It seemed a strange concept, New England Union soldiers from the 1860's transported to a Russian medievel world that is under the thumb of monstrous horse riding creatures that circle to globe. The closest human comparison would be to the ancient mongols. The story works so well, it is very intelligently written, and the characters really come alive. The battle scenes are awesome. You really can't go wrong with this one. It is a shame it is out of print, but pick this up used and you will find yourself collecting the rest of the series.

This first book is unquestionably the best of the series. What makes it so rewarding is that the history is real on both sides of the story. Yes, as all the other commentators have noted, Andrew Keane and his Maine men are in every way equal in courage and idealism to Colonel Chamberlain and his team from THE KILLER ANGELS. It really is heart-wrenching and inspiring to see the events in this action-packed story give literal meaning to phrases like "we'll fill the vacant ranks with a million freemen more." The book shows that the "battle cry of freedom" was not merely an idealistic wish but a realistic and workable policy.

But what no one has noticed is that the book is at least as enlightening on the subject of RUSSIAN history and society. The Tugar hordes are an alien race, but Forstchen's stroke of genius was to make them human by giving them the culture, outlook and capabilities of Genghis Khan's Mongol hordes. Note that this author bucks fifty years of Science Fiction convention here. These space aliens are not little green men with huge, bulging craniums and ray guns. Rather they are eight foot giants who despise all learning, technology, and even basic handicrafts. They are trapped in a nomadic, essentially sterile way of life that goes nowhere, and little by little in each book you sense their increasing pessimism and despair. Sustained brilliance by Forstchen makes these "hordes" into characters as compelling as any in the works of Larry McMurtry or James Fenimore Cooper. The hordes are doomed to extinction just like the noble red men of the American west.

Returning to the Mongol hordes analogy, however, what makes RALLY CRY such an eye-opening book is Forstchen's analysis of medieval Russia. Here THE KILLER ANGELS meets ALEKSANDER NEVSKY. Forstchen shows how the unhealthy alliance between boyars and the church, and the suffocation of the peasants, is a long-lasting after effect of the terrifying threat of Mongol invasion. Never before did I see quite so clearly how and why Russia evolved into a backwards, impoverished autocracy. The unspeakable horror of the Tugar feasts allows the nobility and the church to rule unquestioned and with no accountability to their own people. Though this is science fiction, it is also superb social commentary and insightful history.

This book is a classic -- even if you hate science fiction, you will love this!