BOOK ONE: The Shadow of Ararat:The Roman Empire has reached our 7th century without falling or
becoming Christian. Galen Atreus, Emperor of the West, and Heraclius, Emperor of the East, join
forces to overthrow Chroseos II, Emperor of Persia. The book follows four major characters.
Dwyrin MacDonald, a young Irishman learning sorcery, is prematurely initiated and sent to fight
with the Roman army, though he can barely control his gift for calling fire. The Roman Thyatis
Julia Clodia, a covert warfare specialist, leads her unit behind enemy lines. Ahmet, an Egyptian
priest/sorcerer at Dwyrin's school, sets out to rescue Dwyrin but meets Mohammed (yes, that
Mohammed). They join Roman allies Nabatea and Palmyra, desert cities facing superior Persian
forces without Roman aid. Finally, Maxian Atreus, Galen's youngest brother, a healer-magician,
discovers a "curse" protecting the State from inimical magic but also preventing nonmagical
progress. He sets out to lift it at any cost, resurrecting canny Julius Caesar and searching for
Alexander the Great--an even greater source of magical power.
BOOK TWO: The Gate of Fire: This sequel to The Shadow of Ararat is the second book in the Oath
of Empire series, set in an alternate Roman Empire circa A.D. 623. Prince Maxian, younger brother
to Galen, Emperor of the Western Empire (Rome), and Heraclius, Emperor of the Eastern Empire
(Constantinople), has returned to Rome to disrupt the magical power of the centuries-old oath of
allegiance to the Emperor that all legionnaires take. Maxian believes the oath constrains citizens
to a narrow path, stifling creativity as well as any thought of disobedience, and he intends to
use all his sorcerous power--and the help of Alexander the Great and Gaius Julius Caesar, whom he
has raised from the dead--to succeed. The Empire, meanwhile, is threatened by multiple enemies:
The insane Persian necromancer Dahak is determined to raise an army by any means to regain the
Peacock Throne toppled by the Empire. Zoe, niece of Palmyra's Queen Zenobia, and her ragged but
determined followers plot revenge on Rome for allowing the Persians to sack and destroy their
beloved city. And in the deserts of Iraq, a man named Mohammed is driven by a prophetic vision to
build an army against the Empire. Harlan's attention to detail is impressive, at times overwhelming,
as he fills the broad canvas of his hypothetical Roman Empire. Readers with the stamina to follow
every thread of the multitudinous plot lines here will find a vigorously imagined, thought-provoking
story.
BOOK THREE: The Storm of Heaven: In Campbell Award nominee Harlan's third, grittily realistic
installation of the Oath of Empire series (Shadow of Ararat and The Gate of Fire), imperial Rome
under Emperor Galen is simultaneously in the midst of war with Persia and fighting a new and God-
aided battle against the forces of Mohammed the prophet, while the magical protective "Oath" is
in danger of shattering. Prince Maxian has, until now, been trying to break the oath laid on Rome
in the hope of helping the Western Empire. To his dismay, he learns that he has been deceived by
powerful magic and is actually bringing about the empire's defeat. In an abrupt about-face, he
recants the path of evil to find a way to strengthen the oath. In the meantime, the two men Prince
Maxian raised from the dead, Gaius Julius Caesar and Alexandros of Macedonia (Alexander the Great),
are using their skills to Rome's advantage. Alexander starts to build an army to aid the west, while
Gaius Julius schemes his way into the inner circles of Roman power. This is an epic novel, with lots
of power-mongering, glorious battles and the fate of the Roman Empire squarely at the center. Some
series books can be picked up easily this is not one of them. Regardless of the introduction, the
plot is so diverse and the characters so numerous that reading the two earlier books is a must.
Harlan portrays the ancient Roman world in exquisite detail; the battle scenes in particular are so
vivid you can almost taste the blood and dust.
BOOK FOUR: The Dark Lord: In the fourth volume of his Oath of Empire series, Harlan (Shadow of
Ararat) brings his exquisitely detailed, multifaceted saga of an alternative seventh-century
Roman Empire to a satisfying close. Familiarity with the three previous installments, however, is
essential to understanding the motivations of some characters, Mohammed in particular. While the
author relegates some important individuals from the earlier books to bit roles in this movie-like
chronicle, he develops others more fully, though with somewhat confusing attributes and rationales.
Galen, emperor of Rome, continues to hold the fate of the Empire in the balance, alternately aided
and frustrated by his sorcerer brother, Maxian. The resurrected Gaius Julius (Caesar) and the Duchess
Anastasia intrigue against one another and the brothers, playing out the traditional Roman grasp for
power. All oppose the evil Persian sorcerer, Dahak, lord of the seven serpents, who can count as his
allies the King of Kings, the Palmyran queens and the raised dead. The conflict comes to a head first
in Alexandria, where Aurelian, the middle brother, faces especially bloody fighting, dust and
suffering. On Aurelian's death, the action moves to Sicilia, where Maxian, now emperor, finally
understands the true nature of his enemy. Rip-roaring battle scenes offset the sometimes slow pace
necessary to keep all the complexities of the story on track. This is opulent historical fantasy on
a grand scale.
Download File Size:19.12 MB
|
