Graydon Saunders

Saunders, Graydon. The March North. Commonweal No. 1. Tall Woods, 2014.
Graydon Saunders is an independently publishing fantasy writer whose fan base goes back to the days when Usenet was the way fantasy fans and techies talked to one another. The March North combines the typical structure of a military science fiction story in which high-tech forces are attacking a high-tech city, but in this case, the technology is from the iron age, and the weaponry involves wizards casting power spells that work like artillery or other long-distance weapons. The city under attack is an egalitarian surrounded by powerful autocracies, so we know who to root for. Saunders seems interested in how magic would affect siege strategy. There was a lot of action, which I found repetitive. Like his heroes, Saunders is also egalitarian--scrupulously avoiding gendered pronouns. There are a lot of characters, and sometimes their relationships are hard to keep in mind. 3.5 stars for original genre and gender bending.… (més)