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Belisarius I: Thunder at Dawn (Belisarius Series) | 
 enlarge | Authors: Eric Flint, David Drake
Publisher: Baen
Category: Book
List Price: $24.00
Buy New: $14.78
You Save: $9.22 (38%)
New (31) Used (11) Collectible (1) from $13.40
Avg. Customer Rating:  2 reviews
Sales Rank: 75624
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 784
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.2
Dimensions (in): 9.3 x 6.1 x 1.7
ISBN: 1416555684
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9781416555681
ASIN: 1416555684
Publication Date: September 2, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: BRAND NEW
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Product Description
Two complete novels in one volume—the beginning of the Belisarius saga. An Oblique Approach: In northern India the Malwa have created an empire of unexampled evil. Guided or possessed by an intelligence from beyond time, with new weapons, old treachery, and an implacable will to power, the Malwa will sweep over the whole Earth. Only three things stand between the Malwa and their plan of eternal domination: the empire of Rome in the East, Byzantium; a crystal with vision; and a man named Belisarius, the greatest commander Earth has ever known. In the Heart of Darkness: Having conquered sixth century India, the Malwa Empire is forging the subcontinent's vast population into an invincible weapon of tyranny. Belisarius, the finest general of his age, must save the world. Guided by visions from a future that may never be, he and a band of comrades penetrate the Malwa heartland, seeking the core of the enemy's power. And when Belisarius leads the forces of good, only a fool would side with evil.
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| Customer Reviews:
 two reprints of a fine alternate history saga September 3, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
"An Oblique Approach". Byzantium Emperor Justinian selected his Thracian bodyguard to lead his army. On the way to assume his command role, Monk Michael of Macedonia and Bishop Anthony Cassian meet with him. They give him a crystal that he grasps; he sees Northern India's Malwa Empire conquering the world, leaving a path of destruction and death no one could envision. He and trusted allies begin a top secret project to insure his vision of the future never occurs even as he begins rebuilding the army at Daras. However they lack solid Intel about their future foe; or they would know something beyond human understanding is guiding the deadly treacherous Malwa.
"In the Heart of Darkness". In India seeking intelligence on the enemy and assisted by the futuristic Aide though that intelligence makes little sense to the Byzantium general, Belisarius meets with Lord Venandakatra insisting he will switch sides for the right price. However, he also sets up a ploy to liberate Princess Shakuntala, the last survivor of the Satavahana dynasty over run by the Malwa. He tries to hide his duplicity; he succeeds until he meets his archenemy Link the future supercomputer who possesses the body of a Malwa. Realizing Link can "read" him; Belisarus and his comrades are forced to flee.
These two reprints are the opening acts of the Belisarius alternate history saga as two opposing groups from the future intervene in Justinian's "present" era. The tales are well written especially the first fascinating one. However, "In the Heart of Darkness" is a mixed bag as readers fully grasp the differences between the methodologies employed by the futurists with their respective intervention, but the era does not come alive as much as it should (as the plot especially early does in "An Oblique Approach"). Still sub-genre fans will enjoy this reprint of a fine saga that blends real historical fifth century persona with fictional intruders from the future.
Harriet Klausner
 Fighting a Future August 20, 2008
2 out of 2 found this review helpful
Fighting a Future
Thunder At Dawn (2008) is an omnibus edition of the Belisarius series, including An Oblique Approach and In the Heart of Darkness. In this series, Emperor Justinian ruled Byzantium, the Empire of Rome in the East. A former Thracian peasant, Justinian had selected a minor Thracian noble -- Belisarius -- to be his bodyguard and then later to head the army facing their Medean foe. While Belisarius was not the Emperor's friend (for Justinian had no friends), they respected each other and Belisarius' wife Antonia was a close friend of the Empress Theodora.
An Oblique Approach (1998) is the first novel in this series. Belisarius has just assumed command of the Army at Daras when the monk Michael of Macedonia and Anthony Cassian -- the local bishop -- come to his new house in Aleppo. They bring a strange object -- a faceted crystal that seems to form and reform -- found by Michael within his cave in the desert. They say that it has brought visions to their minds while holding it and they urge Belisarius to take it into his own hands. When it is passed to him, the crystal flares into light and floods his mind with visions.
The crystal can induce visions and feelings, but is mostly unable to communicate directly. The visions shows a future in which the Malwa empire of northern India conquers all the known world. These visions induce feelings of dread and despair, but all who hold the crystal also feel certain that the future shown and felt is not necessarily the only possible future. The crystal has come to enlist Belisarius himself in an effort to preclude this bitter future in favor of one more consistent with their own desires and inclinations.
While the exhausted crystal quietly regains its strength, the human party forms a conspiracy to counter the evil plans of the Malwa. Deciding to keep the secret among themselves for a time, they arrange for a location to build an arsenal and weapons project on property controlled by Anthony. They also agree that Anthony will arrange for the services of John of Rhodes -- a clever ex-naval officer -- as the head of the project.
This story depicts an intervention from the future followed by a counter-intervention from the same era. The intervention itself is not described in this volume, but the crystal represents the counterforce. The first portion of the story consists mainly of clearing the decks to allow the conspirators to investigate the real enemy, which can only be done in India by Belisarius himself.
In the Heart of Darkness (1998) is the second novel in this series. Belisarius is allowed to observe the siege of Ranapur from a distance, but the Rajput guards are under orders to restrict the viewing times and the viewpoint. Then Lord Harsha decrees that the siege will end on a certain date and Belisarius is taken to the Imperial Pavilion on the eastern side of the city to observe the assault.
Belisarius has already learned that the city seems to have a large amount of gunpowder, but no cannon. Now he learns that the defenders include a number of miners. He considers the possibilities and decides to inform the Malwa that the attack probably will cross tunnels packed with explosives.
First he commands his men to dismount and tells Rana Sanga -- the Rajput escort commander -- to dismount his own troops. Then the world disappears in a white flash and things start to impact his vicinity. When he crawls out from under his shield, Belisarius notices bodies, parts of bodies, and parts of parts of bodies all around him, along with various other objects.
The Ranapur defenders pour over of the destroyed walls and push their way through the dazed attackers toward the Imperial Pavilion. Belisarius shows Rana Sanga the counterattack and the Rajputs hurry toward the pavilion to protect the Malwa emperor. But Belisarius and his three bucellarii approach the befuddled survivors and direct their attention to the attacking forces.
This story introduces Belisarius to the Malwa emperor and takes him to the Malwa capital, where he meets Link, the penultimate enemy. He takes Aide -- his crystaline ally -- with him into enemy territory. Aide is still learning the limitations of the humans in this timeframe and sometimes becomes impatient with Belisarius. Yet Aide does furnish some uptime concepts that might be adapted to the current technology.
Highly recommended for Drake & Flint fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of alternate history, military tactics, and epic drama.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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