Jaws of Darkness

Mr Turtledove does it again. I have rarely been disappointed in his books and he keeps up his high standards in this WWII analogue series!

"Jaws of Darkness" is the fifth part of Harry Turtledove's six-volume reworking of the World War Two story set on a planet where technology is based on magic rather than machines. Dragon riders replace aircraft, Behemoths replace tanks, East and West have been transposed, Eurasia has been moved to the Southern hemisphere so that Scandinavia becomes equatorial, and names and superficial national characteristics have all been changed. But this is real history, not alternative history. Again and again the terrible events of the book are based on real historical incidents. Some of the changes to racial characteristics are impishly amusing, such as the fact that the people who correspond to the Finns live in an equatorial climate and look like Zulus, while the Saraha Desert becomes "the land of the Ice people," the Gyongyosian people who correspond to the Japanese are physically large, and the Kuusamans who correspond to Americans have epicanthic folds. Other changes are rather more biting - the "Kaunians" who correspond to Jews are tall, blue-eyed, and blonde. What Turtledove appears to be trying to do with this series is to study how different people responded to a time of great evil. Some people were sucked into taking part in that evil, some fought against it, others just tried to live through it. The changes to the names and characteristics of the participants seem to be intended to give the reader an opportunity to leave behind some of our emotional baggage about the holocaust so that we can try, not to justify the wrongs which people did in terrible times, but to understand how it could have happened. All but two or three of the characters in the first four books appear to be fictional - Hitler is King Mezentio of Algarve, Stalin is King Swemmel of Unkerlant, and Marshal Rathar gradually morphs into Zhukov by about book four. In the last two books a few more historical figures such as Eisenhower are recognisable. The fact that most of the characters are fictional actually makes the story more exiting, as they are presented well enough that you care about them: we all know how World War II turned out but the readers has no such certainty about the fate of the fictional characters. The six books of the series each corresponds very roughly indeed to about a year's real historical events. This fifth book, "Jaws of Darkness", mostly covers events corresponding to those between late 1943 and late 1944, shortly after the fall of Paris. The series is best read in the correct sequence. All the books of this series have the word "Darkness" in the title, but the publishers refer to it as the "Derlavi" series, this being the name given in the books for the great continent which corresponds to Eurasia. It is sometimes also described as the "World at War" sequence. The full set of six books in their correct order is: "Into the Darkness" "Darkness Descending" "Through the Darkness" "Rulers of the Darkness" "Jaws of Darkness" "Out of the

Jaws of Darkness (2003) is the fifth novel in the World At War fantasy series, following Rulers of the Darkness. In the previous volume, Leudast and his men have captured the so-called King Raniero trying to escape from Herborn. Vanai's pregnancy makes her disguise cantrip wear off too soon and she is captured by Algarvian constables. Gyongyos comes up with their own variant of the life force magic. Garivald and Obilot escape from the Unkerlant inspectors. In this novel, the Algarvians are hard pressed in the south within the Duchy of Grelz and in the north near the Forthwegian border. The Kuusamans and Logoans are pushing back the Gyongyosians in the islands and harassing the Algarvians in Valmiera with dragons from their iceships. The Kuusaman theoretical sorcerers, together with the Logoan Fernao, are beginning to teach other sorcerers how to use the new forms of magic. Garivald gets impressed into the Unkerlantian army and learns to read and write. Personal relationships become even more complicated, with Vanai having her baby and Krasta becoming pregnant by either Colonel Lurcanio or Viscount Valnu. Leino and Pekka both yield to temptation and let the future take care of itself. Foreign Minister Hajjaj of Zuwayza acquires an unexpected romantic interest in his own household. Leudast finds himself becoming romantically involved with a peasant girl and learns to use his connections to his advantage. This series is an allegory of the World Wars. Most reviewers assume that it mirrors World War II, but certain aspects are more like World War I. However, the geopolitical environment in this series does not mirror the govermental status of nation states within the 20th century. Where are the representive democracies or the authoritarian states? Absolute monarchies in the analogs of Russia and Germany suggests WWI. However, none of the other monarchies, with the possible exception of Kuusamo, appear to be constitutional governments (either written or unwritten). Such conditions have have not occurred in the real world since the Magna Carta and most surely not since the Declaration of Independence. Again, this series has a simplified background, avoiding the complex interplay of politics within councils, parliaments, or legislatures and leaving the real decision making in the hands of the monarchs. This allows the author to present his lessons with minimal distractions. Although the author does not preach these lessons, he does have the characters expression some very good points. In other words, he makes the reader think without being intrusive or boring. An editorial reviewer mentioned Habukkak as a test of WWII knowledge. It is a trick question, for Habakkuk is not an alias. Search the web under ice+ships. Recommended for Turtledove fans and anyone else who enjoys speculative fiction with a strong historical and moral component. -Arthur W. Jordin

Fifth book in the series is a winner!Harry Turtledove's Derlavai series is one of his best. While he is known for alternate history, historically accurate novels where certain events are tweaked and the story played out, this is a fantasy retelling of World War II. To keep matters confusing, he's plunked the Eurasian landmass in the Southern hemisphere, turned it upside down, and removed about 80% of Russia (which explains why there is no China equivalent). Then he gave each country different names, borders, national characteristics, and mixed up the languages. Thus the Algarvians (Germans) all have Italian names, the Kuusamans (Americans) have Finnish names, etc. Oh, one more important twist. All the technology is sorcery. So this series could be called "Fantasy history" or even "fantasy alternative history."Once you figure out which country lines up with our own history, you know what ought to happen, but it's still a great read even when 90% of the events line up with our own timeline. Sometimes he conflates one country into another; Valmiera was clearly France, but Jelgava served the role as both Spain and Belgium. (Another reviewer suggested it was the Netherlands, but that was Sibiu, one of the few countries covered previously that has no role in this book.) The Kaunians are both the Polish Jews and the descendents of the Roman empire (somehow the citizens of France and Spain, but not Italy, hmmmm?)New developments in Book V include the sorcerous equivalent of an aircraft carrier: a magical floating iceberg carrying dragons. The Manhattan (Naantali) Project finally shows practical applications in the war, even as the enemy tries to destroy it (which did not happen in our timeline!) French (Valmieran) resistance fighters include what little sorcery they can get, in one case a young teenaged girl who works with Skarnu.All the viewpoint characters are back from Book IV, too. With room to develop them over five novels, there is room for character growth. Some show it, most don't; they just go on being themselves. What shines in Jaws of Darkness is the turn of the tide that occurred in our 1944 and how Turtledove shows the changing fortunes of his world and its people. With the Russians (Unkerlanters) retaking their territory from the Germans (Algarvians), who are also on the run in the West (East), not to mention the entry of the US (Kuusamo) into the fray, things are happening. We know what's coming, but the great writing and the interesting characters keep us reading.Some typos were in the first edition, but my biggest complaint was the slapdash job on the map. Lots of new cities were written in badly, and one country has its name written incorrectly! With action in so many places, the map is crucial; too bad the publisher did it on the cheap.

The Second World War continues to rage on and over Derlavai. The continent is methodically being razed by the exchange of magical beams of fire, the battle between giant armored beasts, and dragons shooting fire. At first the powerful military of Algarve blitzkrieg to victory through the conversion of the life force of victims, especially the Kauanians.However, recently the tide seems to be turning as the military of Lagoas and Kuusamo have brought the war to the Algarvian homeland. A sorceress-driven ship of ice has transported their deadly dragons to rain firebombs at the heartland of the enemy. Though the Algarvian might has been dented for the first time in this long war, either side could win the fight especially if one side obtains more powerful magic to use in the fray. In this world gone mad, the little people such as Ealstan and his beloved wife Vanai, a Kaunian, want to simply raise their child in a safe environment, but genocide rules the planet.Though a fantasy equivalent to World War II, aficionados of the Great War as well as the genre's fans will enjoy this superb entry in Harry Turtledove's strong "Darkness" series. The big events of WW II are cleverly changed into a fantasy realm yet here is no question what they equate to in the real world. That and great characters simply trying to survive on a stage of mass destruction are what makes Mr. Turtledove the master of historical fantasy. JAWS OF DARKNESS uses sorcery to paint the true horrors of World War II on everyday people.Harriet Klausner