Rating: 
Summary: Adequate
Review: Yet another alternative history tale. The originals that this book is based upon are better than this.If you have not read the originals, then this is a perfectly adequate substitute.
Rating: 
Summary: Very original and a great stroy
Review: One word of advice. Before you begin reading this book, go to the back and read the Appendices. They will give you enough of the backstory to enjoy the book a little more. It was a little difficult trying to imagine all of the historical changes that had happened to be able to follow this alternate timeline but once I read the appendices, the story was much easier to follow. Stirling has once again written a very original story and created a vibrant world with very believable characters and events.
Rating: 
Summary: A Ripping Good Read, what!
Review: While not quite up to the military fiction qualifications of his sometimes writing partner, David Drake (but then who else is?!?), Sterling delivers a summer-time reading delight - just make sure that you're covered up with SPS 30+ if you'e planning to read this by the pool or on the beach. I won't go into details, as they've been covered in other reviews, except that he does leave room for sequels ("The montain in the sky..."). You will not find this on your "New York Times Book Review" Best Seller lists, any more than you would expect to find anything by Rudyard Kipling. This is all quite non-pc, but a jolly good read. It's Kipling and the "Great Game", John Masters and Talbot Mundy all wrapped up an a book that will delight anyone with any knowledge of India during the 19th and early 20th Centuries, as well as those of us who appreciate a good alternative history. And there are also some very serious (and fairly realistic) occult goings on - nothing which would bother the average OTO member, but quite nasty for the rest of us. Bottom line - if you like Kipling, then buy this book! If you don't like Kipling, then you are wasting your time reading these reviews.
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful
Review: Stirling's book is practically impossible to put down, almost as if it was cemented to your hands. It was the first book I have read of his, but it definitely will not be my last. I plan to read all of his books. This story is made so great by the details of the culture, but the plot and the characters are superb also. Everything about this book is great. Believe me, you should definitely read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Swashbuckling with a Victorian flair
Review: I really enjoyed this one. For a while now I despaired of Mr. Serling ever writing an alternate history novel without having alternative kinky sex in it. Now, I'm no prude, but i am a bit stodgy, I suppose. Profanity and explicit sex just ruin books for me. But with this one, we have a swashbuckling story which is Edwardian in feel, as another reviewer mentioned already. Anyway, a world where Britain survives after a meteor strike destroys Western Civilization AS We Know It. The cutest thing in the book is where they mention that the Aussies consider themselves the only members of the Empire who still speak "pure" English. lol Anyway, if you want a fast-moving romp with some inetersting characters and some truly evil villians, buy this one.
Rating:
Summary: A New World to play in.
Review: Just finished reading the book and liked it very much. What struck me was the clever use of local lingo,example: "shabash" for one. I have heard that often in my family as well as "acha" and other such whats. The writer got the perspectives of Pathan and Pashtu correctly as well, as the Brits always called the Pashtun/Pahktoons Pathans.
I especially like that Stirling has created a new world/alternate timeline in which anything can be written about. He can go forward, backwards or sideways, describing the descent of the Americas into oblivion, the rise of Dia-Nippon, the episodes of the Second Mutiny, the tribal conflicts for resources (loot) amongst the Afghans or Europeans, the internal workings of Brazil, a future history in the 22nd century, whatever.
I will be waiting eagerly to see if he pursues this in the future.
Rating:
Summary: Good But Not Stirling's Best
Review: This is the third alternative history Stirling has developed. In The Peshawar Lancers, the key divergence from our history occurs in the late 19th century when a cometary or asteroidal impact destroys most of Europe and North America. The resulting nuclear winter type of event causes global famine and depopulation of the Northern Hemisphere. Great Britain is intially partially spared and the British Empire is able to reconstitute itself by moving the center of the British state to India. The result is a hybrid European-Indian Empire spanning much of the globe. This book is essentially an attempt to use a conventional adventure story to display this alternative world. Stirling does a really good job of developing his alternative history. The Anglo-Indian society is not just a mechanical articulation of colonial India but a real hybrid with a new form of English, hybrid social structure, and interesting politics. This world, however, is more interesting than the plot Stirling develops to drive the novel forward. The story and characters are not all that interesting though I suspect that this is partly the result of Stirling's efforts to emulate Edwardian romances. This book is definitely worth reading for Stirling's imaginative use of his historic material but I recommend waiting for the less expensive paperback editions.
Rating:
Summary: Flashman with the serial numbers filed off.
Review: Great book! I really enjoyed it under its original title "Flashman and the Great Game" by George MacDonald Fraser.
Rating:
Summary: High Adventure
Review: I read this book, and got completely enthralled. Stirling created an anazing alternative world. I found the mixing of Indian and Anglo cultures fascinating. The fact that the transition was so gradual that the "New British" did not even notice the change fascinated me. I dearly hope more books set in this world are forthcoming.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent
Review: Lots of blood-and-thunder. I especially enjoyed the alternate world of India following the loss of Victorian England.
I would have liked a bit more about the loss of England; however, that given was, like the rest of the book, very well written and enjoyable.
I heartily recommend this title.
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