The Peshawar Lancers

By: S. M. Stirling

Narrated by: Shaun Grindell

Length: 17 hrs and 30 mins

Publisher's summary

In the mid-1870s, a violent spray of comets hits Earth, decimating cities, erasing shorelines, and changing the world's climate forever. And just as Earth's temperature dropped, so was civilization frozen in time. Instead of advancing technologically, humanity had to piece itself back together....

In the 21st century, boats still run on steam, messages arrive by telegraph, and the British Empire, with its capital now in Delhi, controls much of the world. The other major world leader is the Czar of All the Russias. Everyone predicts an eventual, deadly showdown. But no one can predict the role that one man, Captain Athelstane King, reluctant spy and hero, will play....

©2002 Steven M. Stirling (P)2017 Tantor

Critic reviews

“An irresistible read." ( Booklist)

steampunk kipling

this book was so fun to read! A swashbuckling adventure mixed with details of a Anglo-Indian culture. immerse yourself into the hills of Preswer, the streets of Delhi and Mumbai and into the hands of Afghani Sky Pirates. If you want a well.read fun book this is one for you!

surprising...

For an SM Storling this one just did not hold my interest. likely just overly complicated without the ability to connect with the geography, history, and what was real vs embellished. Still a huge Stirling fan.

Good story, great accents, bad inflection

The story is enjoyable, fast paced and imaginative, but the narrators inflections ant the end of every sentence was maddening. Every line was a question. He did a great job with foreign accents, though.

Great Alternative History

I’m only sad it’s the only one, but it’s elegant and exciting. This is a story that will appeal to anyone who’s ever been interested in alternative history. It has military and political technicality, well written romance, and exciting action!

Poor narration

A great book nearly spoiled by a bad reading.
Narrator said EACH sentence in the EXACT same cadence and inflection

Slow start, but gets better

This book wasn’t bad, and the narrator was excellent, but I had a hard time paying attention to the story. After a slow start it got better, but I had to make myself get thru the first couple of hours.

Outstanding reimagining of history

Stirling's Ember Verse series is one my favorites. Here he goes straight alternatives history. He paints a great picture. His characters are multidimensional and believable . Did not want to stop listening.

By far the best book I've read this year

I loved it, bought it for my vacation and I do bot regret it for one second. A fantastic steam punk adventure set in a post apocalyptic world forever set in the Victorian empire. Vast wildernesses, swashbuckling, exciting encounters, trains, airships, cannibal cults and evil russians. This book has it all.

One of the best alt-history books I've read!

Take something in history that made a change in the world, and then change that event. Or, add a large impacting event to the world's history at a point previous to current time and extrapolate where the world might be based on the change. Plotlines and ideas like this, can be fascinating. If that is of any interest to you, I would highly recommend reading this book.

What happened to the Lancers?

If you’re looking for a book about a regiment of Lancers, this isn’t it. The story is more of a spy tale.