Subject: Stirling and Drake: The Anvil

From: [email-masked] (Dani Zweig)
Date: Wed, 12 May 1993 02:28:52 GMT

"The Anvil" is book three of Stirling's and Drake's military-sf series, 
"The General".  The story takes place over a millenium after the collapse
of an interstellar federation, on a world which is technologically at 
pre-WWI levels, and socially/politically resembles sixth-century Europe.

The latter is no coincidence, as the series is based on the life of
Belisarius -- Justinian's general.  Not too closely:  Belisarius's
troops didn't have guns, and Belisarius probably didn't have the
behind-the-scenes aid of a forgotten computer.  Still, the parallels
are very close.

The first book details the general's battles with the "Colonists" --
descendents of Islamic colonists and now a major competing power.
Islam didn't exist yet in the sixth century, but if you're tracking 
parallels, the Colonists correspond to the Persians.  Like most 
military/sf books, there's a fair amount of carnography, but there's
also a good story being told.  This book "The Forge", is very good.

So is the second book, "The Hammer", though not *as* good.  The
conquest of the "Squadrons", with the aid of ridiculously few troops,
may seem too good to be true, but it corresponds well enough to
Belisarius's conquest of Africa.  (The parallels are personal and
political, as well as military -- the religious schisms, the ruler's
paranoia, his wife's infidelities... The authors did their homework.)

The third (of five), just published, is "The Anvil".  The invasion
of the western territories (closely modelled on Belisarius's invasion
of Italy), is launched, and this book covers the opening phase of
that invasion.  I did not enjoy this book.  It consisted of virtually
nothing *but* carnography -- battle after battle after battle, with
little more than bridging in between.

For those who find reading about spilled entrails stirring.

-----
Dani Zweig
[email-masked]

   'T is with our judgements as our watches, none
   Go alike, yet each believes his own
		--Alexander Pope