Po przegranej bitwie, w której zginął władca Videssos, Mavrikios Gavras, Imperium pogrążyło się w chaosie. Rozgorzła walka o władzę. W zamieszaniu wojny domowej nowym Imperatorem ogłasza się Ortaias Sphrantzes, a wówczas rzymski legion pod wodzą Marka Emiliusza Scaurusa staje po stronie prawowitego sukcesora tronu — Thisina Gavrasa...

Takes place in a world where the Black Death killed four-fifths of Europe's population, and the Moors still occupy Spain and southern France, and the Industrial Revolution never happened.

War seethed across the planet. Machines soared through the air, churned through the seas, crawled across the surface, pushing ever forward, carrying death. Earth was engaged in a titanic struggle. Germany, Russia, France, China, Japan: the maps were changing day by day. The hostilities spread in ever-widening ripples of destruction: Britain, Italy, Africa… the fate of the world hung in the balance. Then the real enemy came. Out of the dark of night, out of the soft glow of dawn, out of the clear blue sky came an invasion force the likes of which Earth had never known-and worldwar was truly joined. The invaders were inhuman and they were unstoppable. Their technology was far beyond our reach, and their goal was simple. Fleetlord Atvar had arrived to claim Earth for the Empire. Never before had Earth's people been more divided. Never had the need for unity been greater. And grudgingly, inexpertly, humanity took up the challenge. In this epic novel of alternate history, Harry Turtledove takes us around the globe. We roll with German panzers; watch the coast of Britain with the RAF; and welcome alien-liberators to the Warsaw ghetto. In tiny planes we skim the vast Russian steppe, and we push the envelope of technology in secret labs at the University of Chicago. Turtledove's saga covers all the Earth, and beyond, as mankind-in all its folly and glory-faces the ultimate threat; and a turning point in history shows us a past that never was and a future that could yet come to be…

Darkness series is a fantasy series about a world war between nations using magic as weapons. Many of the plot elements are analogous to elements of World War II, with countries and technologies that are comparable to the events of the real world.A duke’s death leads to bloody war as King Algarve moves swiftly to reclaim the duchy lost during a previous conflict. But country after country is dragged into the war, as a hatred of difference escalates into rabid nationalism.

Una delle ultime invenzioni di Asimov è l’universo immaginario (ma non troppo) in cui si svolgono le avventure narrate in Le fasi del caos. Dopo aver passato una vita a raccontare le vicende di una galassia popolata soltanto da uomini e robot, Asimov immagina qui un intrigo che vede coinvolte, oltre a quella umana, altre cinque razze che conoscono il volo interstellare: razze spesso ostili e sospettose l’una dell’altra, fra cui l’uomo non fa certo brutta figura. Stabilite questo premesse, che presto daranno luogo a una serie di rapide quanto pericolose avventure, Asimov passa la mano ad alcuni brillanti scrittori; suoi allievi ideali, che svolgono la vicenda all’insegna della suspense, ma senza dimenticare una punta di ironia in omaggio al loro ispiratore.

Una delle ultime invenzioni di Asimov è l’universo immaginario (ma non troppo) in cui si svolgono le avventure narrate in Le fasi del caos. Dopo aver passato una vita a raccontare le vicende di una galassia popolata soltanto da uomini e robot, Asimov immagina qui un intrigo che vede coinvolte, oltre a quella umana, altre cinque razze che conoscono il volo interstellare: razze spesso ostili e sospettose l’una dell’altra, fra cui l’uomo non fa certo brutta figura. Stabilite questo premesse, che presto daranno luogo a una serie di rapide quanto pericolose avventure, Asimov passa la mano ad alcuni brillanti scrittori; suoi allievi ideali, che svolgono la vicenda all’insegna della suspense, ma senza dimenticare una punta di ironia in omaggio al loro ispiratore.

Imperium szykuje się do wojny z Yezd, ale pojawia się nowe zagrożenie — bunt księcia Draxa i jego wojsk. Zdrada najemników doprowadza Videssos na skraj katastrofy i tylko talent dowódczy Marcusa Scaurusa i zręczna dyplomacja jego sprzymierzeńca zamieniają klęskę w zwycięstwo. Jednak Imperium Videssos w dalszym ciągu czeka walka z Yezd, Do odległej krainy potężnych koczowników wyrusza poselstwo, które ma pozyskać ich pomoc. Jego droga najeżona jest niebezpieczeństwami, o sojusz z koczownikami stara się również Yezd…