Book Review: On the Oceans of Eternity by S.M. Stirling

Well, here we are at last. The final book in the Island in the Sea of Time trilogy. I'm very pleased to see that these reviews having been doing very well. Okay then, I guess there really isn’t anything left for me to say. Let's get straight to it. We're taking a look at On the Oceans of Eternity by S.M. Stirling.

It is the moment everything has been building up towards. The time displaced Republic of Nantucket and its allies are about to face-off against the empire of the tyrannical madman William Walker. This is no small task, and it's going to take every trick in Nantucket's arsenal to pull-off. There are plenty of twists, turns, and surprises as past and present collide on the oceans of eternity.

Well, what can I say to start about On the Oceans of Eternity? It hits some of the highest notes in the series, but it also has some of my least favorite moments in the series. Let's start with some of the positives. So, Against the Tide of Years ended with Walker's Achaean army arriving at the Gates of Troy. My friend Jordan Harbour, founder of the Twilight Histories podcast, once spoke about the Island in the Time series and said "If you've ever wondered what The Iliad would be like if Odysseus had a bazooka, look no further." I should mention that Jordan is a big fan of the Island in the Sea of Time series. In fact, he listed it as one of the series that got him into alternate history. Jordan also cites the Worldwar series and Guns of the South, both by Harry Turtledove, as major influences on him.

Now, we do get at least some of that sort of stuff. However, the Siege of Troy didn't last as long as I was expecting. In fact, Walker's troops pretty much steamrolled the Trojans. Well, I guess if nothing else, at least the Greeks won like history and mythology said they were supposed to. Granted, they were being led by Walker; then again, most figures from Greek Mythology weren't exactly nice by modern standards. Of course, the Trojan War ending that quickly isn't going to make for a very long, or very engaging, epic poem.

Ian gets taken back to Walkeropolis as a hostage. Among other developments, Alice Wong has started a cult called the Claws of Hekate. It emphasizes the virtues of activities such as human sacrifice, torture, cannibalism, and other horrific acts. The Claws of Hekate has proved disturbingly popular among upper class Achaean women. Wong also has a trained team of teenage girls to serve as warriors and assassins for the Claws of Hekate. Walker jokingly refers to them as Wong's Sailor Moon Platoon. Wong says something to the effect of "Never doubt the power of manga scholarship, William."

There's also a part where Wong briefly mentions how she enjoys the taste of long pig, and how only long veal steak comes close to rivaling it. Wait a minute, does that mean...oh no, this is terrible! The only confirmed anime and manga fan in the entire Nantucket series is a deranged sadist who tortures people for the heck of it! Oh, and she's also a cannibal who literally eats babies, that's bad too, I guess.

Walker and Wong are in the process of formalizing and codifying the Achaean religion. Specifically, that Wong is the avatar of the Lady of Pain, and that Walker is King of Men. Hekate gets an undeserved bad reputation, as do many of the underworld deities from Greek Mythology. She was the goddess of witchcraft and guardian of the crossroads, and she had connections to the underworld, but she was not evil. However, thanks to Wong's cult, interpreting Hekate as an evil goddess might have some historical basis in the mixed-up world Nantucket has found itself in. Well, at least she did pick Hades as her patron deity. Hades is another god who gets unfairly pained as evil. He was firm but fair, and honestly one of the nicer gods. Be thankful for small mercies, I suppose.

Wong and Walker are also attempting to build temples and establish a formal priesthood. The Mycenaeans worshipped more or less the same gods that the Classical Greeks did. Many historians theorize that the Greek gods started out as local deities and cults before being incorporated into a single pantheon. The Mycenaeans worshipped their gods using hillside shrines, but didn't have much in the way of temples, as far as we know. It does make sense that Walker and Wong would be using religion to cement their position with Achaean society. I'm reminded of the words of the physicist Peter Weinberg. Good people will do go things, and evil people will do evil things, without any external influences. But to get good people to do evil things it takes religion, or something very much like religion. Religion has also historically been very good at enforcing conformity and the preexisting social order.

In other developments, we meet John Martins. He's a hippie, but was kidnapped by Walker and taken to Greece. Like most hippies, Martin is really into Lord of the Rings. In fact, he named his settlement Rivendell, and has commissioned several carvings and other works of art inspired by Lord of the Rings. Martins buys slaves...so that he can free them, and give them a new life in Rivendell, where they will be safe from Walker. In fact, he makes a point of always throwing a big party to welcome the newly freed slaves. Martins pretended to go along with Walker so that he could oppose and subvert him from within. He knows that Walker thinks he's just a dumb hippie, and as such, won't pay too close attention to him.

We also meet Helmut Mittler. He's a former Stasi officer, and is Walker's head of security, as well as head of the secret police. Mittler makes a point of contrast lay keeping the Achaeans in a constant state of fear and paranoia. He also makes a few choice remarks to Ian that suggest he might also be an antisemite. Well, I'm just saying, Mittler does rhyme with Hitler. And his name would probably be written on official forms as H. Mittler. Not much more to say here, but Mittler will become important in the spoilers section.

Let's circle back and talk about Ohotolarix. He is an Iraniina chief who followed Walker to Achaea. He's fiercely loyal to Walker, but he still longs for Alba. Ohotolarix finds the weather in Achaea a bit too warm for his liking, longs for the plants of his former homeland, and thinks that the Achaeans put too much garlic in their food. Naturally, Ohotolarix is elated when Walker assigns him to a fort the Achaeans have established in what is today the nation of Hungry. The climate is very similar to Alba, and he gets to laugh at Achaean troops dealing with the cold weather.

The fort has been established as part of Walker's plan to establish relations with the Ringapi people. They're a tribe from Central and Eastern Europe who, along with several other tribes, became the Sea Peoples. Who are the Sea Peoples? Short answer: nobody knows. Longer answer: we don't know, but there are several theories, usually involving the migration of different groups of peoples. Potential candidates include the Etruscans, the Philistines, and even the Mycenaeans and Minoans. I'm not familiar with any theories suggesting the Sea Peoples came from Central and Eastern Europe, but I suppose it makes as much sense as anything. Whoever they were, the Sea Peoples lead a series of coastal fading campaigns across the Eastern Mediterranean. Pharaoh Ramses II faced off against them, as did Ramses III.

The Sea Peoples are one of the factors that lead to the Bronze Age Collapse. The Bronze Age Collapse, as the name suggests, was a series of events resulting in the complete collapse of several Eastern Mediterranean and Near Eastern civilizations. Historians used to believe that the Sea Peoples were the primary cause of the Bronze Age Collapse. However, most modern historians consider the Sea Peoples to be one factor among many. Other factors include, but are not limited to, climate change, volcanic eruptions, social unrest and upheaval, and disruption of trade routes. Hmm, I suppose it is entirely conceivable that, thanks to Nantucket, the Bronze Age Collapse will never happen in this brave new world.

Also, something I just thought of, where are the Minoans? The Minoans were still around at the time the series takes place, but they're nowhere to be seen. Isketerol briefly mentions them we he sees flushing toilets on Nantucket back in Island in the Sea of Time. He says he's only ever known the Minoans to have such things. That actually does have basis in reality. Archeologists have discovered evidence suggesting that the Minoans did indeed have flushable toilets. However, we never get any other mention of the Minoans beyond this. Of course, knowing Walker, he probably conquered and enslaved them.

In other returning characters, George MacAndrews finally got his wish to go to Egypt. He discovered that the Ancient Egyptians are a lot of things, but Black isn't one of them. In fact, he frequently gets made fun of due to his dark skin. MacAndrews even remarks that Ramses II, also known as Ramses the Great, looks like an Italian guy he knew who owned a pizza joint in Nashville. Genetic analysis of mummies suggest that the Ancient Egyptians weren't too different from modern day Egyptians in terms of race and ethnicity. In fact, we know that Ramses himself had red hair. Egypt sits at the crossroads of three continents, and probably had a mix of peoples. Black people weren't unheard of, but certainly weren't the majority. Most Ancient Egyptians probably looked like the other peoples of the Middle East.

MacAndrews tried to implement the Latin Alphabet, but the scribes put up too much resistance. I suppose this does make since. Walker was able to implement the Latin Alphabet in Achaea because, prior to that, they'd been using the Minoan writing system, which wasn't suited to their language. Egypt, by contrast, was doing just fine with hieroglyphics, and the scribes were more entrenched into society. Hmm, I guess the Greek Alphabet will never be invented in this new timeline.

MacAndrews also discovered that Ramses the Great was really more like Ramses the So-So. Turns out, Ramses had a bit of a tendency to fudge the details on the official records of his battles and conquests. This is fairly true to real life. Egyptian rulers did indeed have a tendency to be less than honest about their achievements. To be fair, so did the rulers of most pre-modern societies. In particular, the record speaks of the glories of Ramses campaign against the Hittites. However, Ramses himself admits he was far less successful than the record says.

This is indeed true to life. For example, Egyptian accounts of the Battle of Kadesh claim that it was a victory for Egypt, despite Ramses failing to take the city. However, Hittite accounts claim that the Egyptians retreated in shameful defeat. Most historians agree that the battle was probably a draw, but a slight tactical victory for Egypt. Incidentally, the Battle of Kadesh lead to the Egyptians and Hittites signing to oldest known peace treaty in World History. In fact, a copy of the Treaty of Kadesh hangs in the United Nations headquarters in New York City. The Egyptians and Hittites frequently got into border skirmishes in the Levent, but they had begrudging respect for one another, and considered each other to be worthy opponents.

As for Ramses II himself, he was certainly no slouch when it came to warfare, but his primary claim to fame is his talent as a statesman. He was also known for his religion devotion, and the many temples he built, such as the temples of Abu Simbel and the hypostyle hall at the Temple of Karnak. One minor complaint I had about On the Oceans of Eternity was that I wished we'd gotten more scenes set in Egypt.

Nantucket continues to do well for itself amidst the war effort. They've even begun to establish colonies and homesteads on mainland New England and even Long Island. However, these homesteads tend to have a fairly high failure rate. Farming isn't as easy as it looks, especially when you're a bit low on modern equipment. Still, at last they finally have coffee thanks to the coffee plants that were on Nantucket during the Event. Unfortunately, decorative coffee plants are bred for their looks, not their taste. As such, the coffee tastes horrible, but caffeine is caffeine, I guess. The Ethiopian Highlands were much the only place with coffee plants during the Bronze Age, and it might be a while before Nantucket can send an expedition to them.

Speaking of expeditions, Nantucket has sent an expedition to explore the interior of North America. I found these sections to be the weakest part of On the Oceans of Eternity. They weren't bad per se, the writing was certainly good enough to keep me reasonably entertained. However, they star a group of characters that we didn't meet until this book, so I feel less of a connection to them. Also, out of all the place they could have gone, why the wilderness of North America? There were still plenty of other Bronze Age civilizations left to explore. Shang Dynasty China, the various Andes cultures, Jomon era Japan, and the Indus Valley Civilizations, just to name a few. Archeological evidence suggest that Scandinavia had a very danced Bronze Age culture equal to that of Greece. Hey, there's another potential destination. It was even briefly mentioned that Nantucket had made contact with the Andes civilizations, and had established trade relations with Shang Dynasty China. Shang pirates even briefly appeared in Against the Tide of Years.

Well, there might have been a reason why those civilizations were left out, but we'll discuss that towards the end of the review. I will say that things finally picked up when the expedition reached California and discovered that Tartessos had secretly established a colony. So, I guess not a total bust on that regard. Also, random aside, whenever anyone mentioned Martha's Vineyard, I had to remember that it is a real place in Massachusetts. Having a character named Martha created a bit of a who's on first situation.

I’ll also take one final moment to plug the audiobook version. Todd McLaren is talented as hell, and really was the only person who could do this series justice. 

Okay, now we're getting into the really big spoilers. So, if you don't want any of that, turn back now.

Last chance, sure you want to continue?

Well, okay. If everyone who wants out is gone, let's get into it.

So, what does the Nantucket military discover when they arrive in Tartessos? They find...that Isketerol has genuinely improved things for the common people. He had implemented the Latin Alphabet, and is working to increase literacy rates. He's had trees planted along the roads and streets to provide natural shade. Isketerol has also implemented programs to educate and train the people of Tartessos in the new knowledge and technology Nantucket has. Isketerol said that he wanted to improve Tartessos, prevent it from being just a footnote in the history books, and he meant that. The conflict between Nantucket and Tartessos is resolved with surprisingly little bloodshed, but I guess that makes sense. Tartessos was humbled in Against the Tide of Years when it tried to invade Nantucket, and promptly got its ass kicked. Plus, the alliance with Walker was more of an alliance of convenience than anything.

Of course, for all its many advantages, Nantucket still has a serious manpower shortage. That's been a big theme across the series. For example, they manage to liberate Sicily, but it's up in the air as to whether Nantucket will be able to keep things peaceful and stable after the war is over. Walker's biggest advantage is the sheer number of troops he has at his disposal.

Odikweos has been using Ian to learn more about where Walker comes from. Ian, in turn, recognizes Odikweos as the historical figure who inspired the legend of Odysseus. He even reads to Odikweos from The Odyssey. Odikweos already really didn't like Walker, but now he's seriously pissed that Walker robbed him of his future glory. Unfortunately, he's still bound to Walker's service, and thus can't kill him. If he did, he'd be committing a major taboo of Achaean society.

The resolution was...well, I gotta admit, I did not see it coming. Walker, Wong, and most of their followers go on a boar hunt and then have a feast. Everyone is having a good time, and then they all drop dead. Turns out, Mittler poisoned the barbecue sauce used for the feast. Walker's favorite barbecue sauce contains lots of chilies, which disguised the poison Mittler used. Mittler has been planning on stabbing Walker in the back for quite some time. Now, all Odikweos has to do is kill Mittler, and he'll have avenged Walker. On doing so, Odikweos is freed from his service to Walker, and can claim the throne of Achaea for himself.

Like I said, I really didn't see that coming, but I liked it. It has been established that most of Walker's "allies" are constantly scheming and plotting to undermine him in various ways. MacAndrews and Martins both took advantage of the fact that Walker viewed them as little more than useful idiots. So, I suppose it is a fitting end for William Walker and Alice Wong.

Speaking of MacAndrews, Nantucket has defeat Egypt in a battle near the city of Megiddo, which is also known by its Greek name Armageddon. Fittingly enough, the battle is known as the Battle of Armageddon. MacAndrews decides that it is time to get out of dodge. He decides that, since there are no preexisting ancient black empires, he'll just have to make one of his own. He's heading south to Meroe, and plans to establish his kingdom in Sudan. 

In our world, there was an empire named Kush which arose in the Nubia region, near what is now Sudan. Kush even briefly conquered Egypt during the 25th Dynasty. And yes, Kush was indeed an ancient black empire, just like MacAndrews dreamed of. Of course, Nantucket arrived about 200 years before the founding of Kush. I guess MacAndrews is trying to speed-up history. Stirling has said that MacAndrews’ kingdom would have played a major role in the sequels that never materialized. He says the capital would be located near what is Khartoum in our world. A good place for capital city; lots of iron and plenty of land that can easily be irrigated.  

Meanwhile, Althea Walker happened to be away when everyone got poisoned. She decides to do some empire building of her own. She and Ohotolarix head to Central Asia. Althea hopes that being so far from the sea will allow her empire to grow without having to worry about Nantucket.

Also, on a more minor note, Nantucket doctor Justin Clemens married his Babylonian assistant Azzu-ena. He uses the caduceus as his symbol on the Babylonian marriage document. The caduceus frequently gets mistaken for the Rod of Asclepius, and is erroneously used as symbol for the medical profession, especially in America. The caduceus was the symbol of the Greek god Hermes; he was the god of many things, but medicine and healing were not among them. Asclepius was the Greek god of healing. For reference, the caduceus is a rod with two intertwined snakes and wings at the top. The Rod of Asclepius, by contrast, is a stick with a single servant coiled around it, and lacks wings. The caduceus has also been used as a symbol of commerce. A far more fitting use, given that Hermes was god of merchants.

Of course, because of Justin, there might be some historical basis for the caduceus as a symbol of medic in the new timeline. Nantucket is probably going to make future archeologists of this new timeline scratch their heads with all the anachronisms they cause. That'll be especially true is Nantucket's decedent a forget that their ancestors came from the future. Well, the future of another timeline, but details. Ian even remarks that future historians are probably going to come up with all sorts of crazy explanations for how Nantucket pulled-off everything it did.

So, the series ends with Nantucket having Christmas party, with the leaders of their allies in attendance. Kashtiliash himself pays Nantucket a visit, and he is joined by Odikweos and even Isketerol. So, I guess that means that Nantucket and Tartessos are putting the past behind them. There is a festive mood in the air as the characters toast to the future of their crazy mixed-up new world. Maybe it isn't quite the best of all possible worlds, but they're working on it.

Obviously, there are a lot of sequel hooks here. We've got Althea and MacAndrews attempting to build their own empires. We've also got a Nantucket airship crew who have crashed in Central Asia and are trying to make their way home. And there's just the general potential of what this world will look like in the future. Perhaps that's why Shang Dynasty China and the Indus Valley Civilizations were ignored. Althea building her empire in Central Asia would serve as a good springboard for incorporating China and India into the series. I still maintain that the Iraniina becoming zealous converts to Christianity would come back to bite Nantucket in the ass at some point.

All of that being said, I still feel that On the Oceans of Eternity does a good job wrapping up the trilogy. Most of the major plot threads are tied up, but it also leaves open the possibility for more adventures. Overall, I was very satisfied with how On the Oceans of Eternity ended. 

So, there was definitely potential for a sequel series, but it never materialized. Following the Island in the Sea of Time series, Stirling wrote the first trilogy of the Emberverse series. It covers the world that Nantucket left behind. More specifically, the laws of physics change so that electricity, gunpowder, explosives, internal combustion, and steam-power no longer work. It's a tad more complicated than that, but that's the non-spoiler version of what happened. The Emberverse gets its name from Dies the Fire, the first book of the series. Personally, given the choice, I'll take Nantucket. I can't live in a world without air conditioning. Not sure what the air conditioning situation is with Nantucket, but at least electricity still works, so they could have it. 

They make for an interesting contrast. Island in the Sea of Time is about the technological present entering the mythical past. Emberverse, by contrast, is about the mythical past entering the technological present. The two series are mirror images of each other. 

The Emberverse was a mass success in terms of sales, so that is where Stirling focused his writing energies. As Stirling himself says, his publisher is the one who decides which of his books get sequels. Stirling has written a couple of short stories set in the world of Island in the Sea of Time. One is a novella that covers the Battle of Armageddon in more detail. It is called “Ridding Shotgun to Armageddon” and is collected in an anthology of Stirling’s short stories called Ice, Iron, and Gold. The other takes place twenty years after the events of On the Oceans of Eternity. It is called “Blood Wolf” and was collected in the anthology The First Heroes: New Tales of the Bronze Age edited by Harry Turtledove and Noreen Doyle.

It is certainly a bit sad that we never got more books in the Island in the Sea of Time series. Still, it's better than what happened with The Peshawar Lancers, which sadly remains a standalone book. And hey, we got three amazing books out of the Island in the Sea of Time series. Each of them was even better than its predecessor. For that alone, we should be thankful for all of Stirling's creativity and hard work.

Perhaps one day I will be able to visit the Nantucket of our world. If I use my imagination, perhaps I will be able to imagine myself on an island in the sea of time, set against the tide of years, on the oceans of eternity. I also hope I'll get to visit the Eagle too. They have visitation days, I believe. I'll have to ask the crew if they've heard of Island in the Sea of Time.

Well, that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.

Book Review: The Monster War by Alan Gratz

Well, here are at last. We've reached the third and final book of The League of Seven series. There really isn't much more to say, so let's get right into it. We're taking a look at The Monster War by Alan Gratz.

Archie Dent is still reeling from the loss of the Dragon Lantern. In fact, he no longer believes that he deserves to be a hero, and has taken to sulking in the shadows. But fate isn't about to let Archie off that easily. There are still two members of the League of Seven yet to be found. Meanwhile, Philomena Moffit is using the Dragon Lantern to raise an army of monsters, and is planning on marching them on New Rome. A war is brewing, and the League of Seven are going to have to take a final stand and defeat Moffat once and for all.

The League of Seven trilogy started off with a great first book, and an equally excellent second book. So, how does the third and final book do? Well, there were many things that I did enjoy about The Monster War. Having said that, there are also several fairly significant flaws. Let's start with what I enjoyed.

The book starts in Houston in the Republic of Texas. The people of this alternate Texas are primarily Latino, though they refer to themselves as mestizo. Mestizo is a Latin American term for people of mixed ancestry; usually European and Native American. Despite this, the Texans all talk, dress, and act like stereotypical Texas cowboys. Most of them speak in the typical Texas drawl, but will toss the occasional Spanish word or phrase in occasionally. Believe it or not, in our world, Texas didn't really have a large Latino population until relatively recently. In fact, up until the 1990s, German was the most common second language in Texas. Obviously, this has very much changed over the past couple decades due to shifting demographics.

Like in our world, Houston is home to a massive arena. However, it is a colosseum-esque arena known as the Astral Dome. The ceiling and corridors as covered in glowing bioluminescent lights that look like the night sky. It is another leftover relic from Atlantis. It is at the Astral Dome that Archie meets Gonzalo. He's a member of the Texas Rangers, just like his parents and siblings. He's good are sharp shooting, horse riding, lassoing, and other typical cowboy things. All of this is very impressive given that he is also completely blind. Oh, but don't worry, he has a talking raygun named Señor X to act as his seeing eye...uh, gun.

It hasn't escaped my notice that Archie's iteration of the League of Seven falls into that trope you see in a lot of kids media. The one where all the kids in the man group are various tokens. We've got the token Black kid (Clyde), the token Asian kid (Kitsune), the token Latino (Gonzalo), the token Scottish kid (Fergus). So, I guess it makes since there would also be a token disabled kid to go along with everyone else. I was worried that Hachi would be the token Native American kid, but thankfully, we got another Native American member of the team. We'll discuss her in a minute.

Señor X has an Aztec-esque design; he looks like a turquoise serpent. That made me wonder what the X stood for. Perhaps it stood for Xiuhcoatl? It is a name that can mean multiple things. It can mean fire serpent, and there is a creature by that name in Aztec Mythology. However, it can also mean hidden weapon. Both interpretations would certainly suit a raygun like Señor X.

Lo and behold, I was correct. Turns out, Señor X, or rather, Xiuhcoatl, was created by the Lemurian iteration of the League of Seven. The Lemurians were the forerunners of the Mesoamerican civilizations; just like the Atlanteans were with the Native Americans from above the Rio Grande. Though, it turns out even Lemuria had its own predecessors in the form of Atlan. Their name appears to be a reference to Aztlan, the mythical homeland of the Aztec people. It is from Aztlan that we get the word Aztec. The people we now refer to as Aztecs actually referred to themselves as Mexica, which is where Mexico gets its name.

Interestingly, the members of the Lemurian League of Seven were all gods from Mesoamerican mythology. Or perhaps, they are misremembered as gods. They included Quetzalcoatl and Tezcatlipoca from Aztec Mythology, and Ixchel form Maya Mythology. The League of Seven has always been an international organization, so the mixing of Aztec and Maya deities is excusable. Though I was a bit surprised that the Maya hero twin Hunahpu and Xbalanque weren't members. Or perhaps they joined a different iteration of the League of Seven?

Also, if Lemuria was the forerunners of Mesoamerica, then presumably they left behind lot of steampunk tech like Atlantis did. And if that's the case, how did Mexico and Central America still get colonized by Spain? It is a bit disappointing that we never got to see what New Spain is like. Also, why does the Texas flag look the same as it does in our world? In our world, the Texas flag was model off of the American flag. In the Leagueverse, however, the flag of the United Nations of America looks like the Iroquois flag. So, logically, the Texas flag ought to look different as well, but I digress.

I should have mentioned this earlier, but the Republic of Texas comprises almost of our world's Texas. I say almost because Galveston is an independent city-state run by pirates. Oh, and it is completely underwater. A subaquatic city of glass domes and metal tubes. Galveston was founded by the pirate Jean Lafitte. As a result, the ruler of Galveston is known as The Lafitte. The primary inhabitants of Galveston are the Karankawa people. They're the indigenous inhabitants of Galveston Island. However, these Karankawa are a bit different from the ones in our world. They're seven feet tall on average, have grey skin, webbed hands, and gills; though they can breathe air just as well as water.

As soon as I read all of that, I joked to myself that the Karankawans must be related to the Deep Ones from the Lovecraft Mythos. Hey, there are a lot of references to the works of H.P. Lovecraft in the League of Seven books. Not long after that, it is mentioned that the Karankawa refer to the Mangleborn as the Deep Ones. Apparently, most Karankawa have a small amount of Deep One ancestry, hence their appearance.

It is in Galveston that Archie finds the final member of the League. She's a Karankawa girl named Martine. She's incredibly intelligent, especially when it comes to science and engineering. She has even designed her own submarine called The Kraken, which it looks like a giant squid. I usually describe The League of Seven series as a kid-friendly version of The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, but with original characters. I guess Martine is the Captain Nemo of the group. I always find submarines with a steampunk aesthetic to have a certain charm to them. It's a shame submarines don't appear more often in steampunk works. Perhaps, because submarines are something we have in our world, most authors don't consider them to have the same exotic romanticism as airships? But I digress.

Martine is also notable in that she has autism. Well, it is never stated outright, but it is heavily implied. She has trouble understanding emotions and social cues, she has very detail-oriented thinking, has a tendency to get hyper-focused on certain tasks, and can come across as a bit stoic and reserved. Martine also has synesthesia. It is a real-world condition where your senses get mix together. People with synesthesia might perceive numbers and letters as having different colors, or smells, or even tastes. Indeed, Martine describes letters, numbers, and symbols as having different colors and emotions attached to them. This comes in handy more than once a when the League has to navigate another puzzle trap.

It wasn't totally ignored, but shame that more wasn't made of Martine being autistic. Autistic kids, especially autistic girls, are still fairly rare in most media. It seems Martine might have been added later into Gratz's writing process. There is a scene in the first book where Archie gets a vision of the other League member. The descriptions of Kitsune and Clyde fit their eventually appearance, and Clyde even has Buster with him. Gonzalo looks more or less the same, and he has Señor X, though he's also wearing a turquoise Aztec mask that he lacks in this book. However, the final member is described as a white girl with brown hair; a marked contrast to tall, grey-skinned, Martine the Karankawan. Thanks to Martine we now have more than one Native American on the team. Also, her name is kind of a pun. Martine sounds like marine/maritime, as in, thing relating to the sea.

Martine has also found a way to harness aether. It can do pretty much anything electricity can do, but it functions under non-Euclidian geometry, so it is highly unstable. So, it usually only used as a weapon. However, Martine somehow found a way to tame the aether. Aether also has the bonus of not attracting the Mangleborn.

So, the League of Seven is united at last. Now, the hunt is on for Moffat and the Dragon Lantern. The first stop is Memphis, where we get several cameos from real world historical figures. Jesse James is back, and he's teamed up with Harriet Tubman and John Brown to bring tick-tocks to freedom in Acadia via the Underground Railroad. Oh, and did I mention the Underground Railroad is literally a railroad that runs underground? John Brown is a robot, but Harriet Tubman is a human who fights for the liberation of tick-tocks.

My problem with these cameos is that they don't really do anything interesting with the historical figures. They just pop in, say a few lines, and disappear from the plot. It reminds me of those Liberty Mutual ads that would play before The American Experience on PBS. There was the one with the animatronic Sacagawea who says "I'm Sacagawea, I helped Lewis and Clark discover the West. I'm Sacagawea, I helped Lewis and Clark discover the West." Or the one where the animatronic Paul Revere goes "I'm Paul Revere, one night in 1775 I warned everyone that the British are coming. I'm Paul Revere, one night in 1775 I warned everyone that the British are coming." The point being, there's more to American History, and American historical figures, than just these one sentence bits of trivia.

But I feel like Alan Gratz feel into that trap here. The scene with Harriet Tubman might as well have her going "Hey, look, I'm Harriet Tubman. Howdy, howdy, howdy! Oh, and John Brown is here too. Say hi, John! Well, goodbye now."

There's really not much point to the scene, other than to make the slavery parallel with the treatment of tick-tocks more obvious. Señor X even says that Lemuria collapsed as a result of a civil war over the rights of tick-tocks. You'd think that something more interesting could be done with someone Harriet Tubman. Alan Gratz was able to do interesting things in the previous book with historical figures like Marie Laveau and George Armstrong Custer.

We also get a cameo from Winchester Colbert. In our world, he was a member of the Chickasaw people who traveled the Trail of Tear. He went on to become an important tribal leader once the Chickasaw arrived in Oklahoma. In the world of the Leagueverse, however, the Trail of Tears never happened, and the Chickasaw remained in the ancestral homelands in Tennessee. Winchester Colbert is the mayor of Memphis as of 1876. You actually get a lot of cameos from less well-known historical figures. I wish Gratz had made more of them. One thing I liked about Scott Westerfeld's Leviathan trilogy was that each book ends with a section that explains what part were based in reality, and which parts were artistic license. Doing something similar with The League of Seven books would be a great way to introduce kids to lesser-known historical figures.

Moffit has created a Shadow League to oppose the League of Seven. The shadow leaguers include murders, thieves, and...William Tecumseh Sherman?! In the Leagueverse, he was a notorious arsonist who was sent to Alcatraz. Wait, if Sherman is from the United Nations, and Alcatraz is in the Republic of California, how does that work? Is Alcatraz the Leagueverse equivalent of Guantanamo Bay? Now, Sherman's famous March to the Sea could, I suppose, be categorized as a bit harsh. However, it also helped speed up the end of an incredibly brutal war. For reference, the American Civil War killed two percent of America's overall population. Oh, and you know, assuring a Union victory also ended slavery once and for all.

Some people say "But what about all the Southerners who suffered from Sherman's March?" And that I say, what about all of the African-Americans who suffered under the yoke of slavery? The fact remains, Sherman helped put an end of the horrors of slavery. Plus, the Confederates had it coming. Most of the historiography that paints Sherman as a monster tended to be written by pro-Confederate historians. The sort of people responsible for the myth of the Lost Cause. Thankfully, modern historians are reexamining Sherman in a more sympathetic light. As far as I'm concern, Sherman was a true American hero, and deserves to be remembered as such.

Well, anyway, getting back on track, the League splits up...again. I mean, I know they had their reasons, but it is repeatedly emphasized that the League is strongest when they're together. Archie, Hachi and Fergus got into numerous situations that could have been avoid if they'd stuck together in the last book. Also, Hachi killed everyone involved in the slaughter of her village. So, technically speaking, Hachi is a serial killer. Yet none of the characters ever bring this up, or object to her actions. I know they villains had it coming and all, but you'd think at least Clyde, being a lawman, would object to Hachi's methods.

Clyde and Fergus go back to Wichita, while Hachi and Martine go back to Standing Peace tree. Really? There's still plenty of interesting places left to explore, but instead we're retracting our footsteps? I was hoping we'd at least get to see the Navajo, or perhaps the Inuit.

Well, at least Kitsune and Gonzalo go to Shikaakwa, which you might know as Chicago. All the buildings of Shikaakwa are on hydraulic lifts to cope with flooding. The buildings are also connected to a massive grad that crisscrosses the city. This means the buildings can be moved around quite easily. So, when someone in Shikaakwa says "There goes the neighborhood!" they mean it literally. Still, gotta wonder how the plumbing and gas lines work with such buildings. Of course, steampunk tends to favor things that are cool over things that would actually work. In real life, most steampunk machine would require way too much fuel to actually function. There is a reason our world never developed steampunk tech.

I'll give points for having the Ametokai Strangler be made out of kudzu vines; that was genuinely clever. Kudzu is an invasive vine from Japan that is wreaking havoc on American ecosystems, particularly in the Southeast. One of the issues is that it, essentially, strangles native plants of the region. It was also nice to have more scenes of Gonzalo and Kitsune interacting with each other. Also, apparently the Shikaakwa Cubs are a thing, but they're a lacrosse team, rather than a baseball team.

Also, apparently the Leagueverse does use oil. However, they use it to light lamps, rather than for internal combustion engines. Well, I guess internal combustion does require an electric spark, and electricity is a no-no. That, and apparently oil is actually the blood of the Mangleborn. Guess that's why the Leagueverse is steampunk, rather than dieselpunk. On an unrelated note, why do some many of the Native Americans in the Leagueverse wear Western style clothing? By Western, I mean clothing white people would wear. If anything, you'd think it would be the other way around. Native Americans are implied to have a numeric majority over Yankees.

So, the titular Monster War happens, and the League of Seven links up with the United Nations at Gettysburg. Due to allohistroical irony, Robert E. Lee is leading the Union at an alternate Battle of Gettysburg. Lee is presented as far nicer than he was in real life. For example, he promotes Clyde to a captain, and compliments him on his excellent leadership skills. In real life, Lee would have whipped Clyde and told him that his name be Toby now. Lee even delivers an alternate version of The Gettysburg Address to rally the troops!

It is another Lost Cause myth that Lee was a kindly slave owner, and that he only joined the Confederacy out of loyalty to his home state of Virginia. Lee's personal letters make it crystal clear that he knew that the Confederacy was fighting to preserve slavery, and that this is why he joined them. Also, he was a terrible commander who regularly got his troops slaughtered. For example, during the Battle of Vicksburg, every man under Lee was either killed or captured. By contrast, Ulysses S. Grant got through the whole battle without losing a single man. Though, the fact that Lee is commanding so many Native American troops is accidentally accurate. In our world, the Five Civilized Tribes owned slaves and fought for the Confederacy.

Speaking of Native Americans, apparently the tribes are all fighting each other in a massive civil war...which we only know because Lee tells us so. We did get hints of this back in this first book, but that particular plot point got dropped up until this book. I mean, that's a pretty significant detail to ignore until just now. This is why it is important to show, not tell. Also, one of the monsters is a wendigo that has possessed an Inuit man. Slight problem, wendigo are from the mythology of the Algonquin peoples, not the Inuit.

Okay, now we're getting into the really spoiler stuff. So, if you don't want any of that, turn back now.

This is your last chance. Are you sure?

Okay, if everyone who wants out is gone, let's get into it.

There was one major bombshell early one in The Monster War that I've been leaving out til now. We know that Archie was created via a ritual carried out by Edison and Blavatsky. However, it turns out they got funding by some mysterious benefactors: the Septemberist Society! Archie was created as part of another attempt at making an artificial league. Archie and the other member of the League decide that they can't work for the Septemberists anymore after that. Hachi has found out about this, but she doesn't blame Archie. Well, actually, that's a lie. She's deeply resentful towards him, and convinces the other members of the League that he's too dangerous to be trusted. So, they keep blue amber from Dodge City on hand to encase Archie if he ever snaps.

Oh, and wouldn't you know it, Archie goes completely berserk and hulks out specifically because his friends didn't trust him. Now, granted, Archie has lost control of himself and gone on rampages in the past. However, if the rest of the League had just sat him down and explained their concerns, then maybe they could have avoided all of that. Especially if they got Mr. Rivets to act as the voice of reason. I suppose there's a message here about the importance of not keeping secrets and being honest.

I also kind of get what Gratz was trying to do with regards to Archie's origins. It didn't escape my notice that a bunch of Native Americans had to die for a white boy to live. The United States of America is a land of so much wealth, prosperity, and opportunity. And yet much of that prosperity was build atop the corpses of millions of indigenous peoples. But, like Archie, most of us didn't choose to be born into such a world. It's just the way the cards were dealt.

That having been said, I feel that things between Hachi and Archie could have been handled better. I understand that Hachi felt angry and all, but she let her grief consume her almost to fatal consequences. Worse, none of the other characters ever call her out on this. We all got shit to deal with. That's no excuse for dragging everyone else down. I feel like Rocket Raccoon in the first Guardians of the Galaxy movie; the part where he calls out Drax for letting his grief and desire for vengeance nearly kill everyone.

Hachi does sort of forgive Archie...possibly. She calms him down by having Kitsune create an illusion of all the men in Hachi's village saying they don't blame Archie for being born. The way it is written is kind of ambiguous. Did Hachi really forgive Archie, or was she only saying that to calm him down? Oh, and during all of this, Kitsune is barely hanging on after Archie impaled her with a harpoon. But she doesn't hold it again him, and she refuses to lay down and do nothing. She keeps pressing on to help calm Archie down. And that is why Kitsune is best girl.

Speaking of which, we finally learn her true origin. One of her ancestors was a kitsune, so occasionally members of her family are born with fox ears and tails. Her parents thought she was a monster and abandoned her, but her kindhearted grandmother raised her in a cabin in the woods. Well, at least until Kitsune was about eight, and grandma died. Kitsune was pretty much on her own until she met Archie and the League. She masks a great sadness with her mischievous personality. But she isn't sad, because the League is her family now. Will somebody please give best girl a hug for me?

So, Moffit is defeated once and for all. You'll have to read the book if you want the specifics on that. She was completely insane, but she had a point about the Septemberists being untrustworthy. Ultimately, Moffit was a tragic villain. She was born a monster, but the Septemberists made her into one. So, the League decide to operate in the open from now on, and reveal the truth about the Mangleborn to the United Nations of America. Oh, and they're dissolving the Septemberists Society, effective immediately, and placing the leaders of the Septemberists under arrest for the kidnapping and forced medical experimentation of countless children.

Well, I guess this does somewhat mitigate the positive portrayal of Robert E. Lee earlier in the book. Hopefully, Lee will be rotting in prison for a very long time. Although, Fredrick Douglas is also a member of the Septemberist Council. Thus, one of the great American heroes in our world was an evil child kidnapping monster in the Leagueverse. Well, he was complacent in such activities, at any rate. Also, Hellcat Maggie is a member of the Septemberists Council. In our world, she was a member of the Dead Rabbits, an Irish street gang based in Manhattan. She was a fighter who wore brass claws on her fingers and filed her teeth to sharp points.

So, justice is served, the truth is finally revealed, and our heroes get a ticker tape parade in their honor. Well, except Archie. He's sulking in the shadows inside the float. He doesn't think he deserves to be a hero because of what he is. He is still convinced he'll always be a monster. Worse, Archie speculates that he not only has the strength of 100 men, but also all of their lifespans too. Meaning, potentially, Archie will live for over 8,000 years. Oh, but don't worry, Mr. Rivets assures Archie that he'll always have him.

Does Archie decide to quiet being so mopey and join his friends in the celebration? Nope! We end with him still sulking in the dark, bitter about how nobody understands him. I mean, wow, that's really the note we're going to end the series on? Archie, serious question, were you even paying attention to what Kitsune told you? Pretty much everyone in the League, except Gonzalo and possibly Martine, lost their family in one way or another. But that doesn't matter. You guys are a family now. You wanted to be the Percy Jackson, but you wound up as the Nico di Angelo of the team. Less than ideal, maybe, but end of the world? Not even close. On that note, nobody rejected you, you rejected yourself. Ugh, where's Will Solace when you need him?

Maybe you will outlive your friends, but that doesn't mean the time you have with them matters less. If anything, it is all the more valuable because it might end. So, get off your stone ass and go be in that ticker tape parade with your family, by Hiawatha! And hey, you've still got Mr. and Mrs. Dent. They kind of disappeared after the first book, but you've still got them...unless they were arrested with the other Septemberists. 

I know Alan Gratz has written some short stories set in the world of The League of Seven. I really do hope he does consider revisiting the Leagueverse, because as it stands, it has ended on way too depressing of a note for my taste.

I know I sounds like I've been rather critical, but on the whole I did enjoy The Monster War. It was a very gripping and engaging story with great worldbuilding and characters. I was never bored, and I was always eager to see what came next. Sure, it has its flaws, but so do the other books in the series. Taking the overall experience into account, I found it an enjoyable book, and would be more than happy to recommend it. I'll also plug the audiobook version one final time.

So, what are my overall thoughts about The League of Seven series. Overall, I did enjoy it. I think it is a great series for introducing alternate history to kids. I also appreciated that it remembered that Native Americans are a thing exist. Though, I do feel that Gratz didn’t do quite enough to make all the tribes more than just names on a page. Still, the series has very interesting worldbuilding, and great characters. My biggest complaint is that three books, at roughly 336 pages each, simply wasn't enough to explore this incredibly interesting world in full. Gratz tried to pack as much as he could into each book, but things jump around so much, we never get enough time to really explore the different stops on the journey. Well, for the most part anyway. That's why I'm really hoping we get more books, or at least short stories, set in the world of The League of Seven.

But on the whole, I find The League of Seven a welcome addition to the alternate history genre. So, there you have it. We reviewed The Monster War, and our time with The League of Seven is at an end. It is a somewhat flawed, but highly entertaining read. Hey, sometimes a speckled axe is best of all, as Benjamin Franklin famously observed.

Well, that should do it from me for now. I will see you guys next time.