The Martian General's Daughter by Theodore Judson
01/04/2008 . Source: Tomas L. Martin 
pub: Pyr/Prometheus Books. 234 page enlarged paperback. Price: $15.00 (US). ISBN: 978-1-59102-643-3. Buy The Martian General's Daughter in the USA - or Buy The Martian General's Daughter in the UK  check out website: www.pyrsf.com
The decline of an empire is always a fascinating study. Gibbons' classic work 'The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire' is a long and detailed analysis of how and why the Roman Empire fell apart and the various emperors that held the throne during the chaotic dissolution.
This slim volume has the same topic, although set a few centuries in our future rather than two thousand years ago. 'The Martian General's Daughter' is essentially a metaphor for the fall of the Roman Empire, using a fictionalised future empire as its canvas.
Despite its obvious source material, Theodore Judson's book is still a worthy piece of fiction. Its viewpoint character is the illegitimate daughter of the General Peter Black, a man devoted to his duty for the Empire. After the death of the noble Emperor Mathias, with a nanovirus destroying much of the world's technology, the empire faces collapse as a series of mad, eccentric, incompetent or power hungry leaders scheme for the throne.
As one of the remaining heroes of the Pan-Polarian Empire's army, Black is constantly being linked to the throne but simply wants to do his duty. This often means coming to save whomever the emperor is to save them from their own failings.
Over the course of the book, Judson plots much of the General's life as he is a witness and participant in all of the important events of a world falling apart with its dying technology.
Despite covering a lot of ground, the book still manages to capture a lot of vivid events through the use of the General Black's daughter as the viewpoint, providing a more emotionally-linked telling of events. The General is portrayed as a noble but flawed character as he ages and tries to prop up the Empire he loves.
There is little actual Science Fiction in the book. Although there is some time spent on Mars and a return by spacecraft, the detail is sparse. The nanovirus actually serves the purpose of removing much of the technology of the Empire, making it at a level more like the Roman collapse the plot is based around.
Normally, I'd find this lack of world-building a problem but in this case it is a feature rather than a flaw. The book is an extended metaphor for the fall of empires and the death of globalisation and so uses the Science Fiction setting merely as a tool to allow fictional characters and events. The result is a strong, dynamic analysis of what happens when a nation grows too far and collapses under the pressure of its ambition.
The characters are strong and multi-dimensional and Theodore Judson has created a novel that is stimulating and a worthy sequel in spirit to 'The Decline And Fall Of The Roman Empire'.
Tomas L. Martin |
|
Add SFcrowsnest.com daily news updates to your
own web site or blog - just cut and paste the code
below...
POST YOUR COMMENTS  CLICK HERE TO HAVE YOUR SAY
|
