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abigcoffeedragon's review
2.0
This does not do it for me.
It has on the surface what I would Love - the American Civil War retold in a fantasy setting.
The problem that I have with this book is that it is a civil war story and it is told - there is a ton of politics (because, guys, there was) - and a ton of military strategy (yeah, that too) - but there is not too much to keep me going.
Replace the Calvary with Unicorn riding military (very cool) replace trains with magic carpet 'slipstreams' kind of, weird, - and replace guns with crossbows.
The sad part is, that there is not anything to taste in this large meal - because it is an allegory and a retelling of sorts, there is nothing to be excited about, there are no characters to like, and a few characters to hate.
In watching North and South, it is a very dramatic movie with war thrown in and also romance. This is like that with less actual fighting (the war is more of a backdrop than front and center) and thank god there is not a romance angle.
Point being, this is more of a Fantasy History book, and not a Fantasy novel with action that I had hoped for.
3 stars because I love the concept, and the mixture of time-periods, but I did not love this story and will not continue this series. Maybe another in the Turtledove line.
It has on the surface what I would Love - the American Civil War retold in a fantasy setting.
The problem that I have with this book is that it is a civil war story and it is told - there is a ton of politics (because, guys, there was) - and a ton of military strategy (yeah, that too) - but there is not too much to keep me going.
Replace the Calvary with Unicorn riding military (very cool) replace trains with magic carpet 'slipstreams' kind of, weird, - and replace guns with crossbows.
The sad part is, that there is not anything to taste in this large meal - because it is an allegory and a retelling of sorts, there is nothing to be excited about, there are no characters to like, and a few characters to hate.
In watching North and South, it is a very dramatic movie with war thrown in and also romance. This is like that with less actual fighting (the war is more of a backdrop than front and center) and thank god there is not a romance angle.
Point being, this is more of a Fantasy History book, and not a Fantasy novel with action that I had hoped for.
3 stars because I love the concept, and the mixture of time-periods, but I did not love this story and will not continue this series. Maybe another in the Turtledove line.
rrjchristopher's review
4.0
The trilogy starting with Sentry Peak does for (or perhaps to) the American Civil War what Turtledove's 'Darkness' series does to World War II - places it in a feudal/post feudal, magic-using alternate world.
The humor is broad enough that even those with little knowledge of the Civil War will get some of the in-jokes. The storey revolves around a soldier in the Southern Army - one of the blondes the Northern magnates are fighting to keep in bondage - serfdom, not slavery; and a junior officer in the Northern army.
The humor is broad enough that even those with little knowledge of the Civil War will get some of the in-jokes. The storey revolves around a soldier in the Southern Army - one of the blondes the Northern magnates are fighting to keep in bondage - serfdom, not slavery; and a junior officer in the Northern army.
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