I originally wrote this review for Amazon UK, and have decided to make it my first blog post. I think it's the first book review I've written since high school...
Summary
Arslan is one of the better written titles in the SF Masterworks series; it is one of the hardest to read and possibly the least escapist of the lot. I found it rewarding and would recommend it to others, despite its difficulty and occasional unpleasantness. It will not be enjoyed by everyone: it's serious, dark and its flaws many annoy you more than they did me.
Arslan, the titular character, takes over the world and establishes his base in the rural town of Kraftsville, Illinois. He celebrates world conquest by having a nice meal and raping two 13 year-olds. He then sets about changing the world. The story is told alternately by two narrators: Franklin Bond and Hunt Morgan. Franklin narrates simply, pragmatically and his sections focus on advancing the story. Hunt narrates completely differently: his narration focuses on himself and his emotions; he writes more lyrically than Franklin and often describes events achronologically; he also describes events already covered by Franklin, but from his perspective. His writing, while considerably more interesting than Franklin's, is more hard going and can get a little irritating.
Arslan, the novel, focuses on the changing relations between the titular character and the two narrators. It's a story about power, the abuse of power, humiliation, rejection, love, forgiveness, etc. I am glad it has been brought back as an SF Masterwork, it is certainly deserving of its place in the series. While writing this review I was torn between rating 4 or 5 stars, because of the flaws listed below, but ultimately decided on 5 stars. A powerful read that leaves a lasting impression.
Possible Flaws
Below I list some possible flaws with the novel and, where appropriate, my explanation for them as a deliberate device by Engh.
If you're after more reviews before making up your mind, and don't mind an awful lot of spoilers, there's a VERY good and VERY detailed analysis of Arslan by Abigail Nussbaum on her blog 'Asking the Wrong Questions' (she both likes and dislikes the novel); Adam Roberts, who wrote the introduction to this edition, is very praising of Arslan on his blog 'Punkadiddle'; there's a positive review on 'Of blog'; and Jo Walton is very praising in her review on Tor.com; there are two negative reviews on the SFF Mistressworks site; another negative on 'Everything is nice'.
Because I'm the sort of person that intensely dislikes spoilers, to the point where I've started reading Adam Robert's introductions after reading the actual novel, I've limited the spoilers as much as possible. Stop reading now if you REALLY hate spoilers.
(WARNING: VAGUE SPOILERS) There are a number of possible flaws with the novel:
1) How Arslan takes over the world is left largely unexplained, so do not expect a `how-to' guide to world domination. The explanation briefly given is wishy-washy and might as well be `by magic'. It's there to show that the takeover is not what Engh is interested in; the flimsy explanation prevents the reader expecting a big reveal. What's more, the novel has aged considerably because of the internet and whatnot, making the scenario presented more implausible. Simple solution: remember when it was written and imagine it set then, instead of in the present day.
2) The female characters are completely neglected, which is surprising for a novel written by a woman. In fact, there is very little character development outside of the Arslan-Franklin-Hunt trinity. I saw the decision to ignore/throwaway the female characters as an artistic decision on Engh's part. She explores the ramifications of rape through Hunt Morgan, the only male rape victim. I thought this was done to better enable the predominantly male 70s SF readership relate to the victim while constantly having at the back of their minds 'BUT WHAT ABOUT THE OTHER VICTIMS?' The throwaway status of the female characters is absurd; it is an exaggeration of society's tendency to treat crimes towards males as more serious than crimes towards women (that's how I saw it anyhow). This may, however, alienate female readers by giving them less to relate to.
3) When Arslan returns to Kraftsville, the reason why he isn't tried and imprisoned, executed, etc is very flimsy. Quite pathetic, actually. This was biggest flaw in my opinion, and I can't think of a vaguely legitimate sounding artistic reason for it.
4) It is focussed on Kraftsville. What happens to the rest of the world is only touched briefly. This may be a disappointment to some readers. Also worth noting is that the reason why Arslan chooses Kraftsville as his base is pretty flimsy. I took this as a `history can happen anywhere, you aren't safe in the countryside' sort of thing.
5) There are more flaws pointed out in other reviews mentioned above, but none of these particularly detracted from the book for me. Or I didn't notice them. Or I don't think of them as flaws.
