Identify Books During An Oblique Approach (Belisarius #1)
| Original Title: | An Oblique Approach (Belisarius, #1) |
| ISBN: | 0671878654 (ISBN13: 9780671878658) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Series: | Belisarius #1 |
David Drake
Paperback | Pages: 467 pages Rating: 4.21 | 4013 Users | 77 Reviews
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Some of the best-written trash I've ever read. Trash, by the way, is a perfectly legitimate genre. There is good trash and then there is bad trash. Never turn down the opportunity to read good trash.This is pulpy, ridiculous, muscular, high-adventure alternate history with totally implausible science fiction trappings. In fact, "An Oblique Approach" is a horrible misnomer. They should call it, "A Shameless Approach."
I don't think this book cares at all about historical accuracy, plausibility, Orientalism, subtle drama or complex psychology. Drake and Flint play fast and loose with history, wheeling in breathtaking anachronisms. The protagonist is a 6th century Roman general fighting a 15th century war against a 13th century geopolitical landscape in defense of a Pax Romana-era vision of his homeland, with a supporting cast taken from the 18th and 17th century, lead by some kind of abstract hyper-advanced thought machine from the cold and distant future.
There are famous historical figures repurposed into wildly inappropriate cameos (Tarabai the Concubine--which is about as appropriate as Queen Elizabeth the Streetwalker) and figures of marginal relevance catapulted to the front of the narrative. The authors dabble in the culture of India and Byzantium, decorate their narratives in the pulpy trappings of Vedic tradition and African culture with all the reverence for accuracy of an Indiana Jones movie.
And I love it. It's a guilty pleasure, but it's hard not to love this book. It wouldn't work, by the way, if not for Drake's fine craftsmanship. David Drake has a gift for language and an ear for rhythm and expression. He paints vivid portraits of his characters, instills them with vigor and life. His dialogue is sharp and his descriptions imaginative. He does, however, have a tendency to slip into long passages of pure diagesis and explication, and often affects a breezy manner, glossing over narratives and telling me what I wish he'd show me.
All things considered, I enjoyed this book. Drake writes well, and the quality of his authorship is enough to re-appropriate brazen implausibilities into a distinct style
Specify Based On Books An Oblique Approach (Belisarius #1)
| Title | : | An Oblique Approach (Belisarius #1) |
| Author | : | David Drake |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Anniversary Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 467 pages |
| Published | : | December 28th 2004 by Baen Books (first published July 1st 1998) |
| Categories | : | Science Fiction. Alternate History. Fantasy. Fiction. Historical. Historical Fiction. War. Military Fiction |
Rating Based On Books An Oblique Approach (Belisarius #1)
Ratings: 4.21 From 4013 Users | 77 ReviewsAssessment Based On Books An Oblique Approach (Belisarius #1)
Fantastic start to this series, great plotting and story, vivid characters. Looking forward to the next one.There is a series of books started by Eric Flint where the good guys (Belisarius) and the bad guys (the Malawi empire in India) are assisted in warfare with help from far future information. We are seeing the historical situation (Belisarius lived from 500-565AD), and see what happens when they learn more modern technology and needs.This book is about something mentioned in other books, where they rescue an Indian princess from the bad guys - they will need her later.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I really liked the characters, especially their portrait of Belisarius. The way the story unfolded, how they would reveal some things but not others, was creative and enjoyable. I look forward to seeing how the story and the characters develop as the series unfolds.
I can't decide if this is a totally underrated series or if I should feel slightly guilty about liking it as much as I do. Probably both. It's historical sci-fi, which is a subgenre I can't always get into, as I'm not particularly a history geek, and it's also almost pure military porn, which I like rather more than I can explain.The best thing about the book is the banter. It's totally anachronistic, but it's funny, and for pure pulp like this, that's all I care about. The second-best thing
Fictionalized history, especially with military intrigue, can be fun. But this book has an awful lot of rape. Discussed or just "off camera" but a lot. Gang rape by conquering armies too. The good guys don't rape, they whore. Except the extra good main character who is totally faithful to his hot older wife (a former whore.) It's accurate to the time but still. Yikes. Several mentions of pedophilia as well. The sci fi aspects of the series don't get fleshed out in this book. There's a magic
Read this several years ago. Really enjoyed it and immediately checked the next book in the series out of the library.
I'm a little conflicted about this book. On the one hand, this was some of the best shameless tripe I've ever read. It's an alternate history in which some kind of far-future AI gets in touch with the legendary Byzantine general Beliarius, alerting him to the danger posed by a burgeoning Indian empire. There's action, battles, way-cool technological advances, intrigue, cleverness, impassioned philosophical debate, legendary assassins and a mission to rescue a captured princess. The book swings
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