The Heroic Legend of Arslan vol. 19

Duke Guiscard fled the Parsian capital of Ecbatana, leaving it wide open to be seized by Hilmes and his invading army courtesy of a little guile on their part.  What they find is a city that is currently plagued by low morale, food and water shortages, and a decaying infrastructure.  Hilmes may have obtained his prize, but his long-term plans are now in serious doubt, which could be a good thing for certain interested parties on the fringe of the main story.

Meanwhile, Arslan and his army have given chase to Guiscard and have tracked him and his army to the place where this all began:  The Plains of Atropatene.  The latter outnumbers the former 100,000 to 30,000, but he’s up against the most formidable fighters and tactical mind in the story.  Worse still is the fact that if Guiscard retreats any further he won’t find himself between a rock and a hard place, but a boiling pit of lava lorded over by the biggest fanatic in Lusitania.

Seeing the duke suffer at this point is almost comical.  Where his once-keen strategies seemed poised to strengthen the Lusitanians’ position as the conquerors of Ecbatana, he has now suffered so many losses that death would seem like a mercy for this character.  That trend continues here and it almost seems like I’ll get my wish… in vol. 20.

As is usually the case for this series, the most interesting stuff happens away from the protagonist’s party in vol. 19.  Hilmes’ plight is the most interesting to observe here as his grasp of the poisoned chalice was unexpected, and could lead to some interesting developments in the future.  Particularly as Andragoras prepares to descend upon Ecbatana to finally reclaim it for himself.  That should be something to see when it finally happens.

Which is more than I can say for the hope that Arslan will develop into an interesting character… nineteen volumes in.  It honestly feels comically perverse to see him continuously reined in by the story and its characters as his desires like trying to force a rapprochement between Andragoras and Hilmes, and trying to contribute to the second battle of Atropatene are respectfully shot down by Narsus.  At least the stuff that’s happening around him is interesting, or I’d have no reason to keep reading this series.