Land of the Dead

An artfully constructed alternate history setting, in which Earth and nearby worlds are ruled by an alliance of the Aztecs and the Japanese, serves as a tantalizing background to a breathless yet tedious stream of battle scenes and complex conspiracies in the third Time of the Sixth Sun installment (after 2005's House of Reeds). Archeologist Gretchen Anderssen, mysterious provocateur Green Hummingbird and other familiar characters find an unusual ancient artifact. Several military forces soon converge on it, with unknown forces behind the scenes pulling the strings, but the focus is not on the politics, intrigue and people behind this complex encounter. Instead, battles are described at length in technical jargon, spaceships explode with monotonous regularity and bodies pile up by the dozens, overwhelming the intriguing subtleties of the world. (Aug.)
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“If you like space opera you will enjoy Thomas Harlan's House Of Reeds. I look forward to his next book set in this milieu."--Paul Hanley, SF Crowsnest, on House of Reeds

“An eerie, utterly compelling puzzler, replete with fascinating ideas and absorbing characters.”--_Kirkus Reviews_ (starred review) on Wasteland of Flint

"Against that intriguing background, Harlan sets an archaeological adventure of epic proportions…. The trickle of details regarding the long-passed original inhabitants of Ephesus III heightens and sustains the fascination of an already action-packed story.”--_Booklist_ on Wasteland of Flint