#Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K J Parker

[wherekizzialives]

December Reads

And I closed the year reading a further nine books, four of which I started back in January and have read month by month, since their chapters followed the changing seasons. One of the four was an almanac for 2023 so I won’t be including a review as, although I really enjoyed it, there isn’t one being produced for this year and it seems silly to link to something that is now out of date. I’ve…

[galaxseacreature]

34 & 39 for the book asks!

34. What’s a book you’ve recommended the most this year?

Ancillary Justice by Ann Leckie continues to be my go-to book recommendation whenever asked, particularly for scifi fans. An anti-imperialist novel with main character who was a starship AI on a quest for personal revenge against the emperor? Amazing world building that extends to diverse cultures outside the empire? No gender? Hard to beat!

Out of the books I actually read this year I found myself recommending The Three-Body problem by Cixin Liu for a serious, slowly unfolding hard scifi epic and Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K. J. Parker for a funny, fast paced adventure with a reluctantly heroic but sarcastic and unreliable narrator.

Honorable mention to Dracula (Daily) ofc, although I don't think I convinced anyone irl to join me that wasn't already subject to immense internet peer pressure about it.

39. Five books you absolutely want to read next year?

Oooh this is tricky because I hate planning, don't often keep track of new releases, and I love to just wander the library and see what stands out. Nevertheless! I have a few things in my sights:

The Dark Forest by Cixin Liu (had to let the first one stew awhile but now I'm itching to keep going with this series)

Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains by Bethany Brookshire (I don't read a lot of nonfiction but this is right up my alley)

A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine (it has been recommended to me a lot recently)

Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States by Samantha Allen (my queer bookclub read this and I was so excited for it but ended up being too busy that month)

My Body by Emily Ratajkowski (kind of a default pick since I already have it checked out of the library, it was an impulse though not a highly anticipated pick)

[filipmagnuswrites]

A Practical Guide to Conquering the World by K. J. Parker - Book Review

Series: The SiegePages: 350Genre: Quirky, dark fantasy The first two novels in K. J. Parker’s Siege trilogy did much to create a kaleidoscopic world from the singular position of the City, the capital of a great Empire that has been Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City told the story of an engineer not of the Robur race who struggled to hold out in the face of overwhelming odds, protecting this…

[ancient-rome-au]

REVIEW: Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City [no spoilers]

Here is the blurb on the back of the book:

To save the city will take a miracle, but what it has is Orhan. A colonel of engineers, Orhan has far more experience with bridge-building than battles, is a cheat and a liar, and has a serious problem with authority. He is, in other words, perfect for the job.

My rating: ★★★✰✰

TL;DR: Overall, I had fun with this book. I loved the genre elements: the Roman-inspired world and the plot centered on a siege. However, the literary elements were underwhelming. I think it can still be worth your time if those genre elements sound appealing to you; if not, skip it.

This is a rather difficult book to categorize into a genre. While the world in which it is set is heavily influenced by the Roman Empire, it is assuredly not historical fiction. Our protagonist is saving an unnamed capital city on the coast that is directly inspired by Constantinople, but is never named. The city is the capital of Robur Empire, whose culture and attitudes and government form are quite similar to our Romans, but whose skin is blue! (Note: the protagonist is not a blue-skinned Robur, but a "milk faced" outsider, and this sets him on a lower rung of the Robur's racial hierarchy.)

At the same time, it's not a work of fantasy. There is no magic, no prophecies, no divine intervention, no fantastical beasts, and no superhuman heroes. Indeed, the blue skin of the Robur people is the only arguably fantastical element of the world-building.

I would categorize it as a work of alternate history in an alternate universe. While the world of Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City (16WTDAWC hereafter) is unmistakably Roman, it remixes Roman (including the period we call "Byzantine") culture in a very interesting way. In this world, both gladiator fights and chariot races are held in the hippodrome. The Robur state religion has the aesthetic vibes of the Greek Orthodox Church but it remains polytheistic (As best I can tell. The narrator--the protagonist--never gets into the details. He makes a passing remark about some cult analogous to Christianity never getting off the ground.)

The book absolutely delivers on the premise in the title. Much of the plot centers on defending the walled city, either the organizing of its defense or the engineering of solutions to stave off any assault. If you like military history and/or warfare simulation (video games, tabletop games), you will have fun with this book. I certainly had fun with this book for that reason.

However, other elements of this book left me unsatisfied:

I personally disliked the protagonist-narrator. I am not going to opine on whether he is "likeable"--you can decide whether you like him. But he is very cynical, self-effacing in a way that comes across as insincere, and exhibits patterns of communication with other characters that are just terribly unproductive (e.g. telling them they're stupid instead of explaining WHY they are wrong.)

The narrator has a terrible habit of introducing flashbacks in the middle of dialogue scenes. It makes for a very jarring return to the present once the flashback is over.

The ideological conflict at the heart of 16WTDAWC is the same one identified by the (invented) speech of Calgacus in his criticism of the Romans prior to the battle of Mons Graupius: "To robbery, slaughter, plunder, they give the lying name of empire; they make a solitude and call it peace." Calling the empire "Robur" is not terribly subtle in this regard, but I don't mind that. My disappointment is that I felt that questions about wars of conquest, slavery, genocide, and imperialism were explored but not satisfactorily.

Regarding this final point, I want to be clear about what I am not trying to say here:

I am not disappointed that 16WTDAWC is not a thorough denouncement of the crimes of imperialism and vindication for human rights. I am disappointed that the protagonist is incapable of articulating:

a coherent explanation about how he reconciles his participation in a imperialist regime that is racist against him personally (even as he has risen fairly high in the ranks of its military!) He has an explanation but it's not a very good one! Basically he just doesn't think about it too hard and tries to get on with life.

a coherent response to the antagonist, who has strong views that the Robur Empire is evil (but I won't say too much more so as to minimize spoilers)

I think a more charitable read of this situation is that 16WTDAWC is happy to live with the ambiguity and let the reader make up their own mind as to whether the protagonist, antagonist, or neither is in the right. That's fine to a point. But I feel that this ideological question was under-explored by the book, in large part due to the personality and limitations of the protagonist. The conflict came across as one-dimensional.

Hat tip to @the-queen-of-bithynia for the recommendation.

[hersweetrevenge]

once the worms have inherited the earth, they may like to be reminded of the last dying whimper of the lions.

sixteen ways to defend a walled city, k. j. parker

[danniebooking]

I needed something light and fun in the midst of reading a lot of heavy books back to back (The Confessions of Frannie Langton, Lobizona, The Stepping Off Place) before jumping into The Black Kids so I picked up this one! It was really enjoyable, though it suffered from the same pitfall 90% of fantasy written by men do: there were a total of 3 women with any sort of significant role. This would be defended by the fact that the world its set in is heavily patriarchal and the plot means we’re dealing with a lot of military personnel (which women weren’t allowed to be of course). But it still left me wondering where the women of the titular walled city were the whole time. Even so, I did really enjoy the characters we were introduced to and the ending broke my heart a little bit (so much for picking up something light, right?). I’ll definitely be reading the sequel that is coming out on the 18th!

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[tiphes]

My guess is, they couldn't sleep, and they had the kind of generous nature that reckons insomnia isn't something you hoard all for yourself, you share with your friends and loved ones

Sixteen ways to defend a walled city - K. J. Parker

[parsleysagerosemarytimemachine]

I picked up 'Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City' because it looked interesting, and was quite rewarded for it. It's a story of an army engineer called upon to defend the byzantine capital of an empire that he only reluctantly believes in, but can't let go; there's something about competency fantasy about people who build things that really appeals to me, and this delivers, from the cynicism and ingenuity to the complex world that they live in. If you've ever wanted to save the world by being very good at what you do, but also aren't quite sure if the world should be saved without changing, this is a book for you.

For the card, I continue to love sagas as a way to represent stories; especially here, where it doesn't lend itself to a single creature or effect, but the idea of building walls, protection and defense, and also the occasional surprise attack, is very much this book. The colors might not be quite right for Magic, but since the two gladiator fandoms are the Blues and the Greens, I had to do it. :)

[sanjogsonsand]

" ɪᴛ'ꜱ ɴᴏᴛ ᴛʜᴇ ᴅᴇꜱᴩᴀɪʀ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ᴅᴇꜱᴛʀᴏyꜱ yᴏᴜ,

ɪᴛ'ꜱ ᴛʜᴇ ʜᴏᴩᴇ. "

~ K. J Parker, Sixteen ways to defend a wall city.

24My22

[zandalorscat]

Sometimes you come across a sentence in a book that is so funny and masterfully crafted that you have to stop and marvel a bit. My favorite right now is this one from Sixteen Ways To Defend A Walled City by K J Parker:

"Shut up," I explained.

[eddis-not-eeddis]

The Last Book I...

Bought: Chinatown Quest by Carol Green Wilson. A book about Donaldina Cameron, a Christina woman who rescued Chinese women who were sold into prostitution in San Fransico. I'm not that far into it, but so far it's fascinating.)

Borrowed: The Hallowed Hunt by Lois McMaster Bujold. It was good. Not as good as Paladin of Souls, but I enjoyed it.

Was gifted: Oooooh. @maysartcorner recently gifted me with a BEAUTIFUL copy of Pride and Prejudice.

Gave/lent to someone else: I gave All Creatures Great and Small by James Herriot to The Golden Princess. That girl inhales those books.

Started: The Man Upstairs and Other Stories by P. G. Wodehouse. He makes me laugh, and I've been on a Wodehouse kick for three months already.

Finished: Fly By Night by Frances Hardinge. This book. Guys. THIS BOOK IS SO GOOD. I love it. I read it first when I was...sixteen? It started off my trend of writing 18th century style "domestic" fantasy.

Gave 5 stars: Okay, so that last one I gave 5 stars to would be Fly By Night, but before that, the book I gave 5 stars to was Mark Twain's Helpful Hints for Good Living: A Handbook for the Damned Human Race by...Mark Twain. It started me off on a Twain spree. I've been reading a lot of humor recently.

Gave 2 stars: Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K. J. Parker. Okay look, I liked this book pretty much up until the end...and then BAM. I hated it. Since it was pretty good up until the last two-ish chapters I still gave it two stars but. Ugh.

Didn’t finish: I don't really DNF books. I can usually tell by the synopsis if it'll be okay, and within one page I know whether or not the writing style matches my tastes. I've gotten really good at figuring out how to pick books I'll like and avoid books I'll hate. If you look at my reading stats (something I love about using Story Graph) I rate over half the books I read between 4 and 5 stars. (I know what I like, okay.) I can't remember the last time I didn't finish a book.

Thank you for the tag @lady-merian, I LOVE talking about books. You're the best!

I tag @scarvenartist, @maysartcorner, @quiet-but-not-blind, and @hollers-and-holmes, if y'all aren't too terribly busy. :)

[coffeebased]

Would it be terrible if I kept doing this: popping onto WordPress once a year, for a week, just to chirp energetically about the things I’d done the previous year, before disappearing into the aether? Who would sanction me? Other than myself, of course, but I think that I have enough things to distract my conscience. My annually-updated reading blog hardly takes precedence over my other responsibilities and the reparations that have swallowed up my life.

  I know that I was due one more blog post in January 2019, about reading stats being compared across the years. How convenient it is that that is exactly what I shall be doing now, here in January 2020.

  My ideal posting schedule for 2020 will be as follows:

  2019 Books I have read and my 10 favourite ones (right now! Oh, happy day!)

2019 Reading Statistics (1/11)

Reading Statistics: 2013-2019 (1/18)

Goal-setting for 2020 (1/25)

  This was the system I tried to implement last year. Two out of three posts completed is still a failing mark. And goodness knows if I will manage to stick to that schedule this year, let alone what happens after those posts. That’s every Saturday for January settled. In previous years I used to do everything in one big post and that was great, like, very cathartic, but posts had gotten more and more unwieldy.

  This is such a heartening beginning to a blog post: complete abandonment to the four winds. No commitment! Just my own satisfaction. In 2020, forget overpromising, we are lackadaisically mentioning that we have some ideas that may or may not push through.

  I read 126 books in 2019! You can view the complete list: here. It’s the second least number of books I’ve read since I started documenting my reading habits in 2013. I’m not really surprised since I spent most of the year gathering data in the field or studying. More on that in succeeding blog posts.

  Previous year-end reading posts are here: 2013 | 2014 | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 a b|.

  My Ten Favourite Books from Those I Read in 2019

    The Sparrow and Children of God by Mary Doria Russell

  In 2019, humanity finally finds proof of extraterrestrial life when a listening post in Puerto Rico picks up exquisite singing from a planet that will come to be known as Rakhat. While United Nations diplomats endlessly debate a possible first contact mission, the Society of Jesus quietly organizes an eight-person scientific expedition of its own. What the Jesuits find is a world so beyond comprehension that it will lead them to question what it means to be “human”.

Kid Gloves: Nine Months of Careful Chaos by Lucy Knisley

  If you work hard enough, if you want it enough, if you’re smart and talented and “good enough,” you can do anything.Except get pregnant.Her whole life, Lucy Knisley wanted to be a mother. But when it was finally the perfect time, conceiving turned out to be harder than anything she’d ever attempted. Fertility problems were followed by miscarriages, and her eventual successful pregnancy plagued by health issues, up to a dramatic, near-death experience during labor and delivery.This moving, hilarious, and surprisingly informative memoir not only follows Lucy’s personal transition into motherhood but also illustrates the history and science of reproductive health from all angles, including curious facts and inspiring (and notorious) figures in medicine and midwifery. Whether you’ve got kids, want them, or want nothing to do with them, there’s something in this graphic memoir to open your mind and heart.

    The Raven Tower by Anne Leckie

  For centuries, the kingdom of Iraden has been protected by the god known as the Raven. He watches over his territory from atop a tower in the powerful port of Vastai. His will is enacted through the Raven’s Lease, a human ruler chosen by the god himself. His magic is sustained via the blood sacrifice that every Lease must offer. And under the Raven’s watch, the city flourishes.

But the power of the Raven is weakening. A usurper has claimed the throne. The kingdom borders are tested by invaders who long for the prosperity that Vastai boasts. And they have made their own alliances with other gods.

It is into this unrest that the warrior Eolo–aide to Mawat, the true Lease–arrives. And in seeking to help Mawat reclaim his city, Eolo discovers that the Raven’s Tower holds a secret. Its foundations conceal a dark history that has been waiting to reveal itself…and to set in motion a chain of events that could destroy Iraden forever.

    Lent by Jo Walton

  Young Girolamo’s life is a series of miracles.

It’s a miracle that he can see demons, plain as day, and that he can cast them out with the force of his will. It’s a miracle that he’s friends with Pico della Mirandola, the Count of Concordia. It’s a miracle that when Girolamo visits the deathbed of Lorenzo “the Magnificent,” the dying Medici is wreathed in celestial light, a surprise to everyone, Lorenzo included. It’s a miracle that when Charles VIII of France invades northern Italy, Girolamo meets him in the field, and convinces him to not only spare Florence but also protect it. It’s a miracle than whenever Girolamo preaches, crowds swoon. It’s a miracle that, despite the Pope’s determination to bring young Girolamo to heel, he’s still on the loose… and, now, running Florence in all but name.

That’s only the beginning. Because Girolamo Savanarola is not who—or what—he thinks he is. He will discover the truth about himself at the most startling possible time. And this will be only the beginning of his many lives.

    A Memory Called Empire by Arkady Martine

  Ambassador Mahit Dzmare arrives in the center of the multi-system Teixcalaanli Empire only to discover that her predecessor, the previous ambassador from their small but fiercely independent mining Station, has died. But no one will admit that his death wasn’t an accident—or that Mahit might be next to die, during a time of political instability in the highest echelons of the imperial court.

Now, Mahit must discover who is behind the murder, rescue herself, and save her Station from Teixcalaan’s unceasing expansion—all while navigating an alien culture that is all too seductive, engaging in intrigues of her own, and hiding a deadly technological secret—one that might spell the end of her Station and her way of life—or rescue it from annihilation.

    Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me by Mariko Tamaki, Rosemary Valero O’Connell

  Laura Dean, the most popular girl in high school, was Frederica Riley’s dream girl: charming, confident, and SO cute. There’s just one problem: Laura Dean is maybe not the greatest girlfriend.

Reeling from her latest break up, Freddy’s best friend, Doodle, introduces her to the Seek-Her, a mysterious medium, who leaves Freddy some cryptic parting words: break up with her. But Laura Dean keeps coming back, and as their relationship spirals further out of her control, Freddy has to wonder if it’s really Laura Dean that’s the problem. Maybe it’s Freddy, who is rapidly losing her friends, including Doodle, who needs her now more than ever.

Fortunately for Freddy, there are new friends, and the insight of advice columnists like Anna Vice to help her through being a teenager in love.

    Tiempo Muerto by Caroline Hau

  Two women meet on the island where they shared a childhood. One is looking for her mother, the other her yaya. One is an Overseas Filipino Worker, the other an heiress. In an old bahay na bato haunted by scandal and tragedy, secrets and ghosts, the women find their lives entangled and face the challenge of refusing their predetermined fates and embracing their open futures.

    Gideon the Ninth, The Locked Tomb #1 by Tamsyn Muir

  The Emperor needs necromancers.

The Ninth Necromancer needs a swordswoman.

Gideon has a sword, some dirty magazines, and no more time for undead bullshit.

Tamsyn Muir’s Gideon the Ninth unveils a solar system of swordplay, cut-throat politics, and lesbian necromancers. Her characters leap off the page, as skillfully animated as necromantic skeletons. The result is a heart-pounding epic science fantasy.

Brought up by unfriendly, ossifying nuns, ancient retainers, and countless skeletons, Gideon is ready to abandon a life of servitude and an afterlife as a reanimated corpse. She packs up her sword, her shoes, and her dirty magazines, and prepares to launch her daring escape. But her childhood nemesis won’t set her free without a service.

Harrowhark Nonagesimus, Reverend Daughter of the Ninth House and bone witch extraordinaire, has been summoned into action. The Emperor has invited the heirs to each of his loyal Houses to a deadly trial of wits and skill. If Harrowhark succeeds she will become an immortal, all-powerful servant of the Resurrection, but no necromancer can ascend without their cavalier. Without Gideon’s sword, Harrow will fail, and the Ninth House will die.

Of course, some things are better left dead.

    Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K. J. Parker

  This is the story of Orhan, son of Siyyah Doctus Felix Praeclarissimus, and his history of the Great Siege, written down so that the deeds and sufferings of great men may never be forgotten.

A siege is approaching, and the city has little time to prepare. The people have no food and no weapons, and the enemy has sworn to slaughter them all.

To save the city will take a miracle, but what it has is Orhan. A colonel of engineers, Orhan has far more experience with bridge-building than battles, is a cheat and a liar, and has a serious problem with authority. He is, in other words, perfect for the job.

    Trick Mirror: Reflections on Self-Delusion by Jia Tolentino

  Trick Mirror is an enlightening, unforgettable trip through the river of self-delusion that surges just beneath the surface of our lives. This is a book about the incentives that shape us, and about how hard it is to see ourselves clearly in a culture that revolves around the self. In each essay, Jia writes about the cultural prisms that have shaped her: the rise of the nightmare social internet; the American scammer as millennial hero; the literary heroine’s journey from brave to blank to bitter; the mandate that everything, including our bodies, should always be getting more efficient and beautiful until we die.

  Thanks for bearing with me. Keep a weather eye for the next post.

[Reading] My 10 favourite books from 2019 Would it be terrible if I kept doing this: popping onto Wordpress once a year, for a week, just to chirp energetically about the things I'd done the previous year, before disappearing into the aether?

[omgpurplefattie]

“We’ve been ingenious, resourceful and inventive, and we haven’t let ourselves be hindered by outmoded or irrelevant ways of thinking. It’s a shame, really, because nobody will ever know how clever we were.”

– "Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City (English Edition)" by K. J. Parker

http://amzn.eu/eoHe0Nf

[alwaystrustinbooks]

Sixteen Ways To Defend A Walled City By K. J. Parker [Book Review] @orbitbooks #fantasy #history #amreading #bookreview #booknerd #kjparker #orbitbooks #account #war #invasion

Sixteen Ways To Defend A Walled City By K. J. Parker [Book Review] @orbitbooks #fantasy #history #amreading #bookreview #booknerd #kjparker #orbitbooks #account #war #invasion

This book was sent to me by Orbit Books in exchange for an honest review.

09.04.19 / Orbit Books / Epic Fantasy / Paperback / 365pp / 978-0356506746

Target Audience: Readers who like a more tactical, creative and intense novel with plenty of interesting and relevant themes. Fantasy but more like a POV account of one of histories most ambitious defences.

About Sixteen Ways To Defend A Walled City

[abmgw]

ABMGW 204 Rückkehr nach Neveryon vs Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City

ABMGW 204 Rückkehr nach Neveryon vs Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City

Thema der Woche: antike Fantasy! Bücher dazu: “Rückkehr nach Neveryon” von Samuel R. Delany. Der antike Teil hier: Neveryon, diese Stadt die irgendwo in der Vergangenheit liet, die es nie gegeben hat, die wir aber alle kennen. Deswegen: eine Rückkehr an einen Ort an dem wir nie waren. Und: “Sixteen Ways to defend a Walled City” von K. J. Parker: Ein handlicher Ratgeber für die die 16 besten…

[thimel]

Leseliste Juli / August 2021

Creation Stories, Riots, Raves and Running a Label, Alan McGee, Pan 2013

The Fran Levowitz Reader, Fran Lebowitz, Vintage Books 1994

Lux Perpetua, Andrzej Sapkowski, dtv 2021

Mogworld, Yahtzee Croshaw, Dark Horse 2018

A Man Lies Dreaming, Lavie Tidhar, JABberwocky 2021

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City, K. J. Parker, Orbit 2019