In the Heart of Darkness		Rating
			A
	Eric Flint and David Drake
	Series	Related Books
	The Belisarius Saga	An Oblique Approach, In the Heart of Darkness, Destiny's Shield, Fortune's Stroke, The Tide of Victory, The Dance of Time

Belisarius is out of India. But he merely escaped the Malwa - he did not beat them. More, Justinian is no longer emperor. Photius, Belisarius' eight-year-old stepchild, has been raised to that position. And the Malwa have begun their invasion of Persia.

Now, now we see the true military genius of Belisarius. If the first two books were taken up mostly by intrigue and tricks, this one has actual fighting. Lots of it. And planning, of course, among other things. But there is some real military action here.

Belisarius' path is not the only one the book follows. This story is split not in two, but in three. Antonia, his wife, is also a major character as she attempts to re-establish Roman control over Alexandria in the midst of a minor uprising - and, incidentally, prepare the way for a second front against the Malwa invasion. The third part follows Shakuntala as she builds support in her resistance of the Malwa in India itself.

But Belisarius' is clearly the main plotline, and it is excellent. The tactics are risky, but outright brilliant. And realistic. Belisarius does not pull victory from his butt. No, he plans for it, and plans very well - as anyone who has read the first two books should expect. It really is a hoot to read his sections.

Another cool thing is that Aide, the crystaline entity from the future that started the whole mess, is developing a personality. He and Belisarius actually converse, and the crystal is developing a sense of humor and understanding of humanity that he lacked in earlier books. It is a wonderful example of character growth.

If you've been reading this series expecting some real action, here it is. If you like historical military fiction, read this. After reading the other two first, that is.

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