The Anvil

The General #3

by S.M. Stirling, David Drake

With the aid of a sentient battle computer from before the collapse of interstellar civilization, Raj Whitehall has come close to reuniting the entire planet of Bellevue. Raj is loved by the people, who hold him in awe, but the half-mad jealousy and fear of his emperor is about to force Raj to revolt or face death by torture.

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Military Science Fiction, Military Fiction, Fantasy, War, Adventure

320 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published May 1, 1993

About the author

Stephen Michael Stirling is a French-born Canadian-American science fiction and fantasy author. Stirling is probably best known for his Draka series of alternate history novels and the more recent time travel/alternate history Nantucket series and Emberverse series.

MINI AUTO-BIOGRAPHY:
(personal website: source)

I’m a writer by trade, born in France but Canadian by origin and American by naturalization, living in New Mexico at present. My hobbies are mostly related to the craft. I love history, anthropology and archaeology, and am interested in the sciences. The martial arts are my main physical hobby.

Reviews

[Economondos · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Ruler without equal! Sole rightful Autocrat!
He wields the Sword of Law and Flail of Justice -
Most excellent of Excellencies! Father of the State!
Download His words and execute the Program, ye People -
Endfile! Endfile! Ennd...fiiile!"

Raj Whitehall definitely needs a new boss. The increasingly unstable Barholm Clerett, Sole Rightful Autocrat of the Civil Government on planet Bellevue has now decided to send his forces west to recapture the Old Residence. However, in the 600 years they have held it, the members of the 591st Provisional Brigade have become a formidable opponent. Barholm is sending his best general, yet politics and greed once again dictate that there will be insufficient forces for a traditional conquest.

The third book in The General series is solid, but some of the situations are becoming repetitive. This may well reflect situations in real life (and those faced by the Byzantine general Belisarius whose exploits underlie much of the narrative), but can drag down the reader a bit. Recommended as a series read but not stand-alone. 4 out of 5 stars

[Truls Ljungström · Rating 3 out of 5]

Denna bok kändes nästan kväljande att läsa. Det är ovanligt med scifi; och inte egentligen välkommet. Likväl.

[Andreas · Rating 4 out of 5]

The human galactic federation is in ruins, and the worlds have devolved to various levels of barbarism. On the planet Bellevue, which is at about the early nineteenth century in development, a young officer named Raj Whitehall and his friend venture into the catacombs under the capital. There, they find an ancient battlecomputer named Center. With Center’s help, Raj must unite the planet and enable humanity to retake the stars. The story is at least somewhat based on that of the Byzatine general Belisarius.

The first seven novels are written by Drake and Stirling. The last one by Drake and Flint. David Drake writes very detailed outlines, while his collaborators write the actual text.

The first five novels are a set and deal with the conquest/unification of Bellevue. They are nowadays published in two volumes, known as Warlord and Conqueror:

* The Forge
* The Hammer
* The Anvil
* The Steel
* The Sword

After finishing the conquest of Bellevue, the personalities of Center and Raj are imbued in computers that are sent to other worlds with launched asteroids. Basically this scenario has infinite permutations as human worlds at various levels of development can be written about. The first of these follow-up novels is:

* The Chosen

It is a great singleton set on a world with early twentieth century technology. Finally there is the two volume story consisting of:

* The Reformer
* The Tyrant

Here, we take a serious step “back in time”, as the planet Hafardine is at about Roman Empire level in it’s technology. The Tyrant is rather different in style from the others due to being penned by Flint. However, his trademark dry humor meshes well with the overall thrust of the series.

This is great military SciFi, with excellent battlescenes and great characters, not to mention a dose of dry humor. Very highly recommended.

http://www.books.rosboch.net/?p=145

[Matthew Taylor · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very enjoyable and fast read. The sci-fi Byzantine adventure continues with a wonderfully evoked siege against a not-so-barbaric foe, with the usual delightful mix of historical titbits (you don't spot the Frumentarii that much in fiction!) and sci-fi archaeology (discovery of 'ancient plastics'). The idea of war as an accelerator of development is illustrated very smoothly and makes me think this series could yet finish in orbit!

[AJS · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not bad, just not terribly new and exciting. This is Drake-Stirling going nuts on 19th century technology with a glimmer of futuristic stuff, and some set-piece army action. There's just not enough to keep you fully plugged in and interested beyond the singular read - at least for me here after the 3rd installment. I might pick up more much later, but have other stuff to read (like Brent Weeks's lightbringer series) which I think I will enjoy more.

[Nate Thern]

Hope Rearmed
Conqueror

[Dee · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ugh, with Whitehalls wife alluded infidelities confirmed and his obliviousness (or worst acceptance) to them really sours that whole POV for me and takes away from his mystic. She definitely serves a purpose, but you could've had the same character but made it a sister and I would've loved her.

[Rob Markley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read and great exploration of different military tactics

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Decent story, still too much attempt at 'writing accents'.

[Bradley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fairly average military scifi fare. Not bad. =)

[Valerio Rossetti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This one actually had some decent characters. Battles were good as usual

[John Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favourite series. Alternative history of conquest.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another very good installment in the series. Same good characters, working together. Nothing new, though, and no surprises. Victory in the end is a little contrived, and we are still in the middle of the campaign. Wish the book was longer . . . but I'll read another.

[Cris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Still needs a better copy-editor.

[Peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good read - well thought out action sequences and battles