[Werthead]

In the year 2000, an academic named Pierce Ratcliff is putting together a fresh history of Ash, a 15th Century female mercenary captain whom mainstream history has largely ignored, but whose exploits have been of interest to a small number of historians. In preparing this new history, Radcliffe undertakes a fresh translation of the original historical texts. As he translates each chapter and sends it to his editor, they discuss the intriguing historical oddities within each chapter: references to the 'Green Christ', the 'Visigoth Empire' and 'Carthage', which of course had been destroyed many centuries before that time. But as the translations continue, very strange things start happening in the real world as well...

In 1476 the Lion Azure are one of the most famed and sought-after mercenary companies in Europe. Led by the female warrior Ash, they have become an elite force famed for getting out of tight spots and pulling off improbable victories. Contracted by the Holy Roman Empire to fight a war against Burgundy, Ash's leadership is threatened by a political attempt to marry her off to a high-ranking German nobleman, but this is put aside when a great threat arises: the armies of Carthage have swept into southern Europe in an invasion twenty years in the planning, crushing everything in their path.

Ash: A Secret History is an enormous book, both literally in its shelf-destroying size and in terms of its scope, which takes in two separate narratives unfolding in completely different styles and formats in two different time-periods. Ratcliff's story unfolds purely in reproduced emails between him, his editor and a couple of other correspondents, whilst Ash's story (allegedly the manuscript Ratcliff is translating) is in a more traditional prose style. As Ash's story unfolds, it starts off as an apparently purely historical account and then diverges from history as we know it. However, it cannot be dismissed merely as an alternate history, as Ratcliff and his editor share the reader's befuddlement as the differences between real history and the one described in the text become apparent, accompanied by some unusual archaeological discoveries in the present. This storytelling device is well-used throughout the book, and helps break up its gigantic length into much more manageable chunks.

Ash's story is very well-told. Rather than adopt an authentic-sounding 15th Century voice, Gentle instead tells the story if it had been translated into a modern style, complete with vast reams of modern swearing and the usage of modern military terminology. This seems to upset some readers, who find it jarring, but I found it enjoyable and it certainly adds to the readability of a complex and at times heavy-going novel. Whilst Gentle skimps on the language, the attitudes and mores of 15th Century Europe appear to be more authentic, with Ash having to prove her worthiness to every king, duke or general she meets. Gentle definitely doesn't hold back on the violence, though. Injuries are painfully described and Ash's childhood filled with abuse and pain is related matter-of-factly. Characterisation is strong throughout the novel, with Ash and her band of soldiers (Erikson could learn a bit from these books about how to distinguish soldiers from one another) and the various secondary characters very well-realised.

Mary Gentle handles all of these factors well, and manages to get across her story in convincing detail. This isn't strictly a historical novel, or an alternate history, or a fantasy, but it combines elements of all of these with hard science fiction to create something quite unusual. In fact, it's borderline genius, genre-bending and mixing elements in a manner that hasn't been pulled off so successfully before (John Grant tried to do something similar with his early 1990s duology of Albion and The World, but that was small-fry compared to Gentle's ambition here).

There are some issues which prevent me from giving this 'classic' status. It is too long. There are way too many staffing/strategy meetings with the characters sitting around talking about the plot rather than moving things on and this becomes especially notable in the last third of the novel. The first two sections moved quickly and with a good sense of pace, taking in dozens of different locations and characters. The latter third is mostly set in a single city under siege and the story becomes interminably dull at times, so much so that when the climax comes it's something of a surprise. I suspect some readers may feel sold a little short on the end of the 15th Century storyline, which is a bit perfunctory and obvious-in-hindsight. However, the 20th Century story, told in much less detail and with the reader only getting to know the characters through their emails and correspondence, is more interestingly done and its conclusion is very effective, a good example of how less can sometimes be more.

Ash: A Secret History ( ****-and-a-half ) is an immense, epic story of science, history, love, war and family spanning centuries and realities, but without losing its essentially human heart in the well-drawn characters. A superior work of speculative fiction, I'm surprised it's not mentioned more often in modern discussions of the genre. The book is available from Gollancz in the UK in its one-volume format, but in the USA is published in four volumes: A Secret History, Carthage Ascendant, The Wild Machines and Lost Burgundy. Gentle's later Ilario duology (The Lion's Eye and The Stone Golem) is set in the same universe.

[QuickTidal]

I have tried this book no less than 3 times and never got past the first 100 pages.

It's just so cumbersome that even when something is described it is in long boring detail...I found myself wondering why nothing really happens for long sections.

Maybe one day, but for now my third attempt failed miserably.

[Use Of Weapons]

I bounced off Gentle's series that begins with _Rats and Gargoyles_, but when I tried _Ash_ a bit later in my reading career, I absolutely devoured it. Wert's review is bang on the money, for me. As a reader, I was much more interested in the modern-day story, as I felt at least at first that the historical part was covering very well-trodden territory. But as the novel progressed, they began to weigh equally, and the finale of each was satisfying, if perfunctory. But I think that after such a weighty book, any ending might have seemed somewhat abrupt.

Gentle isn't for everyone. But _Ash: A Secret History_ is a masterpiece.

[QuickTidal]

UseOfWeapons, on 30 August 2011 - 04:54 PM, said:

I bounced off Gentle's series that begins with _Rats and Gargoyles_, but when I tried _Ash_ a bit later in my reading career, I absolutely devoured it. Wert's review is bang on the money, for me. As a reader, I was much more interested in the modern-day story, as I felt at least at first that the historical part was covering very well-trodden territory. But as the novel progressed, they began to weigh equally, and the finale of each was satisfying, if perfunctory. But I think that after such a weighty book, any ending might have seemed somewhat abrupt.

Gentle isn't for everyone. But _Ash: A Secret History_ is a masterpiece.

And reading it I can tell how it could be...but I think I may need to just read through the sections I am bored with. The modern story WAS interesting as far as I made it. Like I said, I've never sold the book or anything so I will come back for a 4th attempt probably.

[stone monkey]

I read this many, many years ago and pretty much concur with everything Wert has said. It's hilarious when, as you're reading and going "WTF?" at what you've just read, a letter appears from the translator pretty much saying exactly the same thing. It's a long book at 1100+ pages, but it's well worth persevering with, not the least because of its atmosphere; all blood and guts and strangeness.

The book was marketed as a Fantasy; which turns out to be a rather cunning misdirection as what you actually end up reading is a rather clever sf novel. The fantasy elements only appear magical on the surface and are interestingly rationalised later. The actual physical book is quite monstrous in size, I have no idea how they bound something that big and made a profit (I have the trade paperback and you could effectively club elephants to death with it), and I believe it was split into four for its US release. Gentle has also written another book set in that world Ilario: The Lion's Eye (which itself was split in two in the US)

[Imperial Historian]

Have you read Illario: The Lion's Eye SM? What did you think? I enjoyed Ash, but really struggled with her collection of short stories Cartomancy. Was considering picking up Illario or one of her other novels 1610: A sundial in a grave, which by the sound of it is another not quite history, and was wondering whether anyone could throw any light on which was better.

[Use Of Weapons]

I've read 1610: _A Sundial In a Grave_, and it was delightful. Probably not as complex structurally as _Ash_, but a fantastically well-told story, with excellent characters and a twisty plot that managed to teach some history at the same time. More subtly done than Neal Stephenson's Baroque cycle, though the canvas is admittedly smaller than his also.

[stone monkey]

Yeah, I've read both Ilario and 1610 I agreed that the first isn't a patch on Ash the second is far more problematic; it's a decent read, but I could never get a handle on it - probably worth a re-read.