- Mass Market Paperback: 318 pages
- Publisher: Warner; First THUS edition (1976)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0446861049
- ISBN-13: 978-0446861045
- Product Dimensions: 17.2 x 10.7 x 2.4 cm
- Shipping Weight: 181 g
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
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Most helpful customer reviews
4.0 out of 5 stars
Politics, gender, troubling,
By sarah mae (USA) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Arslan (Mass Market Paperback)
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.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Compelling,
By Mike C (Incheon, South Korea) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Arslan (Paperback)
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.
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Very Compelling, Underappreciated Classic,
By
This review is from: Arslan (Paperback)
Orson Scott Card introduced me to "Arslan" in one of his books, and he marvelled how Engh was able to create Arslan, a vile character that you get to know and grow to sympathize with.The story begins with Franklin Bond, a Southern Illinois principal whose town is invaded by Arslan after the surrender of the United States and is made into a new capital. Bond becomes a governor of the county and watches the turmoil of his fellow citizens. In the meantime, he forms a strange friendship with Arslan, who always deals with Bond in a strangely respectful manner. Arslan even gives Bond a chance to kill him, because in Arslan's predatorial philosophy, no victory should be without risk. There is a catch: Arslan's soldiers will annihilate Bond's town if Arslan dies, and Bond would have very little time to evacuate the townsmen before the soldiers would realize what happened and begin the massacre. This was one of the most wrenching scenes, because you cry out to Bond "kill him", but Arslan's threat gives Bond cold feet. This is one of the first of many times where Engh shows how Arslan's cruel genius twists people's wills to his own. The story's perspective later alternates with Hunt Morgan, an adolescent and student of Bond's who is victimized by Arslan and then turned into a servant--Morgan's relationship with Arslan becomes one of the most complicated in the book, as Arslan both manipulates and befriends(?) the youth. These two men show us how our civilization could have been ruined by a no-name Third World dictator, and Engh's eye for human weaknesses and strengths makes this a believable tale that leave you wondering.
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