Arslan

Rating:
Summary: Politics, gender, troubling
Review: Arslan is distinguished by some rather extraordinary politics on race and gender. It's a fascinating book, well-written and weirdly plausible. Times being what they are, people do seem to miss the politics of the book, though--Arslan, the general of the book's title, plans to reduce all areas of the world to basic self-sufficiency as a way of getting rid of injustice, sickness, etc. The author seems to present this as a tough but rational contention, just as she presents an Arslan who is both loathesome and heroic. Is the post-Arslan world better off? I'm not really sure what the author intends us to believe. This is a book with troubling race and gender politics--Arslan's Eurasian soldiers range all the way from inscrutable to vicious, with a lot of emphasis on their crude, savage loyalty. And there is a creepy quality to the relentless depiction of sexual violence and coercion--rather as though we the readers are meant to get a semi-conscious kick out of it. This is certainly a fascinating book, as much to analyze and debate as to read.

Rating:
Summary: Politics, gender, troubling
Review: Arslan is distinguished by some rather extraordinary politics on race and gender. It's a fascinating book, well-written and weirdly plausible. Times being what they are, people do seem to miss the politics of the book, though--Arslan, the general of the book's title, plans to reduce all areas of the world to basic self-sufficiency as a way of getting rid of injustice, sickness, etc. The author seems to present this as a tough but rational contention, just as she presents an Arslan who is both loathesome and heroic. Is the post-Arslan world better off? I'm not really sure what the author intends us to believe. This is a book with troubling race and gender politics--Arslan's Eurasian soldiers range all the way from inscrutable to vicious, with a lot of emphasis on their crude, savage loyalty. And there is a creepy quality to the relentless depiction of sexual violence and coercion--rather as though we the readers are meant to get a semi-conscious kick out of it. This is certainly a fascinating book, as much to analyze and debate as to read.

Rating:
Summary: Compelling
Review: Before I scribble my own thoughts here, I want to correct one of the previous user reviews, by Duncan Tomas. He says that there is no explanation as to how this extraordinary situation came to be, or why the world's armies allow it to continue. All I can say is, Duncan Tomas obviously didn't read the book very closely. There is a clear explanation for all the supposed plot holes he complains about.

And now my thoughts. This book, like all great books, (and I'm thinking of books like Lord of the Rings here) has something for everyone. A casual reader can be glued to his seat reading about Franklin Graham's struggle against the tyrannical rule of Arslan, and the more serious reader can luxuriate in the beautiful language of Hunt Morgan's narration.

Despite the outragous scenario - a third world dictator conquers the world - the tone is restrained and subtle. There is only one scene of explicit violence. Franklin Bond fights an emotional and physical battle against Arslan, while Hunt Morgan fights a desperate spiritual battle against the advances of Arslan. It's a story about fathers and sons, as the author says. It is profound, beautiful, and sad.

I cannot recommend it more highly.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic
Review: Consider this... a book that starts very slowly with an almost absurd premise and with the help of a very skillful author, gradually builds to a climax that never lets go. What is at stake? Power, loyalty, and honor. Engh will make you to rethink for weeks to come.

General Arslan, the book's main character, storms through the United States with only a handful of soldiers, virtually conquering not only North America but also a fair slice of the globe. Forcing the President to yield power to him, the unusually young General pays a visit to the small town of Kraftsville, Illinios. It is here that we meet Franklin Bond, the principal of a local school. For the first few pages, the reader experiences everything through his eyes. I won't go further into the book. I suggest you find a copy and read it. Trust the author. The first thing that will gradually dawn on you is that she is an extremely good writer.

Rating:
Summary: A Classic
Review: Consider this... a book that starts very slowly with an almost absurd premise and with the help of a very skillful author, gradually builds to a climax that never lets go. What is at stake? Power, loyalty, and honor. Engh will make you to rethink for weeks to come.

General Arslan, the book's main character, storms through the United States with only a handful of soldiers, virtually conquering not only North America but also a fair slice of the globe. Forcing the President to yield power to him, the unusually young General pays a visit to the small town of Kraftsville, Illinios. It is here that we meet Franklin Bond, the principal of a local school. For the first few pages, the reader experiences everything through his eyes. I won't go further into the book. I suggest you find a copy and read it. Trust the author. The first thing that will gradually dawn on you is that she is an extremely good writer.

Rating:
Summary: Emperor's New Clothes, I'm afraid...
Review: I eagerly anticipated reading this book - the testimonies from Orson Scott Card and Samuel Delany were candid and unambiguous- essentially stating "buy this book".
This book is self indulgent and anonymous in its detail- period. No explanation as to how the circumstances arose, no explanation or insight into why or how the situation developed - despite this apparently being part of the books appeal.
No general understanding of the human condition is conveyed - what race or armies of the world willingly ( by its actions) allows the atrocities Arslan ( the leader of the world, remember ) committed on the school stage for example. No, this is a shallow fantasy contrived by MJ Engh, who seeks through subliminal messages and euphamisms to assert the author's own troubled and rather singularly one dimensional thinking.
One start out of five and the Emperors New Clothes for me...

Rating:
Summary: Emperor's New Clothes, I'm afraid...
Review: I eagerly anticipated reading this book - the testimonies from Orson Scott Card and Samuel Delany were candid and unambiguous- essentially stating "buy this book".
This book is self indulgent and anonymous in its detail- period. No explanation as to how the circumstances arose, no explanation or insight into why or how the situation developed - despite this apparently being part of the books appeal.
No general understanding of the human condition is conveyed - what race or armies of the world willingly ( by its actions) allows the atrocities Arslan ( the leader of the world, remember ) committed on the school stage for example. No, this is a shallow fantasy contrived by MJ Engh, who seeks through subliminal messages and euphamisms to assert the author's own troubled and rather singularly one dimensional thinking.
One start out of five and the Emperors New Clothes for me...

Rating:
Summary: Emperor's New Clothes, I'm afraid...
Review: I eagerly anticipated reading this book - the testimonies from Orson Scott Card and Samuel Delany were candid and unambiguous- essentially stating "buy this book".
This book is self indulgent and anonymous in its detail- period. No explanation as to how the circumstances arose, no explanation or insight into why or how the situation developed - despite this apparently being part of the books appeal.
No general understanding of the human condition is conveyed - what race or armies of the world willingly ( by its actions) allows the atrocities Arslan ( the leader of the world, remember ) committed on the school stage for example. No, this is a shallow fantasy contrived by MJ Engh, who seeks through subliminal messages and euphamisms to assert the author's own troubled and rather singularly one dimensional thinking.
One start out of five and the Emperors New Clothes for me...

Rating:
Summary: Equal parts brilliant and flawed
Review: I'm tempted to give Arslan another star for the writing in the 'Hunt Morgan' sections alone, but ultimately Engh squanders what starts as a compelling and potentially brilliant treatise on the complexities of power and the relationships between those who possess it and those who do not.

The first half of the book [written from the point of view of the 'Franklin Bond' character] sets up the story, the characters and rolls out the Engh's main arguments and socio-political theories. The writing is clear, penetrating and full of wonderful detail. The characters of Arslan, Bond and Hunt Morgan are very well rounded and complex, each with their own believable paths.

But then a strange thing happens. Engh ends this portion of the book and begins a new section called 'Hunt Morgan.' Hunt's 'voice' is devestatingly lyrical and expressive - some of the best writing of the novel is contained in this section. But even as Engh creates a powerfull, more lyrical voice for Hunt's POV all this beautiful writing hides a hollow narrative center. We re-live some of the scenes first introduced in the 'Franklin Bond' section and then follow Hunt as he travels with Arslan to Bukhara. All of this wonderful writing amounts to very little character or story development; we continue to range around in Hunt's mind as he is subjected to similar events concerning Arslan, none of which deepen our understanding of either character. This continues for over one hundred pages.

Beautiful the writing may be, but structurally the book falls apart. From here on out Engh flies on fumes, coasting until the next 'Franklin Bond' section yet when it finally arrives, it is nothing more than a melodramatic end-cap to the story that [again] does not further her characters, the argument, or the narrative.

Ultimately Arslan fails in spite of its superior effort. The ideas and characters so assuredly introduced spiral out of Ms. Engh's control and by the end of the novel, one gets the feeling that indulgence set her adrift, forcing her into an artificial ending rather than a re-working and re-structuring of the novel. Still, I would recommend this book to anyone frustrated with the lack of well written speculative fiction. As a very interesting failure, it facinates.

Rating:
Summary: The man who destroyed the world
Review: It is said that given a lever long enough, one can move the world with but a push. Arslan, a militarist from a tumultous backwater kingdom, conquered the world and destroyed civilization as we know it. M.J. Engh's "Arslan" is a true gem of speculative fiction. The central character, Arslan, is perhaps one of the most powerful, moving characters ever created: he is a force of unnerving, logical, yet passionate evil, yet he is incredibly human, even romantic. Arslan's goal is to save the world. From us. And yet he admittedly delights in the very hunt, the battle. He savors pain. He delights in perversion as much as he delights in learning. He shapes people's lives with his presence alone.

Using subtle, quick-moving language Engh paints a brilliant masterpiece that would require less masterful authors to use far more explicit scenes. It's sad that this excuciatingly powerful work of speculative political fiction (it takes place in an Illinois town in our time, and contains very few science fiction or fantasy elements) will not probably live to see a reprint.