A parallel can be drawn between this book and the General series. I enjoyed it too. Belisarius, a Roman general, is approached by a friend and an acquaintance with a “magic” crystal that provides visions. The rest of the book is dealing with those visions of the future and working to insure that they don’t come to past.In many ways the book is the typical, sword swirling, swashbuckling (what is a swash anyway?) action adventure. Being a simple sort, I actually enjoy that genre periodically. I have no recollection of the world being changed by the “Conan” novels, yet I still enjoyed them. (Unless you consider the guvinator in CA as a side affect of the “Conan” popularity.) There are pauses in the action for some forethought and character development. Drake always insures his female protagonists are not victims, even in cultures where they were basically devalued. The hard nosed interaction between the privileged few is entertaining. The banter occasionally eliciting a full blown guffaw is a measure of my enjoyment, in spite of startling my baseball mesmerized bride.
I enjoyed the book, I recommend it. I am going to start the second in the series as soon as I finished writing this review.
Body of work of David Drake
Web Site: http://www.david-drake.com/
Review: http://inotherworlds.com/An-Oblique-Approach.html
1 comment:
David Drake is my favorite military science fiction writer. I especially liked the Hammer's Slammers series. I read his last novel, Some Golden Harbor and am looking forward to the next book in the Lt. Leary Commanding series. His writing is sharp.
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