a masterful conclusion to an outstanding series of books. It is absolutely worth reading and rereading. As I have done every few years, for twenty years.
February 27, 2013
Didn't quite have the payoff I was expecting...but still great alt-history SF milfic
May 20, 2013
Read at least (3) times
I definitely liked the second half more than the first, but the whole thing was awesome!!
I definitely liked the second half more than the first, but the whole thing was awesome!!
October 28, 2013
Great series. Well written alternative history with a dash of sci fi ... fortunately the right balance of the two.
April 5, 2016
Read the entire series, you'll learn more about ancient India than you ever thought you would.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews