THE GATE OF FIRE

Second installment of Harlan's fantasy (The Shadow of Ararat, 1999) set in an alternate world where magic works and the Roman Empire never fell. Prince Maxian, Emperor of the Western Empire, has raised Julius Caesar and Alexander the Great from the dead: he needs high-octane help, you see, to rid Rome of the baneful curse known as the Oath. The empire, meanwhile, is threatened by the wicked sorcerer Dahak and by a traditional foe, the Persian Empire. No synopsis, alas, but different and worth investigating.