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Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K.…
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Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City (original 2019; edition 2019)

by K. J. Parker (Author)

Series: The Siege {Parker} (1)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
6343336,565 (3.99)36
"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)
Member:antao
Title:Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City
Authors:K. J. Parker (Author)
Info:Orbit (2019), 384 pages
Collections:Your library
Rating:****
Tags:2019

Work Information

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K. J. Parker (2019)

  1. 01
    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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» See also 36 mentions

English (32)  French (1)  All languages (33)
Showing 1-5 of 32 (next | show all)
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. ( )
  cwebb | Sep 13, 2023 |
"Everyone keeps telling me what I can't do, but they're wrong. The only thing I can't do is nothing."

The City is about to be under siege and the only one left of any military rank is Orhan, the colonel of engineers. Orhan has done more bridge building than he's done city defending, he's a liar and a cheat, his enemies have done more for him than his friends and he prefers working with things over people. He's also all the City has if it hopes to survive the siege to come.

I never thought I'd enjoy a fictional book based on engineering but here you have it. This is a historical military fiction novel told from the point of view of the City's equivalent of the army corp of engineers. It definitely offers a unique perspective. I think I ended up liking Orhan, he's brilliant and creative in how he saves the city, has a snarky sense of humor, even though his personality has so many unlikable flaws and it shouldn't work yet it does. I don't know! That ending was very abrupt and unsatisfying. I understand why, but still.

Also, even though this is commonly tagged as fantasy, the only fantasy element is that one of the races of people has blue skin and they're using different names for the Byzantium/Constantinople inspired City under siege. This book will likely appeal to lovers of historical fiction

Be sure you read the Translator's Notes at the end. Mine were after the Orbit logo on my Kindle so I thought they weren't part of the story but they are. Not sure if it's placed this way in other versions or not. ( )
  Narilka | Aug 26, 2023 |
Showing 1-5 of 32 (next | show all)
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» Add other authors

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
K. J. Parkerprimary authorall editionscalculated
Panepinto, LaurenCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed

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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.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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"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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Book description
Haiku summary
When your hopes are few
And your city is besieged
Orhan will save you
(robertwmartin)

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