Let's Read: The General (By David Drake)

[Terra Novan]

Well, this is my first Let's Read thread, inspired by @The Victorian's Let's Read: David Weber's Honor Harrington. And I chose David Drake's The General series, mostly because the 8 out of 10 books of the series are free, and I have brought the last two books. And also because I really like the 'Days of Future Past' trope. In fact, this series inspired me to start my own Lost Colony worldbuilding containing a lot of references to this series, which I hope to create a story or quest with.

This Let's Read will focus on worldbuilding, the flaws in the story, and my own thoughts about both of them.

Two things I should mention before I start:

First, unlike other Let's Read narrators, I actually read most of the series, except Book 10.

Second, The General and its authors (Drake and S.M. Stirling) is not the most progressive or Leftward series aligned with SV's culture, so expect many problematic elements. Hopefully, this won't get me into trouble.

Now, let's begin with the first book, The Forge, available freely and legally through Baen, and if you don't want to go to that place (I don't, either), you can check the David Drake section of Free Speculative Fiction Online, which contains a collection of many sci-fi stories, both short and long.

I would start with the summary/description, but unfortunately, one in Amazon is pretty bare, so I'll do it myself.

This series does what many authors and stories do, transplanting parts of history from Earth into the SPACE! and retelling the events. In the case of the first five books of The General, it's Belisarius and his wars to reconquer the Western Roman Empire. The world resembles that of the Mediterranean of the 6th century as well, containing the expies of Roman, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Huns, and Sassanid Persia. Even their societies are inexplicably like their OTL equivalents, despite the 1800s tech level. David Drake adds a theme of sci-fi uplifting into this, rather typical for Baen stories.


This is the map of the known world, of planet Bellevue. You can see how it vaguely resembles the Mediterranean and the nearby regions. Unfortunately, most of the names are very hard to read, except that the 'current year' is set over a millennium after the apocalypse, and I can't find a bigger or more high res map, so it is fairly useless. The later regional maps, as well as the world maps from more recent books, are better.

Now, let's begin with the story.

The rodent was dead now, dangling from the jaws of a cat-sized spersauroid, a slinky thing with a huge head and slender body carried high on four spidery legs. It blinked at them with eyelids that closed to a vertical slit, and then was gone with a rustle of scales against rubble. Raj grimaced. One of the few pleasant things about living in East Residence was that Terran life had mostly replaced the local. But not in the catacombs, it seemed.

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We can infer several things from this. Firstly, our protagonist Raj Whitehall (Belisarius) is under the ground, in the catacomb of a place called East Residence. Secondly, he is not on Earth, but in some other place which has a native ecosystem in competition with imported Terran life. And the native ones appear to be dinosaurs.

Another character is introduced: Raj's friend, Thom Poplanich.

A genuine five-shot revolver, it was as much a badge of nobleman's rank as was the saber he carried slung over one shoulder. Both were as familiar as his clothes: Whitehall had been born in Descott County, hard country two weeks' journey north of the capital, where men went armed from puberty.

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We learn that Raj's society has a hereditary aristocracy and that he is from a rural area.

"Spirit of Man of the Stars," Raj said, and touched the silver wafer etched in holy circuits that hung around his neck. "This place makes my skin crawl." Everyone knew the catacombs under New Residence were ancient and huge . . . but those were just words until you saw it. This complex could house the whole population of the capital, with room to spare—and New Residence was the largest city on Earth.

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And also that he is not a Christian, and apparently part of some kind of tech-cult. New Residence is presumably the alternate name for East Residence, similar to how Constantinople was called 'New Rome' and 'The City' by the Romans, although it may also be one of several inconsistencies in this series (there are many, some of them can be very glaring).

Curiously, they call their world 'Earth', as well.

Anyway, Raj and Thom are exploring the pre-apocalypse (the 'Fall') ruin under the capital. We learn that the dominant religion worships the pre-Fall civilization and that they consider computer a sacred relic, even an inactive one. Raj, being provincial, is more religious. Thom, a refined urban aristocrat, is more cynical, noting how corrupt the church is, citing their recent ruling on the 'Miraculous Multiplication' of relics. Apparently, the belief is what makes the relic holy, not the authenticity of the relic.

The tech-cult is basically the not-Medieval Christian Church, with fake relics, Inquisition, and all the lovely stuff.

They descend further down. Two languages are introduced: the Namerique and Sponglish, the former divided into Old and modern. Namerique is basically future English, the name presumably coming from 'North American'. Sponglish is one of those 'Hispanic USA' things, a creole of Spanish and English. We also learn that several military units had gone renegade during the Fall.

Then they find something interesting: a live equipment, still working after a thousand years. Raj is anxious, even comparing the feeling to his fighting during the not-Nika riot. Thom is more curious, however, and Raj reluctantly follows him.

Even deeper, Raj and Thom find more: many dried human bones, all somehow undisturbed. This is definitely a sign that they should just turn back and leave this place, but the door behind them closes down, trapping them here unless they can find another way out.

They also find an old service rifle, retired from the government service two centuries ago. And a rusty laser gun.

Speaking of the koorg-rifle, the retired service rifle, I have some thoughts. It is described as:

"Double-barreled muzzle loader with octagonal barrels."

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That's certainly unusual for service rifles. Multi-barreled guns are popular for hunting, but in my knowledge, only the Austrians ever adopted such weapon as a service rifle, and even then only for their light infantry.

And octagonal barrels? It is also very unusual since only a very few guns have that kind of rifling. It gives the rifle greater accuracy, and reduce fouling from powder residues. It is also a way more expensive than simpler conventional rifling.

All these factors combined make the koorg-rifle unsuitable as a service rifle. Maybe a special weapon to equip skirmishers and sharpshooters, but not something you would want to give to every soldier.

Near the end of this chapter, Raj and Thom arrive on a circular room covered with mirrors, with a pillar of light on the center. This is depicted on the cover of Warlord, a collection of first two books, although they don't actually float in the books:



Then Raj notices the strangest thing: the mirrors, they don't reflect the light. At this, Thom finally decides that enough is enough and runs. Tried to run, that is. He suddenly freezes in place, everything about his body movement, including facial, just stops, like he is stuck in stasis (which he is, considering the nature of the setting).

Raj, being a military man, pulls his revolver and empties it into the room, but it does nothing except ricocheting and nearly killing both of them. He is put on stasis just as he was reloading, then an inhuman, emotionless voice speaks in his mind:

yes. yes, you will do very well.

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So ends the first chapter.

 

[Terra Novan]

In the last chapter, Raj and his friend was stuck in the underground ruin and was put in the stasis. This chapter starts with the entire room vanishing into blackness, then we find the owner of a mysterious voice.

I am Sector Command and Control Unit AZ12-b14-c000 Mk. XIV.

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So yes, this is another main character, the military supercomputer Center. Considering the religion of this world, Raj is justifiably awed because an angel spoke to him, which the Center tries to dispel by factually describing itself in technical languages... Which doesn't work because the Spirit of Man (the tech-cult) faith uses the exact same language as in their scripture.

We are then introduced to another recurring element of the series:

observe. think.

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The Center has the power to create a hyper-realistic simulation, mostly to serve as a vessel for info-dump and a convenient source for solutions to whatever obstacle Raj and other protagonists are facing. And also something that I have a bit of problem with.

While the idea is quite interesting, the way the simulation is presented is very much Deus Ex Machina-like. The Center admits that it was cut off from any visual inputs during the Fall and that Raj is its only source of information. Yet the simulations and predictions are all incredibly precise and accurate, bothering on the precognition level. For example, the Center can make a very accurate 3d map of the terrain, despite its only sources of information are satellite maps from more than a thousand years ago, and Raj's own visual observation that can only see what he can see. There is no way it can make a 100% accurate map, considering that terrain can change radically over a relatively short period even without human activity.

Anyway, the Center shows Raj a view of what appears to be a sci-fi version of East Residence. To Raj, this is basically like seeing the Garden of Eden, but the annoyed (it gets more human-like over the stories) Center corrects him that this is a simulation of the city just twenty-years after the Fall.

The city suddenly gets attacked with what appears to be a nuclear bomb, or at least something equally powerful. The attacker turns out to be the 591st Provisional Brigade, whose descendants are basically the Ostrogothic Germans who took over the not-Italian Peninsular and Rome.

The next scene shows the same city, apparently unscarred from the attack. But Raj notices signs of decline. This time, the attackers come from the sea, and despite having the same future-equipments as the Brigade, are more barbarous and undisciplined. As you can expect from that unflattering description, these are the Vandal-Expy, the 3rd Cruiser Squadron, aka the Squadron, who are now the rulers of not-North Africa. Apparently even the Brigade considers them savages, and they have noticeably lower tech level, armed with flintlocks.

The next scene and the city has very much fallen into ruin, with surviving buildings being disassembled for building materials and low-tech society formed around the last remnants of the sci-fi civilization. And this time the attackers are... Muslims called the Colonists.

This is one of the first appearances of problematic elements in this series. Muslims, at least the mainstream Sunni Islam, are not described positively in The General, although the series at least acknowledge that they are civilized and technologically advanced, and often the Civil Government, the Roman Empire-Expy and the protagonist faction, does not really behave better than the Colony. Still, prepare to be disquieted every time they come up.

Anyway, it is the end of sci-fi civilization and the transition to low-tech one, as both armies are depicted as fighting with makeshift guns and melee weapons, and a beam weapon is depicted malfunctioning in the middle of combat, its wielder stabbed with a spear.

The next few scenes are the history of East Residence up to approximately the contemporary era, filled with battles and sieges. A unique element of the Bellevue series appears (although it was mentioned a few times before): a riding dog, size of a horse. Many breeds are mentioned throughout the story, including Alsatian, Basenji (standard Colonial mount), and Borzoi.

Unfortunately, while common in the fiction alongside wolves, riding dogs are not scientifically possible even if they are the size of the horse, because the canine spine structure can't withstand a heavy weight upon them.

In the middle of this, Raj notices that the simulated events are actually different from real history. It turns out that these simulations are basically the 'bad end' scenarios for the Civil Government, every one of them ending with the destruction of East Residence, the last one by the Colonists. The Center explains that they would have happened if people who came earlier than Raj and Thom had been allowed to leave because sociopolitical and economic factors weren't right.

So Center basically put them in stasis and killed them all. Yeah... I really wouldn't trust a computer who does that. Not to mention that bit about sociopolitical and economic factors being not adequate for the mission doesn't sound right, considering it chose to not act even when the sci-fi civilization of Federation was mostly intact.

Anyway, the mission is to... to conquer the entire world! Raj thinks he is not an adequate man for such a monumental mission, but the Center insists he is. He is, however, not a political man, but that won't be a problem because he will be a simple general under the ruling Governor, not becoming one himself. And he will get a lot of help from his wife, who will appear prominently in the next chapters.

An extremely corrupt and evil Chancellor named Robert Tsetzas is mentioned. Raj recounts a joke about how a venomous animal bit Tsetzas once. The animal died from poison, while Tsetzas was not affected even one bit. He will be Raj's main enemy on the homefront, and basically the worst stereotype of corrupt and incompetent civilian (there are several in the series) screwing over the military.

Raj accepts his mission, the Center inserts a brain implant on him so he can communicate in real-time with it constantly. He can't tell anyone about it, though, since he will be seen as gone insane, even by his wife.

However, Thom can't leave. He is a scion of the prior royal family, which the current holder of Governorship usurped in typical Roman fashion - with the support of the military. Thom is way too popular with the old aristocracy, who hates the upstart Governor and his family with a passion. Once more paranoid and unstable not-Justinian gets the chair, he will execute Thom with trumped-up charges of treason and heresy.

With electrocution. I guess it is appropriate for tech-worshipping religion, who does have a knowledge of electricity.

In the simulation, this leads to Raj rebelling against the Governor and taking the chair himself. Like all other simulation, it does not end well. Raj reluctantly accepts that Thom has to remain here for everyone's sake. The Center assures him that his friend will not be harmed, which is rather unconvincing considering what it did to all the other people.

This ends Chapter 2.

 

[Terra Novan]

Chapter 3 starts at the grand reception hall of the Governor's palace.

"Captain the Honorable Messer Raj Ammenda Halgern da Luis Whitehall, Whitehall of Hillchapel, Hereditary Supervisor of Smythe Parish, Descott County, Guard to the Exalted Vice-Governor, presents himself for duty!"

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Our protagonist's full name and titles. Messer is a gentry class of the Civil Government, derived from the English word Messrs, plural of Mr. Their wife is called Messa. This class forms the bulk of cavalry officers.

The floor was tessellated marble, and the walls point-topped windows filled with stained glass, mostly Scriptural scenes—computers, spaceships lifting off—or gruesome martyrdoms, or the triumphs of the Governors. A blare of trumpets, and the mechanical men spaced at intervals along the walls came to attention from parade rest, slapping the replica lasers with their left hands as they brought them to the salute. There was a hiss and whir from the compressed-air machinery of the automatons, and the arc lights along the angle of ceiling and wall popped and flared, shedding an actinic blue light and the occasional spark. The crowd moaned, bowing in unison before the awesome technology of the ancients.

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This is something that I really like since it shows the unique culture of the Civil Government - their mythologization of high technology.

In this chapter, we are introduced to Vice-Governor Barholm Clerett, the more paranoid and unstable Justinian. He is from the rural Descott region as Raj, but unlike Raj, he is completely immersed in refined city culture. Raj is one of his personal bodyguards, troubleshooters, and advisors, or bucellari to use the Roman term, as noted by the Center.

Now, the Center's simulation shows that Barholm can be a very capable ruler. The problem is how he always seems to listen to Tsetzas (who is called Tzetzas in this chapter and afterward), who is only out for his own enrichment at the cost of the ruination of everyone else, including the Civil Government. But Barholm does act by his own volition on some matter, like major military campaigns and grand strategies.

The petitioners in the hall show the problem the Civil Government is suffering - endemic corruption, onerous taxation by tax farmers crushing the already poor serf-farmers even further, neglected border defense to the point where Center's simulation shows them just letting the Colonist army through because they can't stop the regulars and the government doesn't bother helping them. Naturally, Tzetzas has hands in all of these, either directly or indirectly.

Then we are introduced to the foreign envoys - from the Free Canton of the Halvardi. As you can guess from that name, they are Swiss people IN SPACE, who have become a tribal barbarian. They have blond, braided hairs, their gift to Barholm includes beer and cheese, and their shaman even wears a model of Cuckoo clock and imitate the sound with his voice, like this:

A shaman capered before them, waving a cross and ceremonial wooden house with a small jeweled bird within; he chanted, an eerie nasal kuku-kuku that sent not a few hands reaching for their amulets.

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Yeah, many stereotypes abound. Their language, the Zvetchietz, doesn't sound like any language used in Swiss, though, described as a stereotypical barbarian chant to both me and Raj.

Anyway, Halvardi is the counterpart of various RL Caucasian (the mountains, not the other meaning) kingdoms and tribes, who lived between the Romans and the Persians and often fought for and against both. Here, Halvardi is nominally on the side of the Civil Government, receiving bribes so they can keep the not-Hunnic Skinner nomads out, and occasionally let them through so Skinners can raid the Colonist lands. Unfortunately, the ruler of the Colony, Settler Jamal, is fed up with this and threatening a conquest of Halvardi, sending his son and best general Tewfik, so they are asking for help.

Barholm decides that the matter is serious enough for him to take an interest, so he dismisses the rest of the petitioners and gathers his advisors in a conference room. The group includes Barholm's wife Anne (Theodora) who is a friend of Raj's wife and his only real ally in the palace, General Klostermann the Commander of the Eastern Forces, Tzetzas, Captain Helmt Stanson who is another of Barholm's guard, and Halvardi's hired diplomat Delegate Hortanz.

They discuss the strategic situation. Klostermann is there to make an exposition about troop deployment status and being old conservative codger not in touch with reality on the ground, but he does give a good summary of why situations are not good for the Civil Government to militarily intervene. He suggests sending Halvardi some arms and engineers to fortify their mountain passes, which Barholm rejects because the Civil Government wants Halvardi to be dependent on their support, not making them stronger and self-reliant. Reinforcements from the Civil Government won't arrive fast enough to stop the Colonists, either.

The Center does another of its simulation, this time in a form of augmented reality overlaid over Raj's vision. It shows that the Colonist army won't have an easy time reaching Halvardi lands either. So Raj proposes his own idea - distracting the Colonists with feint raids, to make them think the Civil Government will invade them so they will back down from the Halvardi expedition to prepare the defense of their homeland.

Klostermann is against this idea, but Barholm likes it. He assigns Raj and Stanson with a battalion (Civil Government army is made up of battalions instead of regiments for some reason) each as raiding forces, they are allowed to pick any East Residence area unit they want to. After the rest of the group except Raj leaves the room, Barholm congratulates Raj on his good work in 'taking care of' Thom Poplanich. Raj is also scared of Anne, who is a very ruthless and smart lady (not as RL Theodora in Drake's later Belisarius series, though. That Theodora is a real scary piece of work).

 

[Terra Novan]

In Chapter 4, we are introduced to Suzette Whitehall (Antonina), Raj's devoted wife. She is also a ruthless femme fatale who is willing to do anything to help Raj and remove his enemies.

Suzette is from (and the last of) an ancient noble line, the Wenqui, which is noted to be just as ancient as the Poplanich, although their fortune has been heavily declined by the time of Suzette. She and Raj met at Raj's uncle Alois' (likely a reference to Colonel Alois Hammer, from Drake's Hammer's Slammers series) garden-party. It was both loves at first sight for them. She is also a shrewd investor and a benevolent mistress for her servants, the latter for a pragmatic reason since she uses them for spying and even assassination.

It should be noted that her eyes keep changing their color throughout the series, just another of inconsistencies. Anyway, Suzette is coming with Raj to the battlefield with her trusty Colonial repeating carbine, and Raj can't really stop her from coming. As you can see, the love interests in The General series are often not someone who can be considered a 'proper lady' by the standards of their respective societies, and the one who started out as a proper lady develops a backbone of steel quite quickly. They will be ruthless, cunning and willful, and often have at least one body count on their hands. Suzette is a seductress and politically acute, helping Raj where he is most deficient. Other books' love interests include warrior woman and a successful businesswoman.

And speaking of the guns, the Civil Government uses an Armory Rifle, which is basically Martini-Henry, while the Colonial favors rapid-firing, but shorter ranged lever action carbine, basically either Henry or Winchester. Apparently Drake had a Trapdoor Springfield in his mind regarding Armory Rifle, but Stirling changed it to Martini-Henry because he has one and is most familiar with. Both are equally good rifles, so I don't mind much.

Anyway, they have sex after that, and Raj checks over his and Stanson's chosen battalions. Stanson's unit is the 2nd Gendarmerie Battalion, a fashionable, overstrength, and lavishly equipped unit... that practically never leaves the city and the only recent combat experience being putting down strikes and not-Nika riot. Most of them are more interested in enjoying the pleasure of the city than combat, and those who aren't are often NCOs past their retirement age. So basically a parade unit, not someone you would want to take to the frontline combat, derided by Raj as poodles.

Raj, meanwhile, has chosen a unit from his homeland, a Descott 12th, but at the advice of Center, changes to 5th Descott Guards at the last moment, because they have a better set of officers. The problem is, as Suzette points out, is that the 5th are understrength two hundred men right now because those same officers are pocketing the pay and rations of non-existent soldiers. Raj grins and replies that it proves them they are sharper than the 12th at least.

Suzette, still worried, suggest that Raj should ask for replacement soldiers, Raj is not inclined because it would look silly to Barholm when he asked for the 12th in the first place, but Suzette promises to talk to her friend Anne. Raj remarks how good that Suzette became a friend with Anne before Barholm became the heir. Suzette simply replies:

Suzette looked at him with a slight flare of her patrician nostrils. "The only difference between Anne and me," she said coldly, "is that I was older and had more money and choices when I was thrown out on my own. And a few contacts. She was sold to be an 'entertainer' at ten. I'll see you at dinner."

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After that, Raj sends out messages to the 5th Descott, supply depot, and the Master of Ordnance, to prepare the raid. He also has another simulated vision, and it isn't a pretty one. The Colonists are shown to be slavers, capturing and selling the Civil Government citizens (as well as the Black Zanj Muslims to their south) to mines, sugar plantation, harem, etc... And they also geld the male slaves if they are sold as harem guards. Although, as shown in other chapters, the Civil Government isn't really better at the slaving department.

Raj grimly remembers that it has been a long time since the Civil Government actually won a major battle against the Colony. Center helpfully gives him a more precise date: Forty-three years two months seventeen days. Raj speaks aloud at that:

"We'll just have to make sure the record doesn't run to forty-four,"

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[Terra Novan]

In this chapter, 5th Descott and 2nd Gendarmerie have set out from the city, and almost immediately they run into trouble on road.

Also, another worldbuilding: The planet Bellevue has two moons, called the Maxiluna and Miniluna for their apparent sizes. Multiple moons are one of the more popular fictional elements, as it is a simple and effective way to show that this is not Earth. Most fictions never actually address the effect of multiple moons, but I don't begrudge them for that since I don't really understand the effect either.

Raj, while moving to the front of the column to see what is the trouble, notes sardonically that 'only' a quarter of the 5th's officers are in coaches, in comparison with the 2nd. Then we have this banter:

It turns that the source of trouble is a steam traction engine carrying cargoes of precious stones, that is blocking the road. The driver is stuck between soldiers who are a bit too enthusiastic about just shooting him and his crew, and the hard place since he can't afford to put his engine and cargo off the road because the material is for the new temple Barholm is building (who even commissioned a heretical architect from the not-Rome of Old Residence) and he will be severely punished if the delivery is late or damaged, not to mention how the landowner will react if his engine damages the farmland.

Side note, the priests of Spirit of Men faith is called Sysup, aka System Update. Their witch hunters are appropriately called the Viral Cleansers.

So here's how Raj solves this particular problem: by just removing the engine and cargoes out of the way, to the farm field. That way, those precious stones won't have to be damaged and can restart the journey, once the church arrives with their own salvage crew and equipment.

That is, honestly, pretty dickish thing to do. Yes, I know that military priority often takes precedent over civilian one, but Raj is basically destroying that man's job without any compensation. Not to mention that it reeks of 'Hard Military Man Doing Hard Decision' meme. And when the driver protests, Raj just threatens to shoot him.

After the work starts, Raj asks the Master Sergeant of the 2nd about whereabout of Stanson. It turns out Stanson is way back in the column, in his coach with a female. Apparently the concubine fashion changed from male to female this year.

Stanson than arrives to see what is delaying the march, and he is shown to be not a good officer. He is drinking, indulging in a luxury item, and lacking in proper dress discipline. He does make a good point, though, that this could have been avoided if they just took a ship instead of marching on foot. Raj replies that the men need toughening up. Stanson, unfortunately, takes it as an insult against his men's capability (and to be fair to him, Raj do insult them in his mind, and almost verbally insulted them if Center didn't intervene). Center then displays a few simulations. Basically, this will lead to a duel if Raj doesn't quickly defuse the tension, which will lead to either Raj (if they dueled with a pistol, as Stanson is damn good shooter) or Stanson (if they dueled with a sword, Raj is better at this). And in the case of the latter, the operation goes complete FUBAR, Raj will get executed for that, and the Colony will end up conquering the entire Civil Government.

So Raj just says he didn't mean any insult toward Stanson or his men.

In the next scene, the sun has set and both battalions are settling down for the night. Raj gathers his battalion for a general assembly, starting first with an evening service.

And here are their evening prayer:

"Hear us, O Spirit of Man of the Stars,"

"Hear us,"

"Code not our sins; let them be erased and not ROMed in Thy disks."

"Forgive us, O Star Spirit!"

"The Spirit of Man is of the Stars and all the Universe: this we believe."

"Witness our belief, O Star Spirit!"

"As we believe and act in righteousness, so shall we be boosted into the Orbit of fulfillment."

"Raise us up, O Star Spirit!"

"Deliver us from the Crash; from the Meltdown; from the Hard Rads; spare us."

"Spare us, O Star Spirit!"

"We receive diligently the Input from Thy Holy Terminal, now and forever."

"Forever, O Star Spirit!"

"As we believe, so let Thy Holy Federation be restored in our time, O Spirit of Man of the Stars; and if the burden of a faithless generation's sin be too great, may our souls be received into the Net. Endfile."

"Endfile!"

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Quite interesting. And charming in narmy way.

Then Raj casually drops a bombshell about how he is requisitioning all coaches and carriage the officers brought with them. Since Suzette's own carriage is also being requisitioned, and bringing nonregulated vehicles into the field is strictly forbidden, they can't protest much. Raj than dismissed the assembled battalion, foretelling regular inspections and drills.

In this scene, we are introduced to several regular characters, including Master Sergeant De Cruz, Lieutenant Kaltin Gruder, Senior Lieutenant Gerrin Staenbridge, and Staenbridge's pretty boy lover Bartin Foley.

After that, Raj and Suzette take their night sleep. Raj is already sick of Stanson and his incompetence, Suzette is worried because he is a dangerous man with a temper and too well-connected to be easily removed, but she notes that a man like him can be manipulated.

 

[Captain Orsai]

(cross-posting from SB)

So here's how Raj solves this particular problem: by just removing the engine and cargoes out of the way, to the farm field. That way, those precious stones won't have to be damaged and can restart the journey, once the church arrives with their own salvage crew and equipment.

That is, honestly, pretty dickish thing to do. Yes, I know that military priority often takes precedent over civilian one, but Raj is basically destroying that man's job without any compensation. Not to mention that it reeks of 'Hard Military Man Doing Hard Decision' meme. And when the driver protests, Raj just threatens to shoot him.

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It's worth noting that Raj is not a nice man by our standards, at least not in the general sense (he can be on a personal level), and product of a very different society to ours (this will become very clear when the 5th Descott's mission gets to the armed violence and raid portion). There are quite a number of Civil Government officers who would have just shot the guy, out of convenience or just plain nasty attitude, so.

 

[Terra Novan]

It's worth noting that Raj is not a nice man by our standards, at least not in the general sense (he can be on a personal level), and product of a very different society to ours (this will become very clear when the 5th Descott's mission gets to the armed violence and raid portion). There are quite a number of Civil Government officers who would have just shot the guy, out of convenience or just plain nasty attitude, so.

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I know that. I already read the entire Bellevue series, several times, enough to understand that they are operating from a very different culture and society. But it still feels incredibly crappy for that driver, because he will be the one who gets all the blames.

 

[Captain Orsai]

I know that. I already read the entire Bellevue series, several times, enough to understand that they are operating from a very different culture and society. But it still feels incredibly crappy for that driver, because he will be the one who gets all the blames.

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As said on SB, that comment was more for the general readership who might not be so familiar; and yeah, no question it sucks for that guy. But, well, shit in general sucks for everyone (and this is, of course, Raj at his youngest and most likely to solutions of speed rather than elegance within the series; Centre did just have to talk him out of duelling a brother officer ).

 

[Terra Novan]

But, well, shit in general sucks for everyone

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And trying to make things unsuck for most people (most, because there are still losers even when it is successful) is what Center is trying to do.

 

[Erandil]

That is the series with the dogs as horses switch, right? Because that bit has always bugged me and nearly got me to stop reading the story several times even as a teenager. The sheer problem of supplying a mostly carnivore beast for any length of time, especially with the amounts mentioned in the books, is just so mindbogglingly stupid that even teenager me was left aghast...

 

[LordInsane]

That is the series with the dogs as horses switch, right? Because that bit has always bugged me and nearly got me to stop reading the story several times even as a teenager. The sheer problem of supplying a mostly carnivore beast for any length of time, especially with the amounts mentioned in the books, is just so mindbogglingly stupid that even teenager me was left aghast...

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Mentioned in one of the posts, yeah. Though IIRC it only applied to the Bellevue novels, but that is half the series.

 

[Terra Novan]

Mentioned in one of the posts, yeah. Though IIRC it only applied to the Bellevue novels, but that is half the series.

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Although I only pointed out that riding on even a horse-sized dog will likely cripple them, not the logistics side (the Bellevue dogs seems to be able to better subsist on mostly vegetarian meals, a 'dogmash', even if offal and meats are added to them).

 

[Terra Novan]

So, as Raj said in the previous chapter, the 5th Descott is being run through a series of drills and inspections, and while the poor bastards who ran afoul of equipment inspections are having a bad time, the battalion, even the camp followers, is definitely much better prepared for combat than the 2nd.

This chapter also shows the problem with a horse-sized carnivore as mount: firstly, you need bone and offal in addition to the usual soyamash (the fact that they can actually mostly subsist on soy like a horse suggest that their stomach may have been modified as well). Secondly, if their tempers flare up, they'll rip your arm off, as demonstrated by one poor servant in the 2nd.

Despite the somewhat poor first meeting with each other in the last chapter, Raj and his battalion commanders are getting along well, building rapport with each other through drills. Also, volley fire, which I REALLY like about the pre-magazine rifle warfare. Seriously, watch Zulu. Volley fire is dope.

Also, they encounter a pack of velociraptors or sicklefeets as the locals call them. Turns out that they were game animals kept by a local landowner for his personal hunting. Raj promptly shuts him down and billet the battalions on his town. And unlike that traction engine driver last chapter, I fully approve, because: first, as Raj notes, sicklefeets are meat-eaters preying upon people, especially the defenseless children, and as discovered by Kaltin Gruder and his men, one of them already did ate a child while on landowner's preserve. Second, that landowner Minh was stupid enough to actually try attack Raj with a horsewhip, which, as noted by Raj while he threatened to break his wrist, would have been an assault against serving officer, highly illegal. Even Center calculated that there would be no bad consequences from this (it was slightly incorrect, as we will see near the end).

Meanwhile, Suzette has been busy buttering up Stanson with her womanly charm, enough for Raj to get all the 200 replacements from the East Residence. Although, as noted by De Cruz, they are not really good replacements, not to mention that the 5th would still be understrength even with them. One problem with the rather archaic recruitment system the Civil Government has is noted as well: being started out as feudal warbands, it is not easy for complete strangers to integrate with existing units, nor it is easy to transfer personnel from unit to unit.

In fact, I would probably say more about the Civil Government and their army throughout the Let's Read, because while Mr. Drake made a good work at integrating Byzantine army organization with the 1800s technology, it is not perfect in my opinion.

Also, a Descott soldier with a shady past and records has been caught while stealing from civilians, whose patriarch has an atrocious hick accent that I can barely decipher. This soldier is M'lewis, another regular, also a former rustler from the most lawless part of Descott who traded bars for a noose. Raj mercifully commutes his punishment from flogging to various lesser punishments. His servants who were accomplices were flogged, then their wounds were salted. As noted by someone in SB, Raj is a classicist and a regionalist, but he will keep his men in line (going against the enemy civilians are different matters, as everyone on Bellevue is working under a pre-modern rule of war). Which is still a lot better than the 2nd, as we will see in the next chapter.

 

[Captain Orsai]

Also, they encounter a pack of velociraptors or sicklefeets as the locals call them. Turns out that they were game animals kept by a local landowner for his personal hunting. Raj promptly shuts him down and billet the battalions on his town. And unlike that traction engine driver last chapter, I fully approve, because: first, as Raj notes, sicklefeets are meat-eaters preying upon people, especially the defenseless children, and as discovered by Kaltin Gruder and his men, one of them already did ate a child while on landowner's preserve. Second, that landowner Minh was stupid enough to actually try attack Raj with a horsewhip, which, as noted by Raj while he threatened to break his wrist, would have been an assault against serving officer, highly illegal. Even Center calculated that there would be no bad consequences from this (it was slightly incorrect, as we will see near the end).

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As said on SB, it doesn't exactly help Minh's case that he clearly has never actually dealt, firsthand, with someone who genuinely overpowers him. As Raj notes, a Descotter squire (like himself) would be quite happy to give a cavalry battalion commander a piece of their mind in similar fashion - but with their own men at attendance and safely ensconced behind the walls of their manor. And even then, they'd probably be a good deal more polite about it, because blood feud and vendetta is a fine art in Descott county (and coming the acid with someone of authority like Minh is, might end up with you being sniped by mysteriously discriminate "bandits").

 

[Terra Novan]

Warning: Depiction of rapes, including an underage rape.

Raj and his men start this chapter by having dinner with Stanson. They are not having a good time, partially because Stanson committed a minor faux pas by bringing his mistress Merta with, which, with Suzette's presence, is an insult or a sign of ill-discipline. At least the foods and drinks are good; and Staenbridge, Kaltin Gruder and his brother Evrard, and young Foley are all men of culture. Especially Foley, whose knowledge of classical writings will be brought up throughout the series.

Their dinner is interrupted when a peasant woman pleads (again with a nearly indecipherable accent. It's like reading Lovecraft all over again) for help. Apparently bandits have attacked her farm and still occupying it, but she is acting strange around Stanson. Raj and the officers of the 5th leave immediately to help her. They don't like being with Stanson anyway.

They are joined by De Cruz, his men... and M'lewis, who is volunteering to get in the good grace of Raj (and getting his rum ration back). He happens to know the terrain since he tried to rob the place last chapter, and his skill as a rustler and thief comes in handy as a scout.

This chapter also introduces several characters' iconic weapons - M'lewis' garrote, and Foley's shotgun, which they will use (with great effectiveness) throughout the series.

But they face a problem. Turns out that these 'bandits' are actually the 2nd and their mistresses and manservants. Charging in with guns blazing and killing them all (as Raj almost ordered before Center stopped him) will basically lead to the same result as his duel with Stanson. So the soldiers of the 2nd are off the limit, to the great chagrin of Raj, but not their servants.

Turns out that this is a home of that farmer from the last chapter. They killed him, are raping his daughters and son, and busy breaking and eating his few properties. Raj proves that he has a skill in theatrics, by proclaiming that the 2nd IS helping them taking out the 'bandits' (meaning the servants). After killing few servants who tried to resist or run, the Descotters manages to safely disarm and naturalize the 2nd (without their dresses and personal items) and strips their mistresses of their valuables, firmly telling them to never come back. Everything they discarded is given to the surviving family members, which is a lot of money, but it won't get the father and husband back, or wipe away their trauma.

As for the 2nd's servants, Raj deals with them as he would deal with the bandits - he crucifies them, while their masters in the 2nd are watching.

M'lewis gets transferred as a courier to battalion staff (he picks up some 'souvenirs' before leaving).

Raj retires to his quarter, feeling tired and remorseful, although whether it is because of what he did, or what he couldn't do, is not mentioned. Suzette comforts him.

 

[Terra Novan]

Kind of bored with just keeping up with the story chapters, and I do have several things to say about the Civil Government army, so I am making forays into the appendix section. Now, the appendix is about the second book, so I am skipping the spoiler parts, leaving them for later.

All regular Civil Government forces were organized in battalions (Sponglish: bandata), of 500-800 men (average around 600).

Units larger than a battalion were organized ad hoc as situations demanded. While there was a schedule of ranks above Major—Colonel, Brigadier, Brigadier General and General, with administrative titles (e.g., "Commander of Eastern Forces" )—there was no permanent unit organization above the battalion.

Click to shrink...

Here, we learn the reason why the Civil Government army is made up of battalions. The reason for this is probably about preventing an armed coup or revolt, given that they are based on the Late Roman Army.

I don't think it is the best organizational structure, and I am sure that either Raj or other character echoes a thought similar to mine in the series. But it is clear that the Governors are more worried about getting thrown out of the chair than military effectiveness.

In theory, all male subjects of the Civil Government were subject to military service. In practice, this had long ago been commuted to a compensatory land-tax (levied on farm units, not on the owners from whom they were generally rented), for most of the central provinces. In many frontier or upland areas the tradition of direct service continued; families were required to send one son per generation, and pay for his equipment as a cavalry trooper; service was for ten-year enlistments. In return, the family holding was exempt from tax.

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One of Roman-ness of the Civil Government. Quite archaic for an early industrial society, although not as archaic as the below. The same paragraph also notes the practice of sending substitutes.

Infantry troops were issued their equipment, but did not receive payment in cash unless mobilized for field service. In time of peace they were supported by moderate-sized (30 hectares, or more if the region was infertile) farms on state-owned land; this land was worked by State peons, but managed by the soldier (who often spent as much or more time helping on the farm as drilling, in consequence). When an infantry unit's base was moved, new farms were assigned.

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This is Mr. Drake's attempt at modernizing the Byzantine Theme system with the 1800s warfare, although it sounds also partially like the later Pronoia system since the troopers themselves are not recruited from those who work on the assigned lands. IMO, the pronoia system, at least regarding the sources of revenue (solely relying on farmlands vs. also including other sources like mills, fishing rights, mines, docks, etc, and since the Civil Government is industrializing society, maybe even factories and rails) is better than this. It might able to solve, or at least decrease the problem mentioned above - soldiers working on farms instead of drilling, although it is also just as, and probably more likely for them to be taken advantage of as low-wage laborers.

And of course, plunders, including land confiscation and enslavements, are mentioned. It is going to happen a lot through the series.

 

[Captain Orsai]

Here, we learn the reason why the Civil Government army is made up of battalions. The reason for this is probably about preventing an armed coup or revolt, given that they are based on the Late Roman Army.

I don't think it is the best organizational structure, and I am sure that either Raj or other character echoes a thought similar to mine in the series. But it is clear that the Governors are more worried about getting thrown out of the chair than military effectiveness.

Click to shrink...

That is the reason; there's an uncomfortably long list of Governors who've shot, or at the very least threatened to shoot, their way onto the Chair - the Cleretts, for e.g. - and no Governor has any desire to make that any easier than it already is.

(even leaving aside the Governors who've been shot off the Chair by Generals who weren't interested in paying the price of failure)

 

[Terra Novan]

That is the reason; there's an uncomfortably long list of Governors who've shot, or at the very least threatened to shoot, their way onto the Chair - the Cleretts, for e.g. - and no Governor has any desire to make that any easier than it already is.

(even leaving aside the Governors who've been shot off the Chair by Generals who weren't interested in paying the price of failure)

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True, but that means the Civil Government army won't fight as effectively as it could, and due to the same political and security reason, they are often outnumbered severely as well, especially by the Colony (which, excluding the ghazi irregulars and nobles' retainers, still seems to outnumber the Civil Government by several times purely with the regulars).

 

[Captain Orsai]

True, but that means the Civil Government army won't fight as effectively as it could, and due to the same political and security reason, they are often outnumbered severely as well, especially by the Colony (which, excluding the ghazi irregulars and nobles' retainers, still seems to outnumber the Civil Government by several times purely with the regulars).

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Yes, but this is something of a point within the series; that if the Civil Government wasn't as afraid of internal rebellion as it is - justifiably - it would be far more able to leverage its resources to the subdual of the barbarian lands and military governments in unlawful rebellion against the Civil Government. But, with its history, and the number, as noted, of Governors who've been placed on the throne, or removed from it in very abrupt HR meetings, by internal forces, that weighs much heavier on the thinking.

 

[Cosar]

Yes, but this is something of a point within the series; that if the Civil Government wasn't as afraid of internal rebellion as it is - justifiably - it would be far more able to leverage its resources to the subdual of the barbarian lands and military governments in unlawful rebellion against the Civil Government. But, with its history, and the number, as noted, of Governors who've been placed on the throne, or removed from it in very abrupt HR meetings, by internal forces, that weighs much heavier on the thinking.

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Internal sabotage is a reoccurring theme in the series and hits the Civil government quite a bit. And nations not operating to their theoretical fullest capabilities(often due to cultural choices[?]) is also a bit of a continual theme that hits everyone(though the Colony and Civil Government probably come out best in this exchange).

 

[Terra Novan]

The uniforms of the Civil Government cavalry and infantrymen are described in the appendix. You can actually see them on book covers as well:

Spoiler: Warlord cover

Note Raj's blue jacket. Although unlike the description in the appendix, this one seems to be missing swallow-tails.

Spoiler: Hope Reborn cover

This is probably too fancy for what is described in the books and appendix. For example, the Civil Government cavalry helmet is a simple bowl-shaped iron helmet with a chainmail-leather neck guard, not this classical-themed one. With cuirasses, these look closer to the Brigade cavalrymen, although I think the Brigade wore something closer to the 17th-century cuirasses, not classical-themed ones that became common afterward.

Spoiler: Hope Renewed cover

This cover art is most accurate to the books. You can see the blue uniforms and bowl helmets of the Civil Government, even showing the details like Martini-Henry type Armory Rifle, chainmail neck guard on cavalry helmet, and general's stars on Raj's helmet.

This cover also gets an accurate look of Colonial soldiers as well, with their red djellaba and spiked helmet, alongside Winchester type lever action carbine.

 

[Terra Novan]

This chapter again starts out with the 5th engaging in mock battle. The 5th has now become a well-drilled force, capable of competent and complex maneuvers, compared to somewhat sloppy performances during the drill in Chapter 6.

The raiding force has now crossed the mountains, near the border to the Colony. The environment is becoming hotter and drier, with arable lands receding into steppes and deserts. They are approaching their base area of Komar.

County Legate in Komar has sent out a guide for the raiding force, a man named Muzzaf Kerpatik. Muzzaf is one of the burgeoning capitalist class (a 'person-of-doing' in story) in the industrializing civilization of Bellevue, a truly self-made man. Interestingly, also happens to be a half-colonial, and for some reason, rather concerned about the local defense and if Raj's force is enough for that. Raj is puzzled because defending Komar is not within its mission. Anyway, Muzzaf tells Raj that he is willing to help him defend Komar, his home.

Being a country gentry, Raj finds Muzzaf a rather odd and unsettling individual, unsure of what exactly he does or why he won't buy land (which Raj regards as the only real wealth) with the money he has. He does consider him an extraordinary for getting rich without inheriting or stealing, however.

Now, a bawdy marching song time. I wonder if this one is from Kipling.

The custom of border counties is noted. Due to their history of raids and warfare with the Colony, there is general antipathy against Islam in the local culture, expressed by such customs as no woman wearing any kind of veil despite the harsh sun (while many men wear one), eating pork and drinking wine, and spitting at the name of the Prophet. The locals seem to be partially modeled after the Medieval Catalonians - mountainous terrain, ambush warfare, javelins, and the warcry of 'Despert Staahl' (very obviously a variant of 'Desperta Ferro' - 'Awake iron', the famed warcry of Almogavars).

Komar is a beautiful city. Unlike other parts of the county, it has extensive irrigation to support much greenery, and apparently Barholm had invested heavily in the area's infrastructures. The hinterlands are rich with farmlands and orchards, many farmed by slaves, mostly Colonials but also some blacks from the lands of Zanj, or a place called Azania even further away. The locals are very welcoming to the raiding force. Well, TOO welcoming, cheering crowds, religious ceremonies, and free foods and alcohols - even the prostitutes are offering free night. Something is definitely going on in Komar.

Meanwhile, now that Stanson has no use, Suzette ruthlessly discards him and inflicts some burns as parting gifts.

Within the city of Komar, Raj, and the 5th's commanders and his personal companions, including Staenbridge and Foley, Kaltin Gruder and his brother Evrard, a lieutenant from Kaltin Gruder's company named Mekkle Thiddo (who will be of minor importance in this series), and two gentlemen-rankers from Thiddo's platoon. Raj has apparently also called M'lewis as well, but he hasn't arrived yet.

Side note, a lot of Descotters are distantly related. I guess that's inevitable when you are recruiting from the close-knit rural society.

They have all noticed that townsfolks are TOO cheerful and glad to see them as if the raiding force is their only defense against the Colonial raid. Now, on paper, Komar is well-defended, with extensive fortification, a garrison of three infantry battalions and militias. M'lewis then arrives and starts telling them that something's fishy with the garrison, with the units that are not supposed to be here with their soldiers driven into desperate poverty without land grants - so much that they are selling their uniforms, begging, and working in a local factory, but they are interrupted.

It is Muzzaf, and he is forlorn. He says he had betrayed the Civil Government. Turns out that Komar's local government, alongside the authorities in East Residence (Tzetzas is very obviously involved), has engaged in a scheme to embezzle money from the army. They have moved the infantry units into the area, but deliberately withheld the land grants so they can skim the rent while the soldiers get nothing. It is also clear that the officers in those infantry battalions are involved, with one seen with luxury clothing completely beyond his payment. Even Kaltin Gruder, with his higher cavalry officer payment and his wealthy (by standards of Descott), can't afford it.

Side note, that luxury clothing is called torofib, from Azania:

That was a fiber spun to line its nests by a burrowing pseudoinsect that lived in the savannahs inland from the Zanj coast.

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I don't know what pseudoinsect is, probably some kind of spider.

So, as a result, the defense of Komar has been heavily compromised. There are few hundred private mercenary guards of the Legate from semi-barbarous Asaura County (an obvious derivation from Isauria in Eastern Roman Empire), militias manning the guns on fortifications, and about two hundred infantry regulars maintained at his personal expense by one of the infantry captains. The rests are aristocratic retainers and few in numbers. As Center's simulations show, even with Raj's force, they are not enough to defend the city from any serious raid, and asking the obstructive bureaucrats nicely won't get results until it is too late. So Raj decides to do something drastic and fast, and luckily he does have an authority to be forceful.

Side note, that infantry captain who is paying his men out of his pocket, Jorg Menyez, is the only one not corrupt, and also apparently from a well-to-do family, not someone you would commonly see in an infantry outfit.

First, they pay a visit to the Vice-Assistant Legate, and Raj is personally involved. He, Staenbridge, and Foley have to smash his left hand to get him to cooperate in the assigning land grants to the infantry. Second, the Gruder brothers and M'lewis try to convince the Director of Municipal Supply to give them necessary equipment, first by having M'lewis brazenly pocket some of the director's precious artworks, then by the Gruders breaking few others, and finally by nearly defenestrating him out of his office (they made sure to use his head and shoulders to clear what's left of windows and shutters). Finally, Thiddo has resolved a rationing problem - at least there was no killing. Thus the most pressing situation has been resolved.

Raj and Captain Menyez meet. Menyez is now a senior infantry commander of Komar due to everyone above him discharged by Raj. Menyez expresses envy at Raj's power to get things done, but Raj is angry and frustrated with the Civil Government bureaucracy because he has to abuse his power and beat them up to just get penpushers to do their job.

Yeah, Raj is a soldier to his very heart, not really someone who abuses his authority or holds ambition for a higher power. Unfortunately, the people at the court won't see it that way.

Also, apparently the reason why Menyez is in infantry and not more prestigious cavalry is that he is allergic to dogs. Another drawback of having a dog as a mount, I see.

Suzette, meanwhile, is writing a letter to Anne, to inform her how Tzetzas' appointee has neglected the defense of Komar, where the Cleretts had a lot of investment. This will get Tzetzas out of power, or at least out of Raj's way for a while. She entrusts the letter to her underling, Abdullah, who she emancipated from slavery alongside his family. He is a Druze and has no love for Sunni Colonists who persecutes his people (the text suggests outright massacres).

 

[Cosar]

I don't know what pseudoinsect is, probably some kind of spider.

Click to shrink...

I'm not sure if it's here or elsewhere, but I believe they're described as 8 legged. Presumably part of the native life, which mainly comes up as background color to establish that this isn't earth.

Not much else to say here; you've summed up what happened.

 

[slybrarian]

Just spotted this thread! It certainly brings back memories, I was and still am a big Drake fan. It also stands out as one of the few, if not only, mil-SF books from my teen years that had some queer main characters, for which I'm willing to forgive a lot of sins.

 

[LordInsane]

I'm not sure if it's here or elsewhere, but I believe they're described as 8 legged. Presumably part of the native life, which mainly comes up as background color to establish that this isn't earth.

Not much else to say here; you've summed up what happened.

Click to shrink...

Fairly reasonable name for it - it's not Earth-native, so it is not actually an insect, but it looks pretty insect-y, so it's a pseudoinsect (and then names like that lived on even after the Bellevuans got muddled about which planet was Earth and not).