"The Peshawar Lancers Setting" Topic

The Peshawar Lancers is an alternate history/steampunk/ post-apocalyptic/fantasy adventure novel by S. M. Stirling, A heavy meteor shower, known as "the Fall," creates massive environmental changes that blot out the sun, causing the collapse of industrialized civilization, The novel opens in 2025 A.D., after the world recovered from the ecological devastation and where the political geography is very different from our own world.

The Angrezi Raj (the former British Empire centered in the South Pacific and Indian Oceans) is the most powerful nation on Earth. Other powers are France-outre-mer (a European-settled North Africa), the Caliphate of Damascus (a united Middle East), the Empire of Dai-Nippon (a united China and Japan), and the Russian Empire (a remnant of the original dominant in central Asia.)

Imagine the armies you can design for these nations, not to mention the other more colorful denizens of this setting such as Russian death cultists, Bengali separatists, Dai Nippon ninja assassins, cannibal infested british isles, hydrogen powered airships and air pirates!

Anyone ever tried these waters?

It's a pretty good book. Lots of buckles to swash and big-damn-heroes moments.

Try here
link

Thanks for the link, as I just got around to finishing the book yesterday -its been 1 year on the book shelf untill picking it up to read recently its a good book, but I have far too many books that will sit on th shelves.
The history/timeline and such at the back of the book are a nice touch.

Plus the heroic Harry Flashman is one of the hero's ancestors.

S. M Stirling seems to have it in for Flashman, he kills him in an earlier story and of course resurrects a Flashman villian, Ignatieff, for this one

I love the Peshawar Lancers book. I wish he would write a sequel though…

Seconded.

Unfortunately it seems that Mr Stirling has gone the route of "formula writers" in adding sequals to his "dies The Fire" and "Islands in the Sea" and it looks like he has or is going to combine the two themes in another book

Writing a sequal to the Peshawar lancers would be great but probably a little more difficult to write with some original thinking involved. Also how would he work in the "Americans" ??

Read somewhere that Peshawar was not that successful compared to his other series as a lot of readers did not see it as an "Alternate " History book but a Colonial novel.

I expect it missed the big English-speaking market but having so little link to the US. Pity. Anyway, I expect you could manage most of the armies with standard colonial troops, but the Japanese might be a bit of a problem.

He did write a short story about the southern US, from the same time period. I would have to look to figure out which book it was in.

Sounds interesting.

Note that a united China and Japan is one of the six major powers in H.G. Wells' 1908 The War In the Air (the others are England, France, Germany, Russia, & America).

I think that this power would make a nice addition to Wessex Games' Land Ironclads. I have not purchased Aeronef yet, so I'm not sure if it's included there.

He did write a short story about the southern US, from the same time period. I would have to look to figure out which book it was in.

I'd be very interested in that. IIRC he had a passing mention of Southern America, and I think gaucho lancers or something but I can't remember much.

It's a very fun book all in all.

He did write a short story about the southern US, from the same time period. I would have to look to figure out which book it was in.

Is this it????

link

Cheers Andy

A sample can be found on this site, but not as a direct link

smstirling.com

It is called "SHIKARI IN GALVESTON", and to quote "published in the collection "Worlds That Weren't" in 2002 "

Right you are about "Shikari in Galveston" – it is sort of a prequel to the Peshawar Lancers

Neat concept and a great fantasy world to game – we have used our existing colonial armies – as the Japanese, we use Boxer War Chinese regulars as Chinese auxillery troops and the Boxer War Japanese as regulars – for the Brazilians, we use Mexican Adventure Mexican troops – we also use my rag-ass Celts as the savage natives in North America and Continental Europe – for the French, La Legion!

While I enjoyed the Peshawar Lancers I really liked the The Age of Unreason; a four part seires by J Gregory Keyes. Ben Franklin, Blue Beard, Peter the Great, James Stewart, Isaac Newton, Cotton Mather, Charles XII, Mongols, Russians, Colonists, French, native Americans, British in high historical fantasy. A ripping great yarn and highly recommended. Lots of great miniature battle ideas.

Donald~

I frankly liked how it was set up, almost in passing, that the US *really* got nailed by the Handwavium Event that caused The Fall, thus taking we upstart Americans out of the picture (sure, it's a plot device, but what the heck).

If you're going to write a combination AH/homage to Kipling, you might as well start it off with a bang.

This novel was what got me into Colonials and VSF in the first place. Although, strangely, I had read and loved all teh Barsoom novels as a child.

When in doubt, go for the Sikhs.

In terms of figures, what would you use to depict the Peshawar Lancers?

Honestly? 1880s Colonials. There's not a lot of description of the uniforms, but the equipment is all firmly Northwest Frontier. Martini-Henry rifles (yes, still throwing the .577, not the .303), Webley revolvers, etc.

The civilians have made some changes to their wardrobe (even the Brit ladies are dressing in sari), but I get the impression that military technology and uniforms haven't changed since before the Impact.

Honestly? 1880s Colonials. There's not a lot of description of the uniforms, but the equipment is all firmly Northwest Frontier. Martini-Henry rifles (yes, still throwing the .577, not the .303), Webley revolvers, etc.

The civilians have made some changes to their wardrobe (even the Brit ladies are dressing in sari), but I get the impression that military technology and uniforms haven't changed since before the Impact.

No machine guns? That was kind of hard to accept, given that they had clockwork computers, stirling cycle cars and hydrogen airships – but it allowed a fair amount of swordplay and farting about on horses. I would expect they had learned to wear some kind of camo (probably khaki) at that stage, what with exchanging slugs at the Afghans.

I expect WWI or WWII colonial troops would do fine.

Machine guns would have put paid to all those loverly charges by mounted lancers, wouldn't they? Can't have that. Next thing, you'll be suggesting we do away with rivets, eh? *smile*

I dunno, machine guns were still considered 'artillery' when the Impact happened. When you're talking gatlings and other wheeled-carriage guns, they don't make much of a showing in the rough terrain of the Northwest Frontier.

Like I said, the Brits were still using the .577 rifles, not a .303, which makes a huge difference in ammunition weight for automatic weapons.

Khaki-clad troops of the 1880s or so would be fine, possibly WW1 Indian or South African troops. I wouldn't go newer than that.

So how is "Peshawar" pronounced?

News reports this past week were reducing the 'e' to almost a glotal stop and emphasizing the first 'a' (as a short vowel) so strongly the resulting word sounded like "shower".

I've always said it "Pesh-uh-wahr".

Hi All

Reading this at present.

Mention on page 340 [of my copy] of Machine Guns following an infantry column. These appear to be pulled by ox carts. So early gun carriage mounted Maxim would make sense

Also mention of Lee Metfort type bolt action rifle in use by British and Cap and ball pistols from the Caliphiate.

Also one of the hero's at one point uses a Lamat style 6 shot + Shotgun style pistol.

It looks to me that British [Sahib-log] infantry could be represented by 1880 style NW Frontier/Sudan/Omdurman style figures.

Indian troops appear to be best reprisented by Imperial Indian figures from 1880 onwards.

Hope this helps.

Would something like this be out of place?

link

Hi coo2y2PH
I suspect that a Gattling gun would be OK as would a Gardner gun or an early Maxim or Colt machine gun mounted on the sane style of carriage.

Stirling has a description of just *how* the Angrezi Raj has changed the English language in the back of the book, so I'd take how to pronounce "Peshawar" from that, bearing in mind how it's pronounced in Urdu as well.

Also-I think the Lee-Metfords in the book are .40 caliber, there are certainly water-cooled MGs in use alongside elephant-drawn field artillery, and there are steam-powered armored cars in Athelstane King's column in the beginning of the book.

Hi All

Just finished the book. Good read once you get into it.

Technology notes are:-

Troop uniforms seam to be mid 1880 BUT with Turban not Pith helmet [Pith is notes as still being worn but regarded as dated]

Martini Henry rifle type action still in use but not front line

Lee Metford rifle in front line service link whihc may indicate still black powder as this rifle is not suitable for smokeless [Lee-Enfield replaced this for this reason]

Machine guns available

Steam power used in large amounts

Stirling Cycle engines link engines used in Cars, Vehicles and airships.

No Petrol or Diesel Engines known. This may be why there appears to only be airships rather than heavier than air planes.

Babbage type analytical engines available.

The British Empire [New Empire] leads in all these technologies.

Hope this is useful