Second in the 'Earthlight' sequence.
As the war which has engulfed entire continents rolls on, Harry Turtledove's myriad characters come to realise that their lives have been changed forever. Sons die - as do mothers and fathers - atrocities become commonplace, once-proud aristos become the playthings of conquering armies. But the worst is yet to come . . .
Algarve, victorious in all its efforts, becomes bogged down in the desolate winter of Unkerlant, its main enemy. To move faster, Algarve's king, Mezentio, decides to undertake blood magic which amounts to genocide; and once this is seen to work, its use elsewhere cannot be long coming. It may be that Pekka, a theoretical sorcerer in the small island nation of Kuusamo, holds the only answer to this horror.
Harry Turtledove is a master of sweeping narrative and interlocking storylines. In this sequel to the bestselling 'Into The Darkness', he brings together characters from all levels of society and shows how the ever-expanding wars on his world can claw the humanity out of the rich and privileged and poor alike - though courage and charity can flourish despite adversity.
