I agree with Harry Turtledove:
"Lush backgrounds, tight research, lively characters, thoroughly nasty villains, a fascinating and plausible society - what more can anyone possibly want?"
-quoted on what has to be p. i, immediately after the front cover.
What indeed? Lancers is the best of Stirling's novels that I have read so far - although I have not read many as yet. Stirling's novels are discussed here because they are seen as worthy successors of Poul Anderson's alternative history fictions.
As Athelstane King enters the restaurant of the Peshawar Club, his stomach reminds him that, after fighting for civilization, he deserves some of its fruits. Those fruits go beyond good food to courtesy and diplomacy. The Political agent says:
"'Captain King, I presume, of Rexin in Kashmir and the Peshawar Lancers? Good of you to sacrifice time on leave.'" (p. 42)
King thinks but, of course, does not say:
"And courteous of you to pretend I had a choice..." (ibid.)
The facility to engage in such civilized discourse is indeed worth defending against some of those villains that Turtledove mentions.
5 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I agree, S.M. Stirling was and is a worthy colleague and successor of Poul Anderson. While this blog is primarily devoted to discussion of the works of Anderson, occasional comment on predecessors and colleagues such as Jules Verne, H.G. Wells, Robert Heinlein, Isaac Asimov, and Stirling is appropriate.
From time to time in the works of Stirling I have recognized Andersonian allusions, turns of phrase, and homages. Such as "young lion eyes," a phrase coined by Anderson and to be found in "Brave To Be A King."
So far I think you have read these works of Stirling: THE PESHAWAR LANCERS, THE SKY PEOPLE, IN THE COURTS OF THE CRIMSON KINGS, MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA, and UNDER THE YOKE. And I'll be very interested to know what you think of THE STONE DOGS and DRAKON.
Sean
Sean,
THE STONE DOGS is still taking several aeons to reach here from Amazon.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Baffling, frustrating, annoying! I'm very eager to know what you think of THE STONE DOGS. I hope your copy comes soon!
Sean
Sean,
I have also read CONQUISTADOR.
Paul.
Kaor, Paul!
Drat! I forgot about CONQUISTADOR. And that book explicitly mentions one or two of Poul Anderson's books. Perhaps even mentioning him by name.
IN THE COURTS OF THE CRIMSON KINGS even shows us Poul Anderson in a brief cameo appearance. I know you didn't quite like that book, finding the hominids of Mars too astringent for your taste, but I like the book.
I do agree with you in your low opinion of the Draka we see in MARCHING THROUGH GEORGIA and UNDER THE YOKE, but Stirling wrote that kind of dystopian SF so well that it was fascinating to read. And he also managed to show us the Draka as real people, some of whom even doubted the rightness of what their people did, not just as cardboard monsters. My view is Stirling continues to do that in THE STONE DOG, which again makes me frustrated that it's so hard for you to get a copy.
Sean
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