Review of 'Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City'

Sixteen Ways to Defend a Walled City by K. J. Parker

Orhan is, despite appearances, a colonel of engineers for the Robur empire who is reluctantly forced into defending a city from a massive army wearing empire armour. Why would their own army want to attack their own city? How can an engineer with no battle experience hold off an overwhelming force with no army to speak of save his contingent of engineers, the city watch and two groups of warring street factions (“themes”), the blues and the greens? To add to his troubles, they City has no food to speak of, their water supply is vulnerable, they have no weapons and, most troubling, there is very little time left to do much about it. He has help in the form of an exceptionally intelligent barmaid and an overly protective bodyguard but otherwise he has to rely on his wits and the devotion of this ramshackle force to hold the walls…he will need all of it.

This is the story of the “Great Siege” told from Orhan's perspective. He is a self-proclaimed liar, cheat and deeply cynical of the empire yet manages to hold off a superior force led, coincidentally, by an old friend. An amusing yet dark comic novel that keeps you guessing throughout. Orhan manages to pull off the seemingly impossible task and at the same time establishing a fair and honest society. At every turn Orhan seems to be simply managing to keep his head above the water but inspired by his leadership the group of misfits around him manage to rise to the challenge – It is integrity and simple single-mindedness that endears him and brings out their best DESPITE the apparatus of the empire forever getting in his way. Without giving anything away, the story ends somewhat ambiguously which really quite suits the story but also, perhaps, sets up the sequel “How to Rule an Empire and Get Away With It.”

A fun, light and quick read that is a must for fans of light fantasy.

Rating: “Nearly perfect, but not quite”

Review Date: 2025-12-31

Genre: Fantasy

Publisher: Orbit

Publication Date: 2019

ISBN: 9780356506739