From Publishers Weekly
Turtledove concludes his six-volume magical fantasy alternative history of WWII (Into the Darkness, etc.) with this hefty multifaceted account of the price of winning and the cost of losing. Leaping between vignette-sized glimpses told through each of 16 "viewpoint characters" from different races and kingdoms, this final installment of the Derlavaian world war begins with climactic battles on several fronts, examines the bitter fruit of the Algarvians' genocidal policies against the Kaunians, traces the development and first use of uncanny new magical weapons of mass destruction and sows the seeds for a new conflict between Unkerlant and its former allies. The author's ability to convey complex abstract issues through strong characterizations sweeps this complicated narrative along with a minimum of stereotypes, and he succeeds especially well at portraying inner conflicts caused by hate and pride. As the war grinds to a halt and various story lines start to converge, individual characters' fates gain urgency. Can Vanai, a Kaunian woman masquerading as a Forthwegian, trust her neighbors and safely reveal herself and her child? Can Unkerlanter Marshal Rathar trust his paranoid kin Swemmel not to strike out at the loyal Rathar as a possible rival? By personalizing the frightful tragedies of war, Turtledove makes the big bang of the war's ultimate weapon far less affecting than the whimpers of its many victims. Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.


From Booklist
This concludes Turtledove's formidable fantasy interpretation of World War II, which incorporates much the same mixture, or jumble, of old and new institutions, dilemmas, technologies, and losers and winners that historians have described in our-world reports on the conflict (in the Turtledove continuum, of course, some technologies are magics). Both Turtledove's audiences--WWII buffs and followers of the saga's characters--will be pleased, but make no mistake, this is character-centered alternate history. Ealstan the Kaunian survivor is lucky enough to have most of his family to return to as well as to have survived several extra hazards, and that will constitute the main catharsis for most faithful readers. In Zuwayza, indefatigable foreign minister Hajjaj leaves office clothed in dignity, if nothing else. The theoretical sorcerers of Kuusamo and Lagoas manage various resolutions (some joyous, some otherwise) to their personal and ethical dilemmas, but after their sorcerous Manhattan Project works horribly well on Gyongos, they are targeted by Unkerlanter espionage. Some characters end up maimed, some married, some deceased, but altogether, Turtledove skillfully handles the fates of a cast in whose ranks many readers have found friends. A host of further possibilities remains for this cast, although Turtledove's announced next book is another segment of the time-line first cast by the alternate post-Civil War yarn How Few Remain (1997). Roland Green
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved


Review
"Turtledove has proved he can divert his readers to astonishing places...I know I'd follow his imagination almost anywhere."
--San Jose Mercury News

"The strongest yet in the series...Long but ultimately compelling, this book augurs well for the last volume and underscores Turtledove's astonishingly fertile imagination."
--Publishers Weekly (starred review) on Jaws of Darkness

"Turtledove is almost certainly unique in reconceiving World War II in magical fantasy terms and on an immense scale--so far, completely successfully."
--Booklist (starred review) on Darkness Descending



Book Description
THE CLIMACTIC CONCLUSION OF A WORLD WAR

As the Derlavian War rages into its last and greatest battles, allied nations maneuver for advantage over one another in the postwar world. But before that time can come, the forces of Algarve, Unkerlant, and their allies must clash a final time, countering army with army and battle magic with ever-more-powerful battle magic.

In the midst of it all, the people the war has battered and reshaped must struggle to face their greatest individual challenges, as loves are shattered and found, terrible crimes avenged...and some journeys end forever.

Nor will the end of war bring lasting peace...



About the Author
Harry Turtledove is the Hugo-winning author of many SF and fantasy novels. His alternate-history novels, include the bestselling The Guns of the South, How Few Remain, the Worldwar series, and the recent Ruled Britannia. He lives with his wife and daughters in Los Angeles.



Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
THE FOG OF WAR

"Up!" a sergeant screamed. Rock-gray dragons swooped low overhead, eggs slung under their bellies. The eggs burst in front of and inside Gromheort. Ealstan didn't know what to think about that. It made him more likely to live and his kinsfolk more likely to die. He wanted to give up thinking altogether.

"Behemoths!" That shout came in Unkerlanter. The word was nothing like its Forthwegian equivalent, which had been borrowed from Algarvian. Ealstan had had to learn it in a hurry. It meant either Help is coming or We're in trouble, depending on who owned the behemoths being shouted about.

These behemoths had Algarvians aboard them. They were sallying from Gromheort, doing their best to hold the Unkerlanters away from the town. Officers or no officers, sergeants or no sergeants, Ealstan threw himself down on the muddy ground. He'd seen behemoths in the desperate fighting in and around Eoforwic, and had a heart respect for what they could do. Most of the Unkerlanters close by him dove for cover, too. Anyone who'd had more than the tiniest taste of war knew better than to stay on his feet when enemy behemoths were in the neighborhood.

Somewhere not far away, a crystallomancer shouted into his glassy sphere...

FROM THE PUBLISHER