Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City (2019)

by K. J. Parker

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: The Siege {Parker} (1)

Members	Reviews	Popularity	Average rating	Mentions
661	34	35,271	(3.98)	38
"This is the story of Orhan, son of Siyyah Doctus Felix Praeclarrissimus, 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."--Back cover.… (more)

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The Martian by Andy Weir (alspachc)
alspachc: Like technical problem solving and engineering humor in your adventures? The Martian is better in almost every respect.

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Showing 1-5 of 33 (next | show all)

An entertaining listen. The reader had my attention from the start. I honestly thought this was some sort of advice book so I was surprised when a story broke out :). Main character is a salt-of-the-earth type and the way they solve problems keeps you interested. I decided to give it 4 worms out of 5 worms. Surely enough to beat some lions, right? right? (

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umbet | May 21, 2024 |

This was a great read! Really enjoyed the writing style. The story was very interesting and I love the protagonist. The engineering aspect was a nice twist on a city siege story as well. This is my first K.J. Parker book and I'll certainly be looking for more! (

)

teejayhanton | Mar 22, 2024 |

I really thought I'd like this story -- I'm a sucker for an anti-hero. But it never really pulled me in. Generally, the writing was good. If I had to search for some things to criticize, the plot twists were too convenient and the characters were flat. (

)

jdowner | Feb 17, 2024 |

This was probably a 5 star book right up to the last 10 pages. (

)

cdaley | Nov 2, 2023 |

That was quite fun. Even more so than the "typical" KJ Parker I remember. It's the way the narrator tells everything. (

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cwebb | Sep 13, 2023 |

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
K. J. Parker	—	primary author	all editions	calculated
Panepinto, Lauren	Cover designer	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

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The Siege {Parker} (1)

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Canonical title

Original title

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City

Alternative titles

Original publication date

2019

People/Characters

Orhan son of Siyyah Doctus Felix Praeclarissimus (Colonel-in-Chief, Engineers)

Aichma

Faustinus (Chief Prefect)

Nicephorus Bautzes (Captain)

Important places

Important events

Related movies

Epigraph

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

Dedication

For Constantia and the Stalkers, with thanks.

First words

I was in Classis on business.

Quotations

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

Publisher's editors

Holman, Tim

Blurbers

Original language

English

Canonical DDC/MDS

Canonical LCC

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Wikipedia in English

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▾Book descriptions

"This is the story of Orhan, son of Siyyah Doctus Felix Praeclarrissimus, 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."--Back cover.

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Haiku summary

When your hopes are few
And your city is besieged
Orhan will save you
(robertwmartin)