Пръстенът на Александър Велики

The Gamester Wars #1

by William R. Forstchen, Уилям Форсчън, Владимир Зарков (Translator)

Богатството на цялата галактика е заложено на първобитните бойни умения на две раси и пълководческите дарби на техните предводители. Александър Македонски е пренесен пет хилядолетия напред в бъдещето, за да поведе в бой своите „македонци“ от Магелановия облак. Кръвопролитието забавлява преситени и отегчени „богове“, чиято комарджийска страст ги тласка към мръсни номера и пагубни залози. Въпросът е кой кого ще измами до всичко или нищо…

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction

224 pages, Paperback

First published September 12, 1987

About the author

William R. Forstchen (born 1950) is an American author who began publishing in 1983 with the novel Ice Prophet. He is a Professor of History and Faculty Fellow at Montreat College, in Montreat, North Carolina. He received his doctorate from Purdue University with specializations in Military History, the American Civil War and the History of Technology.

Forstchen is the author of more than forty books, including the award winning We Look Like Men of War, a young adult novel about an African-American regiment that fought at the Battle of the Crater, which is based upon his doctoral dissertation, The 28th USCTs: Indiana’s African-Americans go to War, 1863-1865 and the "Lost Regiment" series which has been optioned by both Tom Cruise and M. Night Shyamalan.

Forstchen’s writing efforts have, in recent years, shifted towards historical fiction and non fiction. In 2002 he started the “Gettysburg” trilogy with Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich; the trilogy consists of Gettysburg: A Novel of the Civil War, Grant Comes East, and Never Call Retreat: Lee and Grant - The Final Victory. More recently, they have have published two works on the events leading up to Pearl Harbor and immediately after that attack Pearl Harbor, and Days of Infamy.

In March 2009, Forstchen’s latest work, One Second After, (Forge/St. Martin’s books) was released. Based upon several years of intensive research and interviews, it examines what might happen in a “typical” American town in the wake of an attack on the United States with “electro-magnetic pulse” (EMP) weapons. Similar in plotting to books such as On the Beach and Alas Babylon, One Second After, is set in a small college town in western North Carolina and is a cautionary tale of the collapse of social order in the wake of an EMP strike. The book has been optioned by Warner Bros. and currently is in development as a feature film. The book was cited on the floor of Congress and before the House Armed Services Committee by Congressman Roscoe Bartlett (R.-MD), chair of the House Committee tasked to evaluate EMP weapons, as a realistical portrayal of the potential damage rendered by an EMP attack on the continental United States.

Forstchen resides near Asheville, North Carolina with his daughter Meghan. His other interests include archaeology, and he has participated in several expeditions to Mongolia and Russia. He is a pilot and co owns an original 1943 Aeronca L-3B recon plane used in World War II.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/willia...

Reviews

[Ана Хелс · Rating 4 out of 5]

По стечение на обстоятелствата поредицата за Галактическите игри на Форсчън я почнах от третата част, която ме изненада с абсолютното си читателско великолепие , съчетаващо задъхана динамика, страхотни ярки герои и гениални за жанра си идеи, които ме спечелиха с първите няколко страници. Но и началото на епичната екшън история никак не разочарова, междувселенските капиталистически разбойници, ъъъ, тъй де – бизнесмени , си организират поредната порция темпорален хазарт, използвайки за бойно поле пръстеновидна изкуствена планета, създадена от стара изгубена раса с вкус към събирането на всякаква гмеж в техния вариант на междувидов аквариум с атмосфера и природни ресурси. В жертва падат две основни племена – едните диви, но страхливи човеци, другите смели , но твърде стриктни ликантропи, борещи се за едно скромно парче пръст, едричко колкото десет планетки Земя. За техни предводители биват измъкнати от най-потайните исторически анали самите Александър Македонски и вълчоподобния хан Кубрат, като основната цел е двамата велики пълководци да се избият взаимно, като отнесат със себе си по възможно най-зрелищен начин няколко милиона статисти. А разноликите играчи в небесата си залагат билионите със стръвта на изпаднали клиенти на едноръките бандити, гледайки сеира на риалити на много добри стероиди.

Е, не можете да очаквате кой знае каква дълбочина на повествованието, или някакви лични драми с потресаващи финали, нито пък кой знае каква развята фентъзийност. Но не е и това идеята. Целта е да се пренесем във свят с напомпан до максимум прогрес на войната, тръгваща от маризене с подострени пръчки , стигаща до епохални войни с все обсадните машини и кораби създадени от нищото. Истински трибют към военната тактика и психология, където всичко зависи от един гигантски ум, който може да вдигне и разруши империи с едно мигване на взиращите се в бъдещето очи. Великолепно забавление, ненатоварващо и развличащо по малко мъжки, но все пак задоволителен дори и за по-претенциозни читатели начин.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Alexandrian Ring
The Gamester Wars, Book 1
Author: William R Forstchen
Publisher: Del Rey
Published In: New York
Date: 1987
Pgs: 240

REVIEW MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS

Summary:
Alexander the Great. Long dead, but the future rides on his successes at war. First there was war, then there were wargames, growing more and more realistic until the games themselves surpassed war as mankind’s most popular sport. but with no blood, guts, or glory, boredom began to set in and strategy lost its edge. Something was needed to bring fresh excitement to an old, old game. And so the past was mined for the greatest warriors and generals history had to offer. Napoleon, Alexander, the Forty-seven Ronin, assassins from ancient Persia, all brilliant at either combat or at tactics and strategy. It was just a game, until mock war turned real on an unimaginable scale, and only those legendary warriors could turn the tide.

Genre:
Adventure
Fiction
Military
Science fiction
War

Why this book:
Alexander brought through time for a future war. C’mon. I’m in. This is a re-read for me. Great book.

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Favorite Character:
Alexander the Great is done incredibly here.

And his long suffering guardian, brought forward with him through time, Parmenion.

Least Favorite Character:
The gamblers who are bringing together all these people, Human and Gavarnian, to die for their amusement in “staged” wars that are all too real on the ground.

Character I Most Identified With:
Parmenion and Aldin. Parmenion cause by just doing what he thought was right, he got sucked into a situation far, far beyond his wildest imagining and stood up to the challenge. Aldin because he was constantly getting screwed over. Between the two, it sounds a lot like life.

The Feel:
The story despite its incredible setting feels real. This is one of the reasons that I have kept this book on my shelf all these years whenever a culling was in progress.

Favorite Scene:
When Alexander faces down the Gavarnian patrol soon after arriving on the Kolbard Ringworld.

The first and second Battle of the Ore Carrier...and the climactic battle on the hills between the Ore Carrier and the Gavarnian captial city.

Pacing:
The story is well paced.

Hmm Moments:
Imagine if an event drew 18% of the entire economy into it as bets.

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Last Page Sound:
I love how it leaves things.

Author Assessment:
More.

Editorial Assessment:
Well done.

Knee Jerk Reaction:
real genre classic

Disposition of Book:
Keeper

Would recommend to:
genre fans
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[Randy Pursley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I first read this book at least 15 years ago. It is just as good now as then. The setting takes place in the future where three different races of beings have colonized the Megallanic Clouds. The ultra-rich spend their time betting on games set up for their pleasure.

In this case, two historic generals from the past of two of the races are placed on a new world to see if they can become leaders again and fight against each other (the human one is Alexander the Great). The book provides a good dichotomy between the ultra-rich who are observing and betting on this confrontation and the two generals who are actually living it.

Now on to the second book of the series which if I remember right was even better than the first.

[Donatas · Rating 3 out of 5]

6/10 mintis žavi, bet išpildymas nerimtas, neįtikina tiek dėl žodyno, tiek dėl netolygaus vystymo greičio

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very good story. Good Characters, good pace, very clever idea, with a nice twist ending. I like everything WRF writes, and this was a very good addition. He loves battle and warfare and strategy, and warriors. And this book has all that and more. With a clever SciFi overlay that makes it very smart. And his works move along, and wrap up when then should, without dawdling. I'm looking forward to the 2nd book in the series.

[Dave Peticolas · Rating 2 out of 5]

Hm. Sci-fi, but with Alexander the Great.