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When a peaceful nation of well-organized peasants is overrun by the army of an expanding industrialized neighbour, the people of ÃDagger;iron must forge a pact with the strange and fearsome race of flying humans dwelling high above in the mountains. In scenes of excellent bloodshed, the invaders are routed at the end - but the outcome is by no means obvious, despite the aid of a renegade invader, Lieutenant Kire, and, more significantly, of the winged people, regal, fierce, libidinous, leathery masters of the sky. The gloriously strange fantasy world comes newly alive in Delany's masterful prose - the setting was first used by him in 1962 in a short story. He nudges into the light many less than obvious truths about character. His unique talent for getting inside physical sensations and making them tangible with words, significant in shaping outlook, is much in evidence and ensures that the strategies employed by both sides in the bloody conflict are nailbitingly uncertain.… (more)
User reviews
This is a fairly simple story, well-told, with typical Delany sensuality, and interesting use of slightly misplaced brief interjections to interrupt the flow and force the reader to pay more attention. A brutal army on a Sherman-like march to sea targets the bucolic utopian weapon-less village of Ciron. Like Steinbeck's The Moon is Down, the village responds, with the help of a bat-like race of human-sized creatures with their own agenda.
The fantasy setting might be science fictional -- the army has power guns (blasters), electric lights, and loudspeakers -- but none of this is really fleshed out. It is there primarily to provide additional contrast between the two cultures. Characterization is strong and you read this primarily because of the people involved and the sure-footed writing.
Recommended.