Part of the Belisarius Series
This is the fourth in the series. Belisarius was the real life general of the Byzantine Empire under Justinian 1 and Belisarius was known for his strategic skill against the Persians and the conquest of Rome against the Vandals. In this series Belisarius is the strategos of Rome (Byzantine Empire). The world has been infiltrated by an intelligence from the future known as Link, who is trying to sow disorder into the future of human history by changing the world in the 5th Century AD. Link has chosen the Indian kingdom of Malwa as its instrument, and the Malwa embark on a campaign to conquer the civilized world, starting with India, then Persia, then Rome. The opponents of Link have sent another intelligence called Aide, which has taken on the form of a crystal that is in Belisarius' possession.
The first book, AnObliqueApproach?, begins with the introduction of Aide through a monk as Aide shows some of the major charecters the future of a world conquered by the Malwa. Then the real life battle of Dara with the Persians, which was won by Belisarius in real life.
The second book, InTheHeartOfDarkness?, follows Belisarius into India where he and Aide determine that Link is in fact guiding the Malwa while his wife, Antonia, is countering treachury in Constantinople, which cluminates in the Nika Riots (also a real event) where Belisarius returns in time to stop a coup. In the meantime, Belisarius lays the seeds of rebellion in eastern India.
The third book, DestinysShield?, has the Malwa and her allies invade Persia so Belisarius leads an army to assist while Antonia goes to Egypt to prepare a second front against the Malwa.
In Fortune's Stroke, Belisarius contines the fight against the Malwa in Persia while the second front is dominated by the Ethiopia, which is a regional power and allies of Rome and Persia. In addition, the east India rebellion is taking hold.
In the progression of the series, Belisarius finally engages his first peer among the Malwa, Rana Sanga, who happens to be part of a race that is subject to the Malwa. The Raputs are a proud race, with a high view of honor who had been conquered by the Malwa and their more barbaric vassels, the Yentai, and subjugated by oaths of loyalty.
The obvious impact of Link and Aide's presence is that both are aware of how events in history occured, in particular weapons and tactics. Therefore, both sides now have gunpowder (although the Malwa through Link have it first, for reasons I'll explain later) and both sides have complete of military history with its tactics and strategy. The one thing that is very different is the relationship they have with their hosts. Link controls the Malwa Court by taking over a woman to be his voice. Aide is just that, an aide to Belisarius. Another major difference in the two sides is their ability to harness technology. While Link, with fewer scruples and the advantage of a central control, introduces technology first, Roman artisans are better than Indian (or Persian for that matter) artisan's and are able to field more elegant, better controlled versions of the same. And this is the core theme of the book.
The character of Belisarius has a saying, war is an art. While he (through Aide) and Link may share the same technology and historical knowledge base, Belisarius is a craftsman plying his trade. While Link and the Malwa may rely on brute force, Aide counters by letting Belisarius and the Romans determine their strategy as they go along. This leads to numerous cases of Belisarius and the Romans defeating their opponents through the use of oblique strategies that surprise their opponents, And the fact that Aide (and the Romans) see people as creative, independent and adaptable will be what enables the Romans to subdue the Malwa. There are few exceptions, such as Rana Sanga, but the Malwa general have the advantage in numbers, strength, and sheer determination and viciousness which is countered by Roman ingenuity. A flaw in the book is that the Malwa side has no subtlety, defeating opponents by sheer mass of forces and slaughter while the Romans are constantly trapping their opponents and through the use of rewards and understanding of the needs of others, drawing people, even those who were against them, onto their side.
What I like: One, since I am a logistics analyst myself, is the primacy of logistics. In ancient warfare, this is in line with reality. The logistics, meaning the food that sustains an army, was always the limiter on the size of an army, how far it could go, and how long an army could be in the field. The Romans repeatedly quote from an old saying 'amateurs study tactics, professionals study logistics'. Belisarius does not call himself a great warrior who defeats many enemies, but as a craftsman, who understands the art of his craft.
Second, there is an emphasis on character motivations, not just hack-and-slash. For many of the characters, there is a loyalty based on love. Soldiers are in the army (at least the Roman one) for the desire for riches and the bonus from conquering foreigh armies. And there is even an episode where Antonia is charged with finding a bride for the young king of Ethiopia, and she picks one for her character and a realization that both the king and the bride that she picks out will be happy. (this resonates since my friends are regularly trying the same) An enemy such as Rana Sanga are portrayed with having motivations other than kill everyone and plunder. Even the peasants in India and Persia are viewed as having their own motivations which must be appealed to for the Roman and allies to gain their support.
So far, this has been a wonderful adventure. As Belisarius and friends take on the Malwa at impossible odds, you want them to win, and you watch in awe as they come up with new schemes. And in this book, there is actually an opponent that can match Belisarius in creativity, of course Belisarius does not defeat him, Belisarius tricks Rana Sanga so Belisarius can conquer his real target, which promises a showdown in the future. But the other Malwa seem almost comical in their viciousness and depravity and how this desire for cruelty is their only trait. Only a few are seen as honorable, and the stage is almost set for them to gather together for a betrayal of Link, which Belisarius is not subtly encouraging. While this is in character, I think it will be a letdown from the pull-victory-out-of-the-clutches-of-defeat patterns seen here.
But in any case, the warfare here is definately in the background, and the emphasis is on the characters, both major and minor, and their motivations, on both sides. There is a strong conflict between ideas, which is superior and will lead to the best outcome of the human race: adherance to the social order represented by the caste and racial heirarchy of the Malwa, or individual will and creativity represented by Belisaurius and Rome. One of the major characters in sent as representative and advisor to the rebelling Indian states. the queen has been under pressure to enter into alliance with one of the other Indian kingdoms through marriage. Irene describes the greatness of Rome by refering to the robes that she wears as a Roman diplomat. And she points out that the robes were not of Roman origin, nor of the educated greeks, but of the barbarians. And thus did Rome take the best attributes of all, regardless of birth, and the arguement is that nations and peoples rise not on their adherance to an artificial order, but on ther ability to adapt and grow.
The author's point is rather clear, and the book is an enjoyable read even if you do not care to follow the philosophy.
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