Clash of Eagles

January 15, 2015
Smale debuts with an intriguingly original alternate history supposing that the Roman Empire never collapsed.It's A.D. 1218. Pax Romana extends from the Indus to Hispania. After Rome captures a Viking pirate ship packed with riches found across the great ocean, Imperator Hadrianus decides to send "scouting parties into New Hesperia." Praetor Gaius Marcellinus, a veteran warrior, leads the 33rd Legion from Mare Chesapica across Appalachia to the great river called Mizipi, "a grueling trek with hunger, discomfort, and danger." Smale's thesis, grounded in solid research into Roman history and pre-Columbian native societies, has a believable foundation, at least until he sails toward the fantastical. The Iroqua-"a confederation of five tribes: Seneca, Caiuga, Onondaga, Onida, and Mohawk"-and their enemies, the Cahokian Mizipi mound-builders, have aircraft. Think modern hang gliders made of deer hide from which warriors rain liquid fire. The Romans are bombed from the air by guerrilla Iroqua in Appalachia, and then the legion's wiped out in a set piece air/land battle with the Cahokians. That tribe's Catanwakuwa clan flies 12-man Thunderbirds and single-pilot Hawks. The legion's sole survivor, Gaius, is captured, with Smale craftily outlining how Cahokian curiosity allows him to integrate the Latin language and Roman technology into Cahokian life. The author's best work comes with descriptions and characters, both in legion life, "a bit of muscle and the willingness to shed blood were crucial in keeping an Imperium strong," and Cahokian society, "the calmest and most pragmatic people he had ever lived among." Romance looms as Gaius becomes smitten with "the most magnificent woman he'd ever known," Sintikala, all "liquid flame, a razor sharp ax, a Coliseum lioness." Gaius is in limbo after the Iroquas' near destruction of the Cahokian city, which promises more adventure in the Hesperian Trilogy's next volume.

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Starred review from February 15, 2015

Gaius Marcellinus commands a Roman legion intent on conquering North America in 1200 CE, and they have made a bloody progress despite resistance from the Iroquois. But real disaster strikes when the legion attempts to take the great city of the Cahokia and Gaius's men are wiped out. Spared by the Cahokia, Gaius decides to help them in their ongoing struggles against neighboring tribes. VERDICT Just when it seems there is nothing new in the category of alternative history comes this debut; the novella on which this novel is based won the 2010 Sidewise Award for Alternate History. The world of pre-Columbian mound-building peoples who lived along the Mississippi is full of wonders both real and wildly improbable (if entertaining). Even Smale's wildest fancies, such as hang-gliding native braves, somehow seem possible as they are described so convincingly in the many violent battle scenes. Not much is actually known about the mound builders, leaving lots of room for Smale to play in what looks to be an ongoing series.

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