 Hello, hello, hello, folks! I'm Philip Magnus and today I will teach you how to rule Empire and get away with it. Psych! Actually, I'm not going to do that, I'm just going to be reviewing the book that teaches you how to do that by K. J. Parker. Who is, just so happens to be, of course, a master of voice, his siege trilogy accents this mastery, providing the reader with narratives, with personalities large enough they threaten to drown out most other voices. How to rule an empire and get away with it? The middle book in this trilogy has to contend with a difficult task, offering words he follow up to the ironic. Cynical. Voice. Of the first book, spritanist Orhan. I don't know why, for a moment I feel like William Shatner and then I cannot stop myself of trying to... anyway. Not everyone enjoys the change from the first book's protagonist, Orhan, to Notkar. For myself, I came to adore Notkar, an actor forced into the role of a lifetime. It's unfortunate that the lifetime in question is not his. The novel title tells you what kind of read you're in for. Parker isn't trying to reinvent the wheel, but putting his own spin in it. Thus it is much as it was in how to rule... pardon, in 16 ways to defend the world city. A fantasy analogue to Constantinople, with all the faction infighting and politicking you could ask for. All this is happening in the backdrop of the eponymous siege that sees a million strong army continue to encircle the city for the nine-tier running. The balance of power is precarious. All that the enemy needs is for the city's defenders to make one mistake, to capitalise on. This is something that Notkar realises early on as he is forced into the role of the city's deceased champion, forced to play him as nothing more than fearhead. Notkar, however, is a little too good a character actor, and a little too smart for his own good. When he starts making improvements on the conspirators' plans, you as reader just know that Parker is pulling a Robert Heinlein-style double-star twistiness. And if you're not familiar with that book, you can go ahead and check my video all about it. Parker has Notkar grow to his full potential as a human being, when in this position of authority and responsibility for hundreds of thousands of lives. All it would take is a single mistake, and all of them would be snuffed out. Of course, Parker is not Heinlein. You ask me his words, several Heinleins based on the quality of his voice alone. And so to those of you who are familiar with the novel I Reference, and that I have reviewed in the past, don't let that prejudice you when it comes to the object of this review. Notkar is not a military mind, whereas Orhen was prone on offering technical analyses and tidbits of engineering genius. Notkar approaches the issues in the city by drawing from his experience with the most bloodthirsty arena of all, the theatre, and that is in a place that has actual gladiatorial games. Notkar's spiel doesn't fail to entertain, but what got me the most were his realizations of the ways in which the world works, from his evolving perspective. First, the perspective of an actor changing into the perspective of someone who sees the intricate inner workings of power. That can be shown in a quote such as this one. It slowly dawned on me that it's possible for the wise men who run your life for you to see disaster coming and not have a plan for dealing with it, because they know what needs to be done, but there are vested interests in the way. Or they can figure out the politics, or they think it'll be horrendously unpopular, or it'll cost too much money. Not half bad, is it? I think Parker's books in the siege trilogy are all about people who have no clue whatsoever how to handle the situations life throws them in. But Orhen and Notkar are platanists who have no desire to end up in the positions of power they suddenly find themselves in. They don't know what to do, and they sure as hell don't want to do the job. But they're there, and there's no helping it. So they might as well do it. On the journey, what awaits them is crippling doubt. Dangers are plenty, and the recognition that it's relegating responsibility to those who are skilled at their jobs is pretty damn important. No man in the castle, and these would be dead in the water, without some pretty spectacular helpers. I will say, more so in Orhen's case than in Notkar. Notkar also has several interesting supporting characters to help him, especially a fascinating female counterpart, a lover of his who is chock full of surprises. But I will say the characters here are a little bit weaker than the ones in 16 ways to defend a world city. There are probably other lessons there as well, but I don't know that I can impart them better than the book can, that's my original point. Read K.J. Parker's books. Start with 16 ways to defend a world city, start with this one, start with the next one. Either way, you're in for a glorious time, tense, full of turns, and clever surprises. It's riotous fun. And I can't wait to read the final book in the series, which I'm going to do as soon as I have the time. If you enjoyed this video, please share it with your friends. Like it, or dislike it, either one works, and don't forget to subscribe. And if you'd like to hear my thoughts on the next one, well, I'll try and get them your way before long. See you, bye!