Customer Reviews

The Crystal Empire

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

L. Neil Smith is most noted for his libertarian works. This novel is a bit different. It may be a study or lesson in libertarianism but if so I missed the lesson. That is not to say the novel is boring or not worth the read. Far from it. This is an alternate history novel and one done very well.

In L. Neil Smiths future the Europeans and Christians or gone due to a plague which was far more demonstrous then the one encountered in our timeline. This is a very similar premise to what Kim Stanley Robinson used 15 years later in his "Years of Rice and Salt". Smith does it better. In this novel the event change had a clear plot purpose where as in Robinson's novel I never quite got the point.

A densely written novel which requires careful reading and can not be skimmed through. If you give the novel the effort is deserving of you will enjoy the encounter. A worthy novel which should come back into print.

This could be the best Science Fiction book ever written, certainly among the top ten!

L. Neil Smith is most noted for his libertarian works. This novel is a bit different. It may be a study or lesson in libertarianism but if so I missed the lesson. That is not to say the novel is boring or not worth the read. Far from it. This is an alternate history novel and one done very well.

In L. Neil Smiths future the Europeans and Christians or gone due to a plague which was far more demonstrous then the one encountered in our timeline. This is a very similar premise to what Kim Stanley Robinson used 15 years later in his "Years of Rice and Salt". Smith does it better. In this novel the event change had a clear plot purpose where as in Robinson's novel I never quite got the point.

A densely written novel which requires careful reading and can not be skimmed through. If you give the novel the effort is deserving of you will enjoy the encounter. A worthy novel which should come back into print.

L. Neil Smith is most noted for his libertarian works. This novel is a bit different. It may be a study or lesson in libertarianism but if so I missed the lesson. That is not to say the novel is boring or not worth the read. Far from it. This is an alternate history novel and one done very well.

In L. Neil Smiths future the Europeans and Christians or gone due to a plague which was far more demonstrous then the one encountered in our timeline. This is a very similar premise to what Kim Stanley Robinson used 15 years later in his "Years of Rice and Salt". Smith does it better. In this novel the event change had a clear plot purpose where as in Robinson's novel I never quite got the point.

A densely written novel which requires careful reading and can not be skimmed through. If you give the novel the effort is deserving of you will enjoy the encounter. A worthy novel which should come back into print.

L. Neil Smith is most noted for his libertarian works. This novel is a bit different. It may be a study or lesson in libertarianism but if so I missed the lesson. That is not to say the novel is boring or not worth the read. Far from it. This is an alternate history novel and one done very well.

In L. Neil Smiths future the Europeans and Christians or gone due to a plague which was far more demonstrous then the one encountered in our timeline. This is a very similar premise to what Kim Stanley Robinson used 15 years later in his "Years of Rice and Salt". Smith does it better. In this novel the event change had a clear plot purpose where as in Robinson's novel I never quite got the point.

A densely written novel which requires careful reading and can not be skimmed through. If you give the novel the effort is deserving of you will enjoy the encounter. A worthy novel which should come back into print.

I have a very strange relationship with this novel, and more specifically, its author. L. Neil Smith is probably one of the most recognizable libertarian scifi authors around. I personally find libertarianism ridiculously naive, and since the majority of Smith's books deal with libertarian themes, I have a hard time taking them seriously or enjoying them.

The Crystal Empire, however, is not one of those. It is an alternate history novel, pure and simple. As another reviewer said, if there was a libertarian message in this one, I missed it. Thankfully.

The plot deals with the adventures of Sedrich Sedrichson, a native of a small Vinland-ish settlement in eastern North America - one of the last remnants of European culture in this world, founded by people fleeing a Black Plague that almost completely decimated Europe. Sedrich has been tasked with delivering the daughter of the Caliph of the Saracen-Jewish Empire, which dominates most of Europe, to her future husband, the god-like emperor of a strange and amazing Sino-Aztec empire in the far west of America.

Sedrich is a pretty sympathetic character, as is Ayesha, the Caliph's daughter. Their interaction, their chemistry, is great, and their story is evocative of the best of classic literature. If Shakespeare collaborated on an alternate history novel with George RR Martin, this might be the result. Yes, it's that good, in my opinion.

So... an author whose works and personal philosophy I find idiotic has managed to turn out what is probably my favorite alternate history novel, one which I re-read every couple of years. Very odd. At any rate, if anyone out there has been turned off of Smith after his Probability Broach universe novels, I urge you to give this one a try, and possibly Henry Martyn, also by Smith, which is fairly decent as well.

Briefly, this was not what I had expected. Not that it was a horrible book, or that it wasn't interesting, but it didn't follow anything anywhere, the characters weren't fleshed out at all, and the plot was so-so. The idea of a post-Plague world where the Saracens and others control the world is interesting, as are the land ships, but the novel leaves something wanting because it feels no need to elaborate. I would only recommend this book to fans of the author, otherwise if you're looking for good fantasy or alternative history novels, look elsewhere.