This book is like a cross between Bradbury's _Golden Apples Of the Sun_ and Wolfe's _Soldier of the Mist_. It is an alternative history, opening 1000 years after Alexander the Great (who lived to his 70s) and Aristotle led the Greek Empire to conquer most of the world. For most of that time, the Co-ruled Delian League has been at war the Middle Kingdom of Xin.
This is also a hard extrapolative SF novel, except the science Garfinkle extrapolates is that of Aristotle, Pythagoras, and Ptolemy. The main character is the Philosophical commander of a craft who's mission is to navigate through the crystal spheres and epicycles of the planets Selene, Hermes, and Aphrodite to Helios itself, to capture some celestial fire to use in the millennia long war. Inspiration here is literal; the main character Aias is touched through the course of the story by several gods and goddesses. Also and alternatively, the Taoist science of the Middle Kingdom works in a completely different (and to the Akademe, incomprehensible) manner.
I can't recommend this book too highly for any Glorantha fan. The Akademe science is God Learnerish, and I'm sure the Outer Atomic Explorers used many of the devises Aias did. The depictions of divine inspiration, the workings of the cosmos, everything about this book would appealed to this Lozenge Lover. My only regret was that it was so engrossing, I devoured it in two days. I guess I'll go back and read it again, savoring it slowly this time.
And this is Garfinkle's first novel. I hope he's not a one
hit wonder.
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Boris
Any
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