The Peshawar Lancers

This is the definition of a “ripping yarn.” I adore alternate history, and “Kim” is one of my favorite books, and somehow this book combines both of those things so very marvelously. This is a fun read, but with enough interesting alternate-history details stuck here and there that I found I had to buy a copy for myself after reading the library's copy. Highly recommended!

This ripping yarn may be the best of Stirling's novels.In the superbly imagined scenario, cometary impacts in the 19th century destroyed Europe and North America, but allowed the core of British society to emigrate to India, Australia, and South Africa. After catastrophe and slow recovery, by 2025 the Anglo-Indian Empire rules almost half the world's population from Delhi, with slightly improved 19th-century technology, including airships and a few massive mechanical computers.It's opposed by several lesser powers, including a union of China and Japan, the Caliph in Damascus, and the surviving Russians, who have turned to devil worship and ritual cannibalism. Afghanistan remains as ungovernable as ever, so the stage is set for a revival of the Great Game, and adventure on the North-West Frontier.The story is good enough to match the setting, and it's action all the way, as a colourful band of heroes defend the Empire from the dastardly villains who seek to sabotage it.There's an element of the paranormal: the Russians have bred a small number of clairvoyant women who can see visions of the future, giving them more clout than they would otherwise have.Intertwined with the action-adventure plot are various love stories that come to a head neatly at the end of the book.It's a long novel that seems shorter: despite the detailed descriptive prose, the pace doesn't let up, there's always something happening to keep you turning the page.Stirling has a tendency to put exaggerated villains into his stories, and he's a tactical hobbyist who likes to describe hand-to-hand combat in detail. Both could be seen as faults, but in this book they fit well enough into the setting and the story. Be warned that, if you're allergic to deadly combat, you'd probably better avoid Stirling altogether; although there's much else going on here besides combat.The novel is complete in itself: it ends well and doesn't require a sequel. However, it's hard to come away from a world so vividly described and accept that there will be no more of it. Unfortunately, Stirling seems to feel he's shot his bolt with this one, and he went on to write about other worlds and other characters. There's just one shorter story set in the same world as this ([b:Shikari in Galveston 9408004 Shikari in Galveston S.M. Stirling https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png 14292026]), and it's mildly interesting but doesn't reach the same high standard as the novel.Stirling is a writer who researches his novels in depth. For this one, he's clearly researched India in depth, in order to give us a thorough immersion in Indian culture, peoples, landscapes, languages, and so on. However, he's not Indian, doesn't live there, and did his research over a relatively short period of time. Experts on India may well find errors here. For the rest of us, he's done a good job: it may not be completely accurate, but it's very plausible.