The High Crusade Book Review

It’s been a while since I read anything by Poul Anderson. I’ve read some of his short stories, and his novel Three Hearts and Three Lions is currently on my TBR. However, I recently finished his space fiction science fantasy, The High Crusade. I’m really excited to review it.

The High Crusade was first serialized in 1960 by Astounding Science Fiction before being published that same year by Doubleday. In 1961, the book was nominated for a Hugo Award. Translated into multiple languages and republished several times over the course of Anderson’s life, the book remains one of his most well-known works. In the story, set in 1345, the Baron de Tourneville sets out to recruit soldiers against France for the Hundred Years’ War. However, a strange alien spacecraft from the Wesgorix Empire appears. The aliens plan to colonize and take over the planet. However, the English ambush the aliens and kill all but one. The Baron determines to use the ship against the French to win the war.

I’ll start off by saying that what I found most interesting about this book was how the overall writing style for science fiction has changed so much. For one, the book exhibited a structure common during that period. The book developed like a classic serialization, the popular formula for books that eventually got nominated for major awards like the Hugo. I don’t really see that happening today. Overall, structures shift, and writers approach things differently than they used to. However, Anderson uses this buildup to his advantage. This type of structure gives way to a classic adventure story based on a classic idea. I loved the blending of science fiction with fantasy, and I can see why this is one of Anderson’s more popular stories.

But because of this structure, I never really got to know the characters as well as I would have liked. The Baron/Sir Roger remains a fascinating case study for me. I love a good protagonist-turned-villain. Seeing him originally choose to fight the French, then conquer the Wesgorix, then conquer more alien races, really built up the tension in the story. His characters allowed the story to reach a climax I felt glued to the entire time.

All this goes to show that I need to read more of Anderson’s work. In the meantime, I need to write reviews of more books I’ve read. See you all next week for another book review, but be sure to stick around this Saturday for another regular blog post. Happy reading!

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