Harald

Harald (2006) is a standalone SF novel. It is set in the Kingdom of Kaerlia and the surrounding lands. The Vales across the western mountains are populated with people much like the ancient Thracians. They were once part of Kaerlia, but past kings had neglected them and finally King Henry had disclaimed them a generation ago. The Vales are a disorderly collection of families without a king, but they all look to Harald Haraldsson -- the Senior Paramount -- for leadership. Kaerlia is becoming more oppressive. The King has tried to replace the missing Lady Commander of the Order -- a society of female mounted warriors -- but is being frustrated by their Council. His Wolves -- formerly royal messengers, but now more like enforcers -- are little more than armed bandits. They steal from the farmers and harass the Order. In this novel, King James summons his vassals to a conference in the royal castle and Harald Haraldsson is also invited. Harald and his brother-in-law Hrolf cross over the pass into Kaerlia. They travel crosscountry toward the King's castle and meet a group of armed farmers in a walled town. Then they overhear a group of Wolves planning a raid on an outpost of the Order and intervene to foil the attack. At a split in the road, Hrolf continues to Eston while Harald rides toward the castle. At first the guards refuse him entry, but he rides in with the guard of Lord Stephen of the North Province. Later he sits with them at supper and observes those at the high table, learning the names of the dignitaries from his tablemates. The next morning, Harald attends the conference and surprises the King with his observations and advice. First he corrects the King about the autonomous status of the Vales. Then he questions the King about his Wolves and their raids, stating that the Order is very important to Kaerlia. He advises the King to make peace with the Order and pay blood money for their casualties. In this story, the King is not happy with the way Harald is shaping the conference. the King offers to make him the ruler of the Vales, but Harald refuses. The King just doesn't understand the Vales. Lord Stephen confers with Harald and they agree that the King is being very foolish. He just doesn't comprehend the military situation regarding the Empire. The last time the Emperor sent his legions south into Kaerlia, Harald led the Vales cataphracts, the Kaerlian levies and the Order against them. These allied forces sent the the Imperials home with fewer men and much fewer horses and equipment. Now the King is making enemies of the Order and the Vales. Someone is trying to kill Harald. His horse hits a tripline and throws him, breaking his arm. The King refuses to let Harald go home, holding him as a virtual prisoner within the castle. Harald stays around and makes some new friends. Then he confronts the King and rides out of the castle with the royal guards as they look for an assassin. Harald is being pursued by

Harald, written by David D. Freidman is the story of a legendary war leader able to protect his people from an aggressivly expanding empire. It is a fantasy set in a time period of archery and armor (approx. 1200 A.D.). As a story it is a tale of war and leadership, strategy and tactics. Its greatest streagth is the feeling that it is written by a member of the Society for Creative Anachronism, its ability to describe the feel of the time period is memerable and makes the contests descibed the the book that much more real. As a treatise on war it emphsizes that little known precept that war is successfully waged (and won) by the intellegent in a given society. In addition if one wanted to know the value of logistics one would only need to read Harald to understand that armies move on their bellies. As a fantasy Harald works quite well and the author is careful to avoid both the horrors of war and the unwholesome vagories of mankind. This makes the book more enjoyable and presentable to children, however it then tends to romaticise warfare to a degree that one looks forward to the charactures engaging in the endever as opposed to regretting the entire issue. The charactures themselves sometimes tend to speak in shorthand and more than once this reader had to reread an exchange to understand who was speaking and about what. However that tended to make the book more enjoyable as it gave the feel that the reader was spying on individuals from a different culture with a different set of morals, allthough Harald, the primary characture, clearly has had a post Renaissance brush with western style independence and prudence. As a student of war and warfare I found the book enjoyable and look forward to any further attempts by David Freidman within this domain, perhaps with a little magic?

Declaration of bias -- I know the author, and I know that this affected how willing I was to keep reading. I greatly enjoyed the book, but it uses a very terse, elliptical style that took some time to get used to, and I think this will cause many readers to bounce off the prose. I would strongly suggest finding excerpts (I think there are some on the Baen website somewhere) and reading to see if you like the style. That said, this is a solid first novel with an interesting story and some likeable characters. It's an alternative history book that's firmly grounded in reality -- with one minor exception, not obvious to the reader, everything is physically plausible. And I am impressed with the way Friedman has worked some of his libertarian philosophy into the book without hitting the reader over the head with it. Too much political speculative fiction involves blatant sermons--this book uses a much more subtle showing-rather-than-telling approach and is so much better for it. It adds depth to the story rather than turning it into a political tract. It's not going to be to everyone's taste, but if you can handle the elliptical prose style it's an enjoyable read.