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Steel/mist/blaze Sun

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Written by one of Campbell's Analog "golden age" authors, this is a tale of US/Russian conflict that continues in the remnants of civilization. It is good old fashioned space opera-a little neive and dated but full of action with a sprinkling of humor. This story has an "aw shucks", hillbilly flavor, that is a nice constrast to many of the "angst" ridden novels written today.

To my mind, this is the least of Anvil's works. His Horsip (Pandora's Planet)and Space Patrol (Strangers in Paradise and Worlord's World) stories are much more enjoyable and would appeal to readers of James Schmidt, H. Beam Piper, or Sharon Lee/Steven Miller.

The Steel, the Mist, and the Blazing Sun (1980) is a post-apocalypse novel. Two hundred years previously, the USA and the Soviet Union had bombarded each other with nuclear weapons. In addition, the USA had created another weapon in orbit that is still active.

Arakal is the elective king of the Wesdem O'Cracys (or at least the east coast of America). As mentioned by another reviewer, in a previous story -- published in Analog as "Ideology Counts" -- Arakal and his command group have repeatedly defeated the Russian Ground Forces in America. He has also bloodlessly annexed the adjacent Russian colony and thereby acquired all the armed vessels of the Russian High Seas fleet.

In this novel, Arakal is now trying to reunify the various O'Cracy countries. He has already allied with the people of New Kebeck (Quebec). He would like to contact the west coast of America, but the lingering radioactivity is too high and the craters are too overlapping for passage. Therefore, he is planning to take back the European O'Cracys -- Old Brunswick (Britain) and Old Kebeck (France) -- from Russia; he is not yet aware of the former status of West Germany in the Old O'Cracys.

Unfortunately for Arakal, Russia has built an espionage apparatus -- called "S" for Security -- that extends even to the former Russian colony in America. S has listening devices in many places and agents almost everywhere. When the colony was annexed, S began to listen to American conversations in that area.

As Arakal and 36,000 of his troop head to Europe in the captured Russian ships, S-One -- the head of S -- learns of their plans almost as fast as they are made. When they reach France, a pretty nurse (provided by S) joins the Americans to vamp her way to Arakal. Then groups of partisans mysteriously begin to appear in the American camp.

Meanwhile, American engineers are exploring an Old American facility that is well preserved, although personnel therein were killed by radiation during the nuclear holocaust. It is a treasure trove of old records. Moreover, it contains two protective containers and within each is a strange vessel that looks like a hovercraft.

The novel rapidly coalesces into a conflict between Arakal and S-One. The Russians have overwhelming superiority in weapons and troops, but the Americans have questioning minds. Time and again, Arakal does not make an expected decision, but instead takes another path.

Although the author does not write blood and gut stories, this novel does have moments of violent action. Nonetheless, the story focuses on the impressions of the protagonist rather than the violence per se. It definitely puts the reader in the character's mind during such moments.

Although this novel is outdated, it presents some interesting ideas. The equivalent of S may still come into existence, but as an American organization rather than Russian. Of course, any new publication of this work should include the missing prequel.

Highly recommended for Anvil fans and for anyone who enjoys tales of supreme command and straight thinking.

-Arthur W. Jordin

In 1983, I went to the grocery store with my Mom and I saw this book sitting on the shelf. I was immediately captivated by the stunning cover art by Walter Velez depicting a lone poncho'd soldier brandishing an automatic weapon standing in front of a weathered American flag punctuated with holes and staked into the dunes of some desolate post-apocalyptic wasteland with the structural remains of a destroyed civilization in the distance. It was still one year before James Cameron would unleash his unforgettable vision of the Future War apocalypse upon the world with The Terminator but that image had a profound effect on me for its rich political symbolism that haunts me to this day. Ironically, I never had a chance to read the book after I bought it, but it had remained in my possession ever since.

Now, some 23 years later, this book has finally called out to me and perhaps the timing is right. I'm sure that had I read it when I was in 5th grade through more innocent eyes I would have enjoyed it for its linear good-old-fashioned Good Guys vs. Bad Guys comic book science fiction flare and Cold War overtones, but as a disillusioned American adult, there is something far more appealing about this book on a subtextual level that can perhaps only be interpreted from the perspective of a post-9/11 America. There is no doubt that this book resonates as a product of the Cold War era and its sublime themes of American Restoration somewhat akin to David Brin's The Postman but its messages are just as important now as perhaps the author, Christopher Anvil, may have been attempting to convey then.

The story follows Arakal and his followers - the Wesdem O'Cracy's - the last remnants of the former United States of America some 200 years following a nuclear holocaust. As expected, civilization has been almost completely decimated and technology thrust back to an almost pre-industrial state. The Russians are still our mortal enemies and the age-old conflict between Democracy and Communism has ravaged on with conventional weaponry in a post-war arms race to rebuild and reclaim former territories of political influence and the seemingly Luddite opposition of S to control industrial progress and prevent another such future holocaust from happening all over again. Soviet General Brusilov under the directorate of S-One leads the Russ forces to counter a pre-emptive Western European strike by the O'Cracy's in a bold attempt to secure a tactical military advantage. We are once again the rebellious underdogs in a manner not seen since the Colonial days and the chieftan Arakal, General Slagiron and the descendants of our American ancestors must make a final stand to preserve free-thinking [Wes]tern [Dem]O'Cracy for which it stood.

Anvil spins a clever and enjoyable yarn, but it is fascinating to compare its Cold War inspired themes as an examination of the contemporary post-Cold War America we live in today where the definitions of Patriotism have become dilluted and the imperialistic foreign policy of American capitalist government has dominated throughout the globe and the once mighty communist tyranny of the former Soviet Union has fallen to our western influence. Turning this story on its head, Arakal and his followers can almost be construed as Americans in the purist sense as the preservers of our forefather's legacy and ideals of government that have become perverted by the impunity of our current administration's edicts on foreign policy, the Patriot Act, and invasive military occupations throughout the Middle East. Brusilov and the Russ take on an almost quasi-like personification of the America we have become fighting against the idealism of our former selves... the disparate freedom fighters of Arakal and the Wesdem O'Cracy's as the personification of the true patriotic American fighting spirit I seem to recall from my innocent youth during the Cold War when Americans were generally regarded as the "Good Guys" and the communist Russians were distinctly regarded as the "Bad Guys" and the stalemate of a nuclear standoff between our two Super-Powers kept the nations of the world in check. The Steel, the Mist, and the Blazing Sun stands the test of time as a lost work of science fiction history that deserves to be re-published for a new generation of so-called Americans to discover and to ask themselves the true meaning of free-thinking Democracy and what it truly means to be an American.