The Dance of Time, by David Drake

The Dance of Time is the last entry in Drake's Belisarius series.  Again mostly a tactics story, it centers around the process of grinding the Malwa empire down and banishing its driving force.  That Belisarius will win is never in any real doubt.  The focus is more on tactics, and also the human relationships of the major characters Drake has given us throughout the series.  In the end, there's not a whole lot to see--his heroes are honorable to a fault, with any character flaws confined to a tendency to complain.  His characters were drawn pretty much from the beginning, so they don't grow much.

Where Drake shines is describing action, and that is mostly missing from the last two books.  They are OK as stories, but they are very geeky on large-scale low-tech conflicts, so unless you have an appreciation for those the stories will be pretty slow.  In the end, I'm not sorry I finished them, though, as Belisarius is a pretty appealing guy, fun to be around and read about.  Having a beer or four with him would be a hoot.  If you like Drake but have not gotten around to this series, I can recommend it.  Three stars for this one, slightly generously.

The Tide of Victory, by David Drake

In the time before award season I'm catching up on a series I began long ago and have enjoyed, David Drake's Belisarius Saga.  The Tide of Victory is number five, by way of Baen Books and Free SF Online. 

This is a good entry, though it is very heavy on large-scale military strategy.  Much more so than past entries.  In fact, Drake spends a fair amount of time depicting Belisarius and his associates pondering logistics and politics--much more common in a straight war history book than in speculative fiction.  Interesting to see the lesson, though.

Drake is very much given to glorifying warfare--has pretty much made a career of it.  But he's not the only one, and he does it pretty well, so if you are into military SF you've probably read him already.  This entry in the series very much displays his commitment to history.  Read the rest first, or don't bother with this one.  Three stars from me.

The Barrow Troll, by David Drake

The Barrow Troll is a fun and interesting tale. Drake likes to describe the origins of his stories sometimes. In most cases it just points up how far short he is of the classics--it would be better not to know. Most of his work is nice light entertainment, and the backstory is at best unnecessary. But this story is a good one, a fantasy that turns out to be based in reality. Monsters are made from greed, not necessarily magic. His Norseman in this story is much more the villain than usual, and he makes it work pretty well. I like Drake's fantasy stories (see Old Nathan) at least as well as his science fiction work, which is pretty fantastic anyway, and this is a good example--it's the only award he's been nominated for.