Thumbs up for The Warlord of the Air
Captain Oswald Bastable, a British officer, is sent forward in time to 1902 to an alternate 1970’s where airships are a major form of transport. A well-written book that moves along at a good clip; though I wish Moorcock had, as Bastable’s fictional amanuensis is himself told when he tries to get Bastable’s story published, (I paraphrase) “put in more adventure, and some romance.” It’s an enjoyable tale and I do recommend it if for no other reason that it is a solid work of steampunk, but it doesn’t have the depth of a novel I’m going to want to return to again and again.
“Each ship was a thousand feet long. Each had a hull as strong as steel. Each bristled with artillery and great grenades which could be dropped upon their enemies. Each ship moved implacably through the sky, keeping pace with its mighty fellows. Each was dedicated to exacting fierce vengeance upon the upstarts who had sought to question the power of those it served. A shoal of monstrous flying sharks, confident that they controlled the skies and, from the skies, the land.”
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