Heiki Eesmaa's Reviews > Rally Cry

A solidly written alternative history/military SF that's not all action but the plot is constantly advancing. I do love a rehash of the Yankee capitalist in King Arthur's court motifs. Well here it's Civil War era Union soldiers vs medieval Russians vs Mongol-like aliens.

If you've read some military SF you know how it's gonna go. There's gonna be factions: traitors in the ranks of heroes and noble warriors within the ranks of the villains. The rigid rules are gonna make life difficult for everyone and there will be clever innovations and breakthroughs and valiant speeches. However, the peasants from a rigidly hierarchical and collectivist culture will have no trouble deciding for American individualist values as soon as they hear of them.

And you know it's gonna end with a big few-against-many battle and the few are gonna prevail.

So it's a comforting fantasy but still reminds the reader of some complexities. Be it just that it was the Republican party that led the abolitionist effort and the Democrats were the slaveholders.

My ratings are a mix of how good I think the book is and how much I personally enjoyed it. My enjoyment is really pushing it towards a four but I've read too much of this formula to be fully absorbed by it.