Synopses & Reviews
Harry Turtledove is one of the most popular authors in SF today. His fame has risen due to books such as The Guns of the South, How Few Remain, and The Great War: The American Front. In this current series, he takes one of the most poignant times in human memory -- World War II -- and places it in a world of his own making.
Turtledove returns in this third volume to a world at war. A world where magic works, and where blood is used to power that magic. Algarvian mages slaughter thousands of Kaunian prisoners in work camps to weave powerful magic in their unrelenting desire to win the war. King Swemmel, Lord of Unkerlant, similarly destroys his own subjects in an attempt to stem the Algarvian takeover of the continent.
The scholars of Kuusamo are no closer to understanding the bloodless magic that may win the war for them -- but their time for research has grown short. Kuusamo has joined in an unsteady alliance with Lagaos and Unkerlant. No one kingdom trusts the other, but they feel safer united as one. For it is only together that they can defeat the Algarvian threat.
Review
"Turtledove's clever series impresses with its sheer scope and intricacy."
--Publishers Weekly "Turtledove ... produces a complex and richly detailed epic of war and magic that should appeal to fans of alternate history and military fantasy."
--Library Journal "Turtledove's fantastical version of World War II continues to be original and absorbing."
--Booklist
Synopsis
A young Kaunian girl is forced to remain hidden while her Forthwegian savior braves the rough, Algarvian-controlled streets to earn their keep. The scholars of Kuusamo are no closer to understanding the bloodless magic that may win the war-and time is short. Kuusamo has joined into an unsteady alliance with Lagoas and Unkerlant. No one kingdom trusts another, but they must unite, for it is only together that they can defeat the Algarvian threat.
The war is no longer confined to soldiers and sorcerers. Common folk are joining together to fight from underneath their oppressors, whether they be Algarve or Unkerlant. What those farmer soldiers lack in skill, they make up for in dedication. A dedication that will carry them . . . through the darkness.
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.