Publisher's Weekly Review
Trust Turtledove to deliver plenty of grungy military action spiked with dollops of sex and a keen and accurate depiction of the realties of warfare. The sequel to his alternate history Into the Darkness is anything but easy going. Based on the horrors of the Eastern Front, where the Soviet Red Army fought to repel the Nazi invasion, the novel suffers from Turtledove's tendency to use names of one ethnic flavor to represent analogous characters of a totally different national group. For example, the Algarvians, the militant aggressors who closely resemble Nazis, bear Italian-sounding names and fight under a red, green and white flag. Given that there are 12 nations involved in this mortal conflict, and a cast of approximately 150 characters, this gets incredibly frustrating, especially since Turtledove abruptly shifts from site to site and employs magic in place of mid-20th-century technology (dragons as fighter aircraft, leviathans as submarines). When the Algarvians round up helpless Kaunians into "victory camps" where they will eventually be slaughtered for the vital energy needed to smite the Soviet-style enemies, the Unkerlanters, these foes retaliate by massacring their own peasantry to draw more energy themselves. This barbaric ante-raising causes the civilized, British-like Lagoans to observe that everyone involved will develop ever-increasing monsterlike strength before this world war comes to an end. Turtledove personalizes the conflict through 15 "viewpoint characters"(so-called in his extensive Dramatis Personae), including the gallant Algarvian dragonflier Colonel Sabrino; the elegant, conniving Kresta; and young lovers Vanai, a hunted Kaunian, and Ealstan, a decent bookkeeper. Everyone is brought to the brink of a Pearl Harbor-like entry by a slow-to-activate world power, leaving all--including Turtledove's readers--to slog through a lot more territory in likely future installments. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Kirkus Review
Second installment of Turtledove's alternate-world fantasy (Into the Darkness,1999). The big what-if here: How might WWII have been fought if magic worked? Well, this time Turtledove's analogue-Nazi war machine finds the usual justifications for slave labor and extermination camps. Altogether, a series that highlights the author's familiar strengths'historical knowledge, enormous scope, skillful juggling of plausible what-ifs'and weaknesses'indistinguishable characters, scattershot narrative, and a general sense of inertia.
Booklist Review
In the second volume of Turtledove's recasting of World War II as fantasy (the first: Into the Darkness, 1999), the war becomes grimmer. The Algarvians begin the wholesale slaughter of Kaunians for their life-energy, and several nations' sorcerers realize they have made a fundamental breakthrough with the laws of similarity and contagion. Meanwhile, the mills of the war gods grind finer, as Algarvian constable Bembo leaves a comfortable urban beat for counterguerrilla duty in occupied Unkerlant; feckless Valmieran noblewoman Krasta discovers that being a conqueror's toy is not all beer and skittles; and Unkerlanter private Leukast rises to sergeant and company commander by means of field smarts and attrition. Turtledove's admirably intricate world building and characterization continue to demand thorough attention that is rewarded, at least for World War II buffs, by roman aclef inversions; for instance, the Algarvian (i.e., German) national colors are those of Italy, the persecuted Kaunians (the Jews) are blue-eyed blonds, and the Yaninans (the Finns) are customarily naked desert dwellers. Turtledove is almost certainly unique in reconceiving World War II in magical fantasy terms and on an immense scale--so far, completely successfully. --Roland Green
Library Journal Review
As the Algarvan army sweeps across the country of Forthweg on their way to Unkerlant, they encounter fierce resistance from their longtime foes. When Algarvan soldiers round up members of the Kaunian race living in Forthweg and ship them to labor camps, only a few suspect the camps' true purpose. This sequel to Into the Darkness continues the chronicle of a worldwide war involving magical battles and airborne dragons. History buffs should enjoy the obvious parallels between Turtledove's imagined world and the European theater of World War II, while fans of epic fantasy should appreciate the imaginative vision of a master world builder. Most libraries should add this title to their fantasy collections. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.