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Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City

The Siege, Book 1

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Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City

By: K. J. Parker
Narrated by: Ray Sawyer
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Summary

 'Full of invention and ingenuity . . . Great fun' - SFX

'Parker's settings and characterisations never miss a beat' - Publishers Weekly

K. J. Parker's new novel is the remarkable tale of the siege of a walled city, and the even more remarkable man who had to defend it.

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.

Sixteen Ways To Defend a Walled City is the story of Orhan, son of Siyyah Doctus Felix Praeclarissimus, and his history of the Great Siege, written down so that the deeds and sufferings of great men may never be forgotten.

***

Other books by K.J. Parker:

Fencer Trilogy
The Colours in the Steel
The Belly of the Bow
The Proof House

Scavenger Trilogy
Shadow
Pattern
Memory

Engineer Trilogy
Devices and Desires
Evil for Evil
The Escapement

Two of Swords
The Two of Swords: Part 1
The Two of Swords: Part 2
The Two of Swords: Part 3

Novels
The Company
The Folding Knife
The Hammer
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Critic reviews

Full of invention and ingenuity . . . Great fun
There's a mordant wit to the workings of Parker's mind (TIME OUT)
Parker's skilful control of pacing, expert rendering of characters, and subtle sense of humour add depth and believability (LIBRARY JOURNAL)
Parker's acerbic wit and knowledge of human nature are a delight to read (RT BOOK REVIEWS)
All stars
Most relevant
Great example of what this author is so good at doing; a hugely satisfying, coherent world in which creative problems require creative solutions by realistic people. The plot is more a vehicle, but a perfectly adequate one. Good narration, but point deducted for the accent mixup near the beginning. Not really a forgivable lapse, and could have easily been corrected with even moderate care, but didn't get in the way once it settled down and in general the performance was good.

Great fun, some spectacular images

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The analysis of human nature and its disire to believe what they want to rather than observable reality

just a great story told with humour and intelligence

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Its been a while since I have enjoyed a book this much. Great characters, plenty of action, some moments of real pathos and a twist around every corner, just damned clever writing.

It has everything

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This novel started well; it was dark, hectic and funny. I was very pleased that it didn't follow the "Each chapter is a different one of the sixteen way in the title" format that I expected. It went off the boil a bit later on though. The social commentary around racism, classism and servitude got quite deep. There was ample moral ambuity and many ethical issues with no good solutions. Some of the relationship decisions baffled me too. Then I wasn't a huge fan of the ending.

If you want a fun, fantasy romp this is probably not the book for you. While it has that vibe it reads more like a Joe Abercrombie novel in some ways. The audiobook narration was top notch though.

Really good at the start but went off the boil later.

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I really recommend this book, as Orhan, an imperfect and unreliable narrator takes you through his efforts in defending a city from unimaginable odds.

Its a clever book, with elements of Archamedes, Byzantine, and Roman themes - all centres around one man's struggle with being different.

The narrating was brilliant - and he really suited the character. My only criticism would be that it would be better if the voices were more different for each character, but then i guess I've been spoiled by Stephen Pacey.

highly recommended

A must for fantasy/historical fans

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