David Drake's legendary Raj Whitehall/The General series, stunningly
reborn! In a world of muskets, bows and arrows, and reptile riding
nomads, a young warrior fights against a totalitarian computer devoted
to stasis.
ABEL DASHIAN'S WORLD DOESN'T NEED A HERO
Duisberg is one of thousands of planets plunged into darkness and chaos
by the collapse of the galactic republic, but where other worlds have
begun to rebuild a star-travelling culture, Duisberg remains in an
uneasy balance between mud-brick civilization and bloodthirsty
barbarism.
The people of Duisberg have a god: Zentrum, a supercomputer from the
ancient past. Zentrum has decided avoid another collapse by preventing
civilization from rising from where it is. And because even a
supercomputer and the powerful religion which it founded cannot block
all progress, Zentrum has another tool: every few centuries the
barbarians sweep in from the desert, slaughtering the educated classes
and cowing the peasants back into submission. These are the Blood Winds,
and the Blood Winds are about to blow again.
This time, however, there's a difference: Abel Dashian, son of a
military officer, has received into his mind the spirit of Raj
Whitehall, the most successful general in the history of the planet
Bellevue--and of Center, the supercomputer which enabled Raj to shatter
his planet's barbarians and permit the return of civilization.
One hero can't stop the tide of barbarians unless he has his own culture
supporting him. To save Duisberg, Abel must break the power of
Zentrum.
With the help of Raj and Center, Abel Dashian must become . . . THE
HERETIC!
About ***The Heretic:
***"More than once, I envied Abel's 'gift'. If you count having the
voice of a computer and the recreation of a famous general in your head
as a gift. . .An interesting relationship that elevates [the novel] to
something unique. . .I loved the battles and I found Abel to be an
engaging character. I adored Golitsin, his priest friend."--SF
Crowsnest
About the Raj Whitehall series:
"[T]old with knowledge of military tactics and hardware, and vividly
described action. . .devotees of military SF should enjoy
themselves."--Publishers Weekly
"[A] thoroughly engrossing military sf series . . . superb battle
scenes, ingenious weaponry and tactics, homages to Kipling, and many
other goodies. High fun."--Booklist
About David Drake:
"[P]rose as cold and hard s the metal alloy of a tank ... rivals Crane
and Remarque ..." -Chicago Sun-Times
"Drake couldn't write a bad action scene at gunpoint." -Booklist
** About Tony Daniel:
"[D]azzling stuff."-New York Times Book Review
*
"[His work] teems with vivid characters and surprising
action."-Publishers Weekly (starred review)
*
"Daniel proves that the Golden Age of science fiction is right here and
now."-Greg Bear*
**"[A] large cast of utterly graspable humans, mostly military and
political folks, of all ranks and capacities and temperments. Daniel has
a keen eye for the kinds of in extremis thinking and behavior that such
a wartime situation would engender. . . .Following in the footsteps of
Poul Anderson and Greg Bear. . ."--Asimov's Science Fiction Magazine
on Daniel's Guardian of Night
