leons1701's review
2.0
Definitely liked the main Raj Whitehall series better than the follow on. Though not as compact and rushed feeling as The Chosen, this still feels like it could have taken more time to develop characters. Than again, this series really isn't about the characters at all, is it. Once again, history is sort of repeated on another world, this time it's the late Roman Republic that gets the expy treatment, though oddly, they still seem to be fighting the Carthaginians or at least a reasonable stand in for them. Unlike the Raj books, the initial tech isn't changed too much, though the "Romans" use asegai instead of swords. And here again we have a major change in tone between the initial series and the sequels, Center uses it's agent to drive rapid innovation, introducing guns, steam power, iron clad ships and anti-sepsis procedures. Indeed, the goal this time is not uniting the world or defeating a particularly malignant society, it's breaking technological stagnation. Of course the best way to do that is to fight a few wars, right?
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