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Battle Circle
- Genre: PostApoc
- Author: 1978
- Year Published: Piers Anthony
- Pages: 537 pages
- ISBN: 978-0380018000
- Reviewed by: UncleDrax on Wed 26 Sep 07
Official Blurb:
Sos the Rope:
The kill spirits of the blast were retreating and Sos was pledged to begin an empire, to build a dream - the same dream which had been built so many times, eons ago.
Var the Stick:
Var was the chosen one-half man, half animal, a mutant victim of the blast - called upon to rescue the Empire in a battle he was secretly afraid of winning.
Neq the Sword:
An age of darkness is upon the Empire and Neq, the greatest of warriors, was embarked on a quest that would decide the future of the world!
Review:
This book is actually a compilation of the trilogy. The individual books are "Sos the Rope" published in 1968, "Var the Stick" 1972, and "Neq the Sword" from 1975. The trilogy are continuations of the same setting and story, but each focuses on a separate primary character.
The setting of this series is a future post apocalyptic North America. 'Civilization' is split into 2 groups, the nomadic tribes, and the Crazies which are a reclusive people, yet provide the Nomads with food, shelters, and weapons. The nomadic tribes are content being simple nomads, their basic needs provided for by the Crazies.
Men of the nomads when coming to age pick a 3 letter name by tradition, and practice one of several weapons. Hence they are named the likes of our first book, "SOS the Rope". Disputes over loyalty, name, woman, shelter, and pretty much anything else, are resolved in the Battle Circle, usually bloodlessly or to first blood, with one of the many weapons stocked in the shelters by the Crazies. Guns are unheard of in the circle.
Sol the Sword and Sol of Many Weapons have a problem. There can be only one person named Sol of a particular weapon, and Sol of Many Weapons has claimed and master the sword, as well as the other weapons of the battle circle. After his defeat, Sol the Sword becomes Sos the weaponless, and is bound to serve loyally to his new master, Sol of Many Weapons. Sol wants to do what no tribesman has tried and accomplish in the history of the tribes.. he wants to build an empire, starting just beyond the radiation markers, outside of view of the Crazies. But the two soon come to share a secret and one that drives them apart. Banished Sos the Weaponless must seek out a new weapon style that not even Sol of Many Weapons has mastered to reclaim what is rightfully his.
'Var the Stick' is a radiation mutant found by the Master, and grows to be a large powerful beastman that takes the Sticks (similar to Escrima sticks). He is a fairly simple minded, but honorable and honest `man`, with mixed loyalties from his tribesman because of his nature. Grown to become a champion of the Empire and the circle, he must fight a battle he doesn't want to win against an opponent he doesn't wish to beat. Thus he flees from the known lands of the Empire, but does not find refuge with any of the peoples and cultures he encounters. Continuously perused by the the Master for his betrayal, he must keep on foot even though he finds the thing he desires the most.
'Neq the Sword' is the last book in this trilogy. 'Neq the Sword' is desperate. The Crazy Convoys are no longer suppling the shelters. The polite system of the Battle Circle, used to resolve disputes of name, honor, weapon and woman, is no longer followed by many smaller bands. Neq must do the previously unthinkable.. help the Crazies against the outlaws that have begun to gain footing and restore order to the region, and in the process, learn the secret of Helios.
What I liked:
- This series paints a really good picture of future post-apocalyptic America with a distinctly separate culture.
- The characters are solid, yet generally simple. There is a good quantity of characters, but still not enough to require an Atlas or Wiki to keep them all straight as you read. Minor characters in the book grow with the series and you see them again later.
- Even though this series was originally started in the 1960s, there isn't anything in the book that really dates it to that time period or popular-culture of the time. Often this is the case and it makes reading the book somewhat corny in parts.
What I didn't like:
- In 'Var the Stick' I feel that some of the encountered cultures could have been gone into considerably more in depth, even to the point of spawning offshoot books. Not doing so was probably a good thing in this line because it would have lost touch with the original story.
- I felt that the cultural boundaries between societies later in the book feel a little artificially rigid. Few 'stories of other cultures' really leak through, but I would expect more.
- Only these 3 books in this setting exist.. it would be an easy setting to expand upon and create additional material for it. Gimmie more!
Rating:
Final Scoring:
4.0 MegaTons of a possible
5 MegaTons
Personal Recommendation: If you can get a copy, I highly recommend it.
Availablity:
No longer in print. Used copies seem plentiful however
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