David Anthony Durham, Acacia

Acacia

David Anthony Durham

Doubleday, Jun 2007, $26.95

ISBN 0385506066

The Acacian Empire conquered the "Known World" by brute force. The losers were enslaved and exiled. However, of all the people subjugated to the tyrannical rule, the Mein, 22 generations after being vanquished, never forgot and still loathe their conquerors.

Hanish Mein begins his plot to not just overcome the Acacians, but to subject the proud empire under his rule as he believes King Leodan is weak for wanting to bring reform to Acacia especially wanting to end the selling of children into slavery and eventually all slavery. Hanish begins his revolt with assassination followed by his brutal army using biological weapons of mass destruction while invading Acacia and winning.

Having feared his king will end the drugging of the oppressed practice which he believes will lead to rebellion and ultimately the end of the empire, Leodan's treasonous chancellor Thaddeus Clegg knows his error did what he hoped to avoid. Now he helps the monarch's four children escape. However, to his chagrin and everlasting regret, Thaddeus realizes the Mein regime is more oppressive than that of Leodan especially towards the Acacians. Trying to make up for what he helped cause, Thaddeus turns to the four offspring; the former heir to the throne Aliver, the elder daughter Corinn, the youngest female sister Mena, and the other brother Dariel in hope they will unite to free Acacia.

This is terrific epic which contains a touch of fantasy, but reads more like an alternate historical thriller. Readers will believe that the Acacia Empire once existed and was overthrown by duplicity and biological warfare led by one of the oppressed people. The storyline is action-packed and key players seem genuine, but the reason the audience will want to visit David Anthony Durham's world is Acacia and to a lesser degree its neighbors like Mein as these realms are so vividly described inside a superb political military thriller.

Harriet Klausner