Project and content management for Contemporary Authors volumes
WORK TITLE: Valiant Dust
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S): Baker, Lynn Richard
BIRTHDATE: 1966?
WEBSITE:
CITY: Seattle
STATE: WA
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
Married with 2 daughters; founder of Sasquatch Game Studio, a small game company based in Auburn, Washington; http://www.sasquatchgamestudio.com/ https://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/7gnp8z/im_author_richard_baker_ask_me_anything/ https://www.facebook.com/richardbakerauthor/
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: n 00094738
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/n00094738
HEADING: Baker, Richard (Lynn Richard)
000 00957cz a2200217n 450
001 5095340
005 20080123123507.0
008 000509n| acannaabn |a aaa
010 __ |a n 00094738
035 __ |a (Uk)000063323
040 __ |a DLC |b eng |c DLC |d UPB |d Uk |d DLC
053 _0 |a PS3602.A587
100 1_ |a Baker, Richard |q (Lynn Richard)
400 1_ |a Baker, Lynn Richard
500 1_ |a Baker, Richard, |d 1966-
667 __ |a Formally on undifferentiated record: n89622589
670 __ |a Arms & equipment guide, c1998: |b t.p. (Richard Baker)
670 __ |a Phone call to Wizards of the Coast Inc., May 9, 2000: |b (author’s full name: Lynn Richard Baker)
670 __ |a The City of ravens, c2000: |b t.p. (Richard Baker) BL AL sent 27 Aug. 2002
670 __ |a Swordmage, 2008 |b ECIP t.p. (Richard Baker) data view (b. in 1966; former officer in the US Navy; a game designer since 1991; author of eight Forgotten Realms novels, including Condemnation)
953 __ |a sj15 |b lh45 (add 053)
PERSONAL
Born 1966; married Kim Rohrbach, 1991; children: Alex, Hannah (daughers).
EDUCATION:Graduated from Virginia Technological University, 1988.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Wizards of the Coast, Renton, WA, game designer, 1991-2011; Sasquatch Games Studio, founder, 2013–.
MIILITARY:U.S. Navy, 1988-91; became Surface Warfare Officer.
AVOCATIONS:Hiking in the Cascades, Golden Age science fiction, Jeopardy!, Philadelphia Phillies.
AWARDS:Origins Award, 1995, for “Birthright” campaign setting, 1999, for “Dark Matter,” 2001, for “Forgotten Realms” campaign setting, 2002, for “City of the Spider Queen,” 2005, for “Axis & Allies” miniatures, 2011, for “Conquest of Nerath.”
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Former naval officer Richard Baker made his reputation working with gaming systems like Dungeons & Dragons. His first novels fell within the “Forgotten Realms” series, originally designed to serve as settings for Advanced Dungeons & Dragons campaigns and later turned into a series of best-selling fantasy novels. “I’d say that the best part of writing for the Realms is that you know who your reader is and you know that your reader knows the world,” Baker said in a Reddit Fantasy thread dedicated to his career. “You don’t have to stop and explain what an elf is or why people care about Waterdeep or what sorts of things magic can do. It’s like writing a Star Trek novel: You don’t need an explanation of the warp drive or the transporter or a Klingon. Now, if you’re developing an important plot point . . . you do need to explain it. But that comes up less often than you might think.”
Baker ventures into a universe designed by her own imagination in the novel Valiant Dust. “In the year 3102,” explained a Publishers Weekly reviewer, “the galaxy unironically recapitulates 19th-century Earth politics: technologically sophisticated, multi-system “great powers” play colonial games.” “Set centuries in the future (following the discovery of faster-than-light technology, a diaspora from earth as it falls to a barely mentioned global Caliphate, and the always convenient misplacing of several entire planets full of mono-ethnic peoples who then slip into a kind of futuristic techno-feudalism before being miraculously re-discovered hundreds of years later),” reported Jason Sheehan in NPR, “Valiant Dust drops in at a point where the major ‘cosmopolitan’ powers—the Euro-centric Aquilans, the Germanic Dremark Empire, and the Canadians, for some reason—have become a sort of First World commonwealth.”
Baker’s protagonist for experiencing the universe of Valiant Dust is a Kashmiri prince who serves in the navy of the imperial forces of the Aquilans. “Lieutenant Sikander Singh North,” declared Bridget Keown in RT Book Reviews, “knows that . . . he is going to have to prove his worth over and over again.” “Imagine the Age of Imperialism in space with rail guns and starships, throw in a dash of Tom Clancy and C.S. Forester, and you’ll have a good idea of what it’s all about,” Baker stated in his Reddit Fantasy thread. “The hero is Lieutenant Sikander Singh North; naturally, Sikander has to make some tough choices between doing his duty and doing what’s right (because tough choices make for the best stories).”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Publishers Weekly, September 11, 2017, review of Valiant Dust, p. 46.
ONLINE
NPR, https://www.npr.org/ (November 16, 2017), Jason Sheehan, “The Troublesome Universe of ‘Valiant Dust.’”
Reddit Fantasy, https://www.reddit.com/ (May 16, 2018), “I’m Author Richard Baker. Ask Me Anything!”
RT Book Reviews, https://www.rtbookreviews.com/ (November 7, 2017), Bridget Keown, review of Valiant Dust.
Sasquatch Game Studio, http://www.sasquatchgamestudio.com/ (May 16, 2018), author profile.
Richard Baker is an author of science fiction and fantasy novels as well as an award-winning game designer. He's best known for his work on the Dungeons & Dragons game and his Forgotten Realms novels, including the New York Times bestseller "Condemnation" and the highly-acclaimed "Last Mythal" trilogy. Rich's newest project is a military sci-fi series centered on the character Sikander North and his adventures in a future age of Great Power rivalries and imperial ambitions; the first book, "Valiant Dust," is scheduled for November of 2017.
A veteran of the US Navy, Rich resides in the Seattle area with his wife Kim and their daughters, Alex and Hannah. His interests include Golden Age science fiction, history, hiking, and the Philadelphia Phillies.
CONTACT INFO
@richardbakerauthor
Send Message
MORE INFO
About
Richard Baker is a best-selling author and award-winning game designer.
Biography
A former United States Navy officer and a well-known game designer, Richard Baker is the author of thirteen novels, including the New York Times best seller Condemnation (Wizards of the Coast, 2003) and the highly acclaimed The Last Mythal trilogy (Wizards of the Coast, 2004–2006). He is a lifelong devotee of science fiction and fantasy, a history enthusiast (particularly military history), and an avid fan of games of all kinds.
Rich attended Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, VA, graduating in 1988. He received his commission in the US Navy and served three years as a deck officer on USS Tortuga (LSD-46), earning his Surface Warfare Officer qualification. In 1991 he left active duty to begin a twenty-five year career as a professional game designer, first with TSR, Inc., and then with Wizards of the Coast, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc. Some of Rich’s more notable game design credits include the Alternity Science Fiction Roleplaying Game, the award-winning Axis & Allies Miniatures Game, and the Axis & Allies Naval Miniatures Game—the best-selling naval wargame of all time.
Rich began his writing career by working in the Forgotten Realms fantasy setting, which dovetailed with his day job as a game designer. His first published novel was Easy Betrayals (TSR, Inc., 1998). He went on to write ten more Forgotten Realms novels (including The Last Mythal and the Blades of the Moonsea trilogies) as well as Zero Point, a science-fiction novel set in the Star*Drive universe.
In 2011, Rich left Wizards of the Coast. He founded his own small-press game publishing company, Sasquatch Game Studio, in 2013. With Sasquatch, Rich created the savage world of Primeval Thule, a sword-and-sorcery game setting, and Ultimate Scheme, a game for evil geniuses. He also began working seriously on his own original fiction, seeking to combine his military experience with his love of history and science fiction—an effort that led to the creation of Sikander North and the novel Valiant Dust.
A native of the Jersey shore, Rich has resided in western Washington State since 1997. He married his college sweetheart, Kim Rohrbach, in 1991; they have two daughters, Alex and Hannah. In addition to writing and game design, Rich’s interests include hiking in the Cascades, Golden Age SF (he’s a big fan of Doc Smith), Jeopardy! (he appeared as a contestant once, but finished a distant third), and the Philadelphia Phillies (who might finally have a team heading in the right direction).
Awards
1995 Origins Award (Birthright Campaign Setting)
1999 Origins Award (Dark Matter, Best Graphic Presentation)
2001 Origins Award (Forgotten Realms Campaign Setting)
2002 Origins Award (City of the Spider Queen)
2003 New York Times Bestseller (Condemnation)
2005 Origins Award (Axis & Allies Miniatures)
2011 Origins Award (Conquest of Nerath)
Gender
Male
Welcome to Reddit.
Come for the cats, stay for the empathy.
and start exploring.
×
51
AMAI'm author Richard Baker. Ask me anything! (self.Fantasy)
submitted 4 months ago by Richard_Baker
Hello! I’m Richard Baker: sci-fi/fantasy writer, game designer, Navy veteran, and Phillies fan. My brand-new book is VALIANT DUST from Tor Books, the first offering in a new military SF series called Breaker of Empires. Imagine the Age of Imperialism in space with rail guns and starships, throw in a dash of Tom Clancy and C.S. Forester, and you’ll have a good idea of what it’s all about. The hero is Lieutenant Sikander Singh North; naturally, Sikander has to make some tough choices between doing his duty and doing what’s right (because tough choices make for the best stories). You can read more about it here.
I’m also the author of eleven Forgotten Realms novels, including CONDEMNATION, CITY OF RAVENS, and THE LAST MYTHAL trilogy. Oh, and sometimes I make games, too. You might know me from various editions of the DUNGEONS & DRAGONS game, the AXIS & ALLIES MINIATURES game, or my current project with Sasquatch Game Studio (my own little publishing outfit), the ALTERNITY sci-fi RPG. Here’s my website if you’d like to visit.
I’ll be checking in throughout the day to answer whatever questions you’ve got for me, although I’ll wind things up a little after 5 pm Pacific time—I have a game this evening! So… let’s do this!
30 commentssharesavehidereport
all 30 comments
sorted by: best
Want to add to the discussion?
Post a comment!
[–]FearlightGames 5 points 4 months ago
When are you going to buy back Birthright and pay me to create a new edition for it????
-Bryce Whitacre, designer of Baker Street: Roleplaying in the World of Sherlock Holmes
permalinkembedsavereportreply
[–]Richard_Baker[S] 4 points 4 months ago
Boy, I'd love to, but buying worlds seems like it would be expensive. I think that Wizards of the Coast really has no idea how to value idle properties or whether it would be worth the time and effort to figure out how to sell them, so their inclination would be to set a "well, we would be stupid if we didn't" price tag. And that's not intended to be a knock on WotC; that's just the situation as I read it. But if I could figure out a persuasive business plan, heck, I'd do it myself!
permalinkembedsaveparentreportreply
[–]Derron_ 1 point 4 months ago
I loved the Birthright world and really thought it was under explored.
permalinkembedsaveparentreportreply
[–]Richard_Baker[S] 1 point 4 months ago
Thank you! I wish my Birthright novels had been published. They were two of the first novels I ever wrote so they probably weren't as good as what I can write today, but I think they did a very good job of capturing what was unique and distinctive about that world.
permalinkembedsaveparentreportreply
[–]Derron_ 1 point 4 months ago*
I am a huge fan of the TSR/WotC novels and I think I have all of the Birthright novels. Was really tempted to reread The Iron Throne the other day. Seeing this just cements it.
permalinkembedsaveparentreportreply
[–]RCGresham 2 points 4 months ago
Birthright remains my favorite setting to this day. I have an old theory regarding Bloodtheft I'd like to throw out there... So, the Gorgon harvests bloodlines, increasing his blood strength- Apocolypse is known as the Breath of Azrai- And they say the Seadrake guards a valuable treasure...and since the Straights exist where Diesmaar once was...Could Azrai's physical remains be this treasure?
Was the Gorgon planning to somehow collect all of the blood of Azrai, Collect the Remains, and somehow infuse it with Azrai's lost Breath to resurrect the Evil One? Or maybe imbue himself with all of the god's power?
permalinkembedsavereportreply
[–]Richard_Baker[S] 4 points 4 months ago
Wow, that's two Birthright mentions in the first ten questions. I'll be honest: you're going back 20 years and I have no idea now what kind of secret treasure I had in mind when I threw out that hook about the Seadrake's hoard. That said, I feel like the Gorgon would be more interested in gaining power for himself than in bringing back someone bigger and badder than he is. Why give yourself a terrifying, nigh-omnipotent master?
permalinkembedsaveparentreportreply
[–]ReadsWhileRunningWorldbuilders 2 points 4 months ago
What are the best and worst parts of writing for the Forgotten Realms setting?
What scene, character or plot arc in Valiant Dust was the most fun to write?
permalinkembedsavereportreply
[–]Richard_Baker[S] 2 points 4 months ago
Two questions at once! I'll handle the first part first: Forgotten Realms. I'd say that the best part of writing for the Realms is that you know who your reader is and you know that your reader knows the world. You don't have to stop and explain what an elf is or why people care about Waterdeep or what sorts of things magic can do. It's like writing a Star Trek novel: You don't need an explanation of the warp drive or the transporter or a Klingon. Now, if you're developing an important plot point based on an expert understanding of the Realms, yes, you do need to explain it. But that comes up less often than you might think.
The worst part? Hmm, I guess I would say it's about keeping track of the continuity in a vast, sprawling world. If you're going to pick up an interesting place or concept and explore it, you really ought to know what other authors have done with that place or person or idea before, and sometimes you'll find that the place where you really want to set your story is burdened by something contradictory or unhelpful in the canon.
It's also difficult to tell big epic stories if the goal is to not change the world too much. We had a term around the office: a RSE, or Realms-Shaking Event. Most novels were not allowed to be RSEs; as a writer, you basically needed special permission to do something permanent to a beloved place or character. Episodic stories can be great, but sometimes you want the things that happen in your story to have serious and long-lasting consequences. That's not always possible in a tightly managed shared-world setting.
permalinkembedsaveparentreportreply
[–]Richard_Baker[S] 1 point 4 months ago
OK, on to Valiant Dust. What was my favorite bit to write? I talked a bit about the Torpedo Mystery here, but in terms of sheer fun, I think I'd say the climactic space battle wins for me. (Small spoiler: There's an important space battle at the end. Sorry.) I drew on the real-life story of USS San Francisco at the Naval Battle of Guadalcanal as an inspiration for the narrative; it's a real example of a relatively junior officer suddenly finding himself in charge of a major warship.
permalinkembedsaveparentreportreply
[–]TheAngryGameMaster 2 points 4 months ago
I loved Alternity back in the day and I am excited to see it's coming back, though I haven't checked out the beta product yet, so I don't know what's in that. But the original Alternity game had a unique action resolution/die rolling mechanic? How did that mechanic come about and what was the intent behind it? It remains one of the more unique ways of handling success/failure I've seen.
permalinkembedsavereportreply
[–]Richard_Baker[S] 1 point 4 months ago
Where did the mechanic come from? I think the answer is "Lester Smith." Back in 1995 he teamed up with Bill Slavicsek to pitch the idea of a SFRPG to TSR management. Lester had the idea for sliding difficulty with die steps, although he only used it to add the situation die. Shortly after Bill and Lester succeeded with their pitch, Lester decided to leave TSR (for reasons). My bosses decided to replace him with me, which is how I got involved in the project. I figured out that Lester's original die mechanic didn't provide enough mathematical "space," so I offered the refinement of dice that could be subtracted from the control die as bonus steps. But that was just a matter of making an adjustment to Lester's original mechanic. You'd have to ask him where the mechanic really came from.
permalinkembedsaveparentreportreply
[–]mturian 1 point 4 months ago
If you were to go on Jeopardy again, would you do anything or prepare differently?
permalinkembedsavereportreply
[–]Richard_Baker[S] 3 points 4 months ago
I was wondering if I would get a Jeopardy question! The short answer is no, not really--I was up against a couple of sharp opponents and I had the bad luck to draw a difficult slate of categories. You can't prepare for everything, and it turns out that two contestants go home for every one who wins. I suppose the thing I would do is temper my expectations; you can't help but dream of 10-show winning streaks when you're getting ready to play, and boy, was I crushed when I finished a distant third. I felt just awful for hours through the sheer let-down, and I was not ready for that. I had to really drag myself to the airport and give myself a stern talking-to before I felt human again.
permalinkembedsaveparentreportreply
[–]eckohwd 1 point 4 months ago
Being from c.a do you use cannabis to find creativity?
permalinkembedsavereportreply
[–]Richard_Baker[S] 1 point 4 months ago
No. My relaxing agent of choice is alcohol, generally in the form of good craft beer (although I'm also a fan of wine--it turns out that Washington State has an excellent wine country). On occasion I'm partial to bourbon, and of course I enjoy a good mai-tai any time I'm in the islands. I will say that while I initially regarded Washington state's legalization of marijuana with a good deal of skepticism, it seems to be working out okay. Maybe it wasn't as bad of an idea as I thought it might be.
permalinkembedsaveparentreportreply
[–]Einherjaren97 1 point 4 months ago
Could you recommend me the best book to learn about the Forgotten realms? Preferrably one with art and images.
permalinkembedsavereportreply
[–]Richard_Baker[S] 2 points 4 months ago
If you're a novel reader as opposed to a RPG player, I think I'd recommend "A Reader's Guide to R.A. Salvatore's The Legend of Drizzt." It's a big, handsomely illustrated coffee-table book. While it only covers a part of the setting, I think it would be a pretty good intro to one of Forgotten Realm's iconic characters and his adventures. If you're looking for something more like a RPG sourcebook, the 5e Sword Coast Adventurer's Guide is probably the best place to start. It's also got a good mix of text, art, and maps.
permalinkembedsaveparentreportreply
[–]CoralGriffon 1 point 4 months ago
Who would you cast in the role of Sikander?
permalinkembedsavereportreply
[–]Richard_Baker[S] 1 point 4 months ago
That's a tough one. I think it really should be a Sikh actor, or Indian at the very least, but I just don't know enough about Indian cinema to be conversant with the "leading men" types, and I don't know if we've seen many leading-man candidates in American film or television. Maybe Sendhil Ramamurthy? (Not a Sikh and not quite right for a Punjabi appearance, but the first Indian-American actor I could think of.) With a quick Google image search, I think that actor Ranveer Singh looks the part, but I can't say I've ever seen him in something.
permalinkembedsaveparentreportreply
[–]Richard_Baker[S] 1 point 4 months ago
Oh, or Manish Dayal. Not sure if he's got the physicality I would imagine for the role, but he certainly looks about right.
permalinkembedsaveparentreportreply
[–]MikeOfThePalaceWorldbuilders, Reading Champion 2015, 2016 & 2017 1 point 4 months ago
Hi Richard! You're trapped on a deserted island with three books. Knowing that you will be reading them over and over and over again, what three do you bring?
permalinkembedsavereportreply
[–]Richard_Baker[S] 1 point 4 months ago
Good one! Let's see... I'll start with Lord of the Rings, and cheat a bit by taking a single-volume edition. I'm a big Tolkien goob and I've probably read it ten times already, so I might as well. For my second book, I think I'll go with Neal Stephenson's Anathem. I've only read it one time, but I feel like it'll take me a few more readings to really wrap my head around the philosphy that's so brilliantly incorporated into the story. For my third book, my flip answer is Ulysses, just because James Joyce said that he expected a reader to devote his or her entire life to reading it.
(My more serious answer is the Bible. I don't know it one-tenth as well as I think I ought to. Hmm, for that matter, it would be interesting to take the Bible, the Koran, and the Guru Granth Sahib along, and really figure out what's in each and why.)
permalinkembedsaveparentreportreply
[–]Richard_Baker[S] 1 point 4 months ago
I'm about ready to check out for the evening, but feel free to post your questions anyway. I'll stop by tomorrow (Friday) and field any late questions that come in Thursday evening.
permalinkembedsavereportreply
[–]shivajsReading Champion 2015 1 point 4 months ago
Who is the favourite character that you've created? And why is it The Dread Delgath? Huge fan of City of Ravens, one of my favourite Forgotten Realms books.
How much of your gaming sessions made it into your novels?
permalinkembedsavereportreply
[–]Richard_Baker[S] 1 point 4 months ago
Well, since you mention it, Jack Ravenwild is certainly right up there. He was definitely the most fun to write; whenever I hit a point in the story where I was uncertain what he would do, I would ask myself what a rational, considered response would be, then have Jack do the opposite. But I also sincerely like Sikander North, the hero of my new book series. He's got just a little bit of troublemaker in him too.
As far as gaming sessions making into novels, City of Ravens is probably the best example. I did it pretty deliberately there. In fact, the Dread Delgath scene is in the book because my friend Scott Magner played an absolutely outrageous sorcerer in a game I ran at MonteCon many years ago. Scott had his character stomp around referring to himself in the third person throughout the session, so I pretty much just stole that!
permalinkembedsaveparentreportreply
[–]DennistheDutchie 1 point 4 months ago
Is Valiant dust anything like the Fall of Reach or First strike Halo novels?
Also, what's your favorite cheese?
permalinkembedsavereportreply
[–]Richard_Baker[S] 1 point 4 months ago
I'm afraid I haven't read the Halo novels, so I couldn't say if Valiant Dust is like them or not.
On the other hand, I can say what my favorite cheese is: an aged white cheddar, sharp, with a hint of saltiness. Kerrygold's Dubliner is pretty good, as is Cougar Gold (they make it over at WSU).
permalinkembedsaveparentreportreply
[–]allgoodbiscuits 1 point 4 months ago
What is your favourite thing to bake?
permalinkembedsavereportreply
[–]Richard_Baker[S] 1 point 4 months ago
Ironically, I am not much of a baker. I am, however, more than proficient in the exquisite art of the barbeque grill.
permalinkembedsaveparentreportreply
About Us
Who We Are
Sasquatch Game Studio LLC is devoted to delivering top-quality hobby game experiences. Its three principals have a collective 48 years of professional experience in the industry, mostly designing and developing games for TSR, Wizards of the Coast, and Paizo.
Richard Baker is a New York Times best-selling fantasy novelist and award-winning game designer with more than 100 game sourcebooks, products, and novels to his credit. He was one of the core designers of the Dungeons & Dragons 3rd edition game and currently works as a self-employed writer and game designer.
4/25/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1524713658849 1/1
Print Marked Items
Valiant Dust
Publishers Weekly.
264.37 (Sept. 11, 2017): p46+.
COPYRIGHT 2017 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Valiant Dust
Richard Baker. Tor, $25.99 (352p) ISBN 978-0-7653-9072-1
Baker has built his writing career primarily in the Forgotten Realms gaming franchise, and the hand of the
dungeon master is heavy in this military SF swashbuckler with clunky racial politics. In the year 3102, the
galaxy unironically recapitulates 19th-century Earth politics: technologically sophisticated, multi-system
"great powers" play colonial games with traditionally religious states racked by insurgencies. Sikander
Singh North is a prince of Kashmir, vassal to the interstellar Commonwealth of Aquila. He serves as
gunnery officer on the CSS Hector, a cruiser assigned to protect and evacuate Aquila's citizens in the
Gadiran system, which is dissolving into chaos. The Dremark empire is represented by the provocateur of
that chaos, Otto Bleindel, who's busily wresting control from Gadira's current overlord, the Montrealais.
The narrative is cratered with data dumps that add little to the plot and nothing to the notably weak
characterization. Baker knows a lot about software but has little grasp of technology trends overall; for
example, in the 22ndcentury diaspora from Earth, he portrays Indians as technologically inferior to
Europeans. Baker claims that citizens of the "cosmopolitan powers" ethnically "blended together long ago,"
but if he believes he's thereby eliminated Eurocentric ideas from his novel, he's sorely mistaken. Agent:
Richard Curtis, Richard Curtis Associates. (Nov.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Valiant Dust." Publishers Weekly, 11 Sept. 2017, p. 46+. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A505634895/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=417b21b2.
Accessed 25 Apr. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A505634895
BOOK REVIEWS
The Troublesome Universe Of 'Valiant Dust'
November 16, 20177:00 AM ET
JASON SHEEHAN
Valiant Dust
Valiant Dust
by Richard Baker
Hardcover, 352 pages purchase
They say that all science fiction stories are tales of today, dolled up with ray guns and spaceships to make them more palatable. That they're all muddled messes of our modern politics and current fears, our hopes for distant sweet endings cut with the arsenic cynicism of actually living in the present moment.
And that's probably true, if only because no science fiction writer (with the arguable exceptions of William Gibson and Philip K. Dick) can really see into the future. Richard Baker's newest novel, Valiant Dust, is no exception. As a matter of fact, it is possibly one of the most thoroughly today-ish novels I have ever read — all starships, warp torpedoes and faraway worlds serving as only the gauziest scrim to cover a story which is very much about our current moment in history.
Or ... not. I mean, I'm giving Baker some credit here. The man has written a bunch of books. He's a solid voice in the military sci-fi genre and served as a United States naval officer himself, giving an earned weight to his voice when it comes to describing the minutiae of naval matters. Valiant Dust is the foundation of a new series (called Breaker of Empires) which, presumably, will follow the characters introduced here through the universe he has built.
But that universe? It's troublesome. Set centuries in the future (following the discovery of faster-than-light technology, a diaspora from earth as it falls to a barely mentioned global Caliphate, and the always convenient misplacing of several entire planets full of mono-ethnic peoples who then slip into a kind of futuristic techno-feudalism before being miraculously re-discovered hundreds of years later), Valiant Dust drops in at a point where the major "cosmopolitan" powers — the Euro-centric Aquilans, the Germanic Dremark Empire, and the Canadians, for some reason — have become a sort of First World commonwealth. In a peaceful state of détente, they are either nobly aiding the backwards human colonies recover from their isolation, or ruthlessly divvying up this galactic Third World as nouvelle colonial masters.
You're Going To Hate 'TheMystery.doc,' And That's OK
BOOK REVIEWS
You're Going To Hate 'TheMystery.doc,' And That's OK
Leveling Up In The Video Game Industry, Without Checkpoints: 'Significant Zero'
BOOK REVIEWS
Leveling Up In The Video Game Industry, Without Checkpoints: 'Significant Zero'
It all depends on how you read the novel, the baggage you bring with you, and how much forbearance you're willing to extend to a guy who opens his novel about a backwater Indian prince serving aboard an Aquilan warship with a quote from Rudyard Kipling — while appearing to have no understanding of the historical irony.
Sikander Singh North is our prince; he's from Kashmir, an Indian planetary system recently reconnected with Aquila but plagued by internal strife and rebellion. Sikander takes a post as a gunnery officer aboard the Aquilan battleship CSS Hector, which is almost immediately dispatched to Gadira — an Arabic planet which rejoined the great powers even more recently. Gadira is having troubles with terrorism, which quickly escalate into a full-scale revolt by fundamentalist desert tribes.
And while not everyone is happy to have Sikander North aboard the Hector, it certainly helps that he's good looking, fit, dangerous, competent, rich, educated, cultured and basically the kind of convenient man who just happens to know everything required of him in almost any situation. Problems with fundamentalists on your conveniently desert-y Arabic planet? Sikander, too, comes from a place of heavy religious influence and terrorist bombings. There's a riot on the streets? That's fine, because Sikander has experience with rioters (as part of his tragic backstory). No one can fly the shuttle? No worries, Sikander is a qualified pilot, too!
It all depends on how you read the novel ... and how much forbearance you're willing to extend to a guy who opens his novel about a backwater Indian prince serving aboard an Aquilan warship with a quote from Rudyard Kipling.
And look, there's some slack you could cut Baker if you're willing. Valiant Dust could be read as a re-examination of 19th and 20th century colonial politics through a science fictional lens. You could see his brief explanation of everyone in the future being kinda pan-ethnic anyway as a United Colors Of Benetton band-aid over the problem, or assume that, at some later point in the series, Sikander will emerge as the titular "Breaker of Empires" and that all this ethno-cultural mess Baker is creating will just work itself out.
And I might've been willing to suspend a little judgement if not for the fact that what could (also) be seen as heroic European powers coming to the arguable rescue of Indian and Arabic cultures — in an example of startling cultural blindness and lack of imagination — is actually one of the smaller problems with the book. For one thing, no character beyond the main protagonists get any development deeper than being the Angry Atheist or Faithful Servant or Disposable Redshirt, and the main bad guy is so mustache-twirly that I'm amazed he didn't end up tying someone to a convenient set of railroad tracks. And there's an entire secondary plotline that gets developed, dropped and then suddenly resolved in a ridiculously unsatisfying way.
Valiant Dust isn't terrible, it's just not very good. If you're in it just for the space battles, there's some fun to be found here. The final naval engagement is actually quite good. But no matter how you read it, Valiant Dust's universe is a messy one.
And it's just not a place I want to spend any more time.
Jason Sheehan knows stuff about food, video games, books and Starblazers. He is currently the restaurant critic at Philadelphia magazine, but when no one is looking, he spends his time writing books about giant robots and ray guns. Tales From the Radiation Age is his latest book.
Science Fiction
Image of Valiant Dust (Breaker of Empires)
RT Rating:
Genre:
Science Fiction
Published:
November 7 2017
Publisher:
Tor Books
BUY NOW!
Amazon:
Buy Now
Barnes & Noble: Buy Now
*This post contains affiliate links. If you click an affiliate link and purchase an item from the vendor, we receive a percentage of the profit (even if you don't buy the item we've linked to). Thank you for supporting RT Book Reviews!
BOOK REVIEWS
All Genres
Top Picks!
Contemporary Romance
Historical Romance
Historical Fiction
Romantic Suspense
Mystery/Suspense/Thriller
Paranormal
Fantasy
Urban Fantasy
Young Adult
Inspirational
Mainstream
Science Fiction
Series
Erotica
RT Review Source
RT RATINGS GUIDE
5 GOLD: Phenomenal. In a class by itself.
4 1/2: TOP PICK. Fantastic. A keeper.
4: Compelling. A page-turner.
3: Enjoyable. A pleasant read.
2: Problematic. May struggle to finish.
1: Severely Flawed. Pass on this one.
VALIANT DUST
Author(s): Richard Baker
Fans of C.S. Forrester’s Horatio Hornblower will delight in discovering Baker’s Sikander North. The debut of his Breakers of Empire series superbly captures elaborate hierarchical politics and high-stakes adventure while slinging his young lieutenant into the vast reaches of space. Baker has a talent for action scenes, making every battle sequence in this story gripping. However, he devotes so much room to descriptions of weaponry and tactics that characterization and relationships suffer somewhat for want of space, and the expository dialogue feels rather stilted in comparison. Nevertheless, readers looking for highly-detailed military science fiction adventure with plenty of swashbuckling spirit will certainly want to keep an eye out for the further adventures of Sikander North.
Though raised as a prince at home, Lieutenant Sikander Singh North knows that, in order to succeed in his new position as gunnery officer aboard the Aquilan Commonwealth starship CSS Hector, and as the crew’s only Kashmiri he is going to have to prove his worth over and over again on his first mission. As a planetary uprising threatens galactic order, and interplanetary politics become very personal for the young lieutenant, Sikander’s career is certainly off to a memorable — and treacherous — start. (TOR, Nov., 352 pp, $25.99)
Reviewed by:
Bridget Keown