Through the Darkness: A Novel of the World War: and Magic

✍ Scribed by Turtledove, Harry

• Book ID: 104536830
• Publisher: Tom Doherty Associates
• Year: 2007
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 453 KB
• Series: Darkness 3
• Edition: First Mass Market Edition - First Print
• Category: Fiction
• ISBN-13: 9780812589191

✦ Synopsis

This is a world where magic works. A world where blood is used to power magic, where 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.

A young Kaunian girl is forced to remail 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 in 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 these farmer soldiers lack in skill, they make up for in dedication. A dedication that will carry them through the darkness.

Publishers Weekly

The third chapter in Turtledove's acclaimed alternate history-fantasy series (after Darkness Descending and Into the Darkness) expands on its WWII framework, providing a vivid portrait of a land torn by the horrors of out-of-control political ambition and magical warfare. Aggressor nation Algarve continues to batter its rivals with magical beams powered by the bloody deaths of thousands of innocent Kaunians. In the meantime, Algarvian ally Zuwayza has offered asylum to those Kaunians who can reach its borders, stirring up old antagonism between Algarve and Zuwayza. Sorcerous scholars in Kuusamo, loosely allied with Algarvian enemies Lagaos and Unkerlant, focus on the potentials of a bloodless but no less deadly form of magic that could be the deciding factor in defeating their enemy. As armies on foot, dragon, behemoth and leviathan collide, Turtledove shows the effects of the ongoing struggle on a cross section of societies, from Kaunian refugees to nobles powerless to say no to alliances with mighty Algarve. Turtledove's clever series impresses with its sheer scope and intricacy. Here he juggles a cast of more than 130 characters, which means readers new to the saga will have to work hard to get their bearings in the first 100 pages or so. Although the pace is slow and myriad details demand constant attention, Turtledove's devoted fans will cheerfully muddle through, as will fans of military fantasy based on solid historical fact. (Mar. 22) Forecast: This title should benefit saleswise by following on the heels of Turtledove's Colonization: Aftershocks (see Forecasts, Feb. 5). Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.