Cover 3

Great King's War

1985

Ratings1

Average rating2

15

I picked this up free from Baen Ebooks, so I have no complaint about the price.

It's a sequel to Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen, a popular book by the late H. Beam Piper; it imitates Piper's style (without improving on it) and maintains his scenario and characters acceptably enough.

At least one of the authors evidently takes an interest in war, because battlefield tactics are described with some imagination and enthusiasm.

However, I found the book rather slow and plodding. Piper's original book wasn't a work of fine literature, but it was better paced, livelier, and more concise.

For anyone who liked Piper's book and wants a sequel, this is adequate, but I think Piper himself could have done better. And a good writer could have improved on Piper's writing style without straining himself.

September 2, 2012Report this review