Jul 11, 2022
"Does a country profit or loss from war?" - This is a debate in Altina The Sword Princess.
The story is set in Fantasy Europe, the technology is in the middle of the Industrial Revolution.
The main characters are in Belgarian Empire, which is based on France. They are constantly at war with its neighbours, they have the strongest military in the continent, but most of their generals are old and stick to obsolete tactics.
There is an archipelago in the West, known as High Brittania, which is based on United Kingdom, they have the strongest industries and most technological advanced as compared to the mainland.
There is a
...
fictional Holy Roman Empire, Austria in the east, you can easily guess the rest of the continent. I am too lazy to list out all of them. :P
There is a lot of politics involved, such as the period of Enlightenment and royal siblings fighting for the throne.
It is based on Revolutionary France. The Empire is in the decline due to many issues:
Political corruption. Wasteful spending from the Emperor's wife, she is an Austrian, similar to the real one, who is obsessed with wasteful spending and always trying to seduce the emperor.
Never ending wars with the neighbours. War costs money.
At that time, there are a lot of underground libertarians calling for revolution. The royal siblings are fighting for the throne.
Here are the characters:
Regis Aurick - The protagonist, a bookworm who joins the military to become a military librarian. He is an administrative officer who cannot fight at all, terrible at atheletics. But a great tactician. He is eventually sent to the German border due to a mistake.
Altina - The Fourth Princess of the Empire. She is good at fighting but dislikes books. In terms of combat, she is not as strong as the second and third Princess, but strong enough to cause havoc in the battlefield. However, she is very reckless and has the tendency to charge into the frontlines. She is sent to be in charge of defending the German border at the age of 13. Nobody respects her as a superior officer due to her lack of military experience. Altina is a good pacifist character.
Jerome - A veteran general who is guarding the German border, does not respect Altina initially. Respects Regis and eventually respects Altina later.
Auguste - Frist Prince. Most people thinks that he is unsuitale to be the next emperor due to his poor health. Not going to say much due to spoilers in Volume 3.
Latrielle - Second Prince. The Field Marshal of the Empire. One of Altina's political opponents. Is also a dictator, who believes in war, thinking the Belgarian (or France) should rule the continent, is aware of Regis's potential. He is most likely based on Napoleon or Hitler.
Bastian - Third Prince. Does not care about politics until his exchange in High Brittania (UK), he becomes a libertarian and supports democracy. He is good at fighting but has no interest in joining the military. He wants to be a writer. Well, his novels tend to be criticised by Elizabeth.
Felicia - Fifth Princess. Not going to say much about her due to spoilers in Volume 3.
Elizabeth - Princess of High Brittania. Bastian's classmate. Another pacifist trying to avoid war in the continent. She eventually becomes very close friends with Bastian and Altina.
The rest of the characters are not really important.
In this Light Novel, you will see Regis becoming Altina's tacticians and win battles even with technological/numerical disadvantage, he claims he obtained his tactics from books.
I recommend this light novel to people who likes:
1) 1700-1800s warfare.
2) 1700-1800s politics.
3) Intelligent but hilarious protagonist. People who enjoy Code Geass: Lelouch Of The Rebellion and Tenkyou No Alderamin.
Here my thought on it (As of Volume 14):
I enjoy Altina The Sword Princess but not as much as Tenkyou No Alderamin.
In Tenkyou No Alderamin, the plot is very unpredictable. In Altina The Sword Princess, plot can be predictable at times, we already knew Regis can pull it off but some of his military strategies are really interesting.
What I like:
1) Interesting military strategies. Creating a fog?
2) Some interesting plot twists later. Especially with Latrielle.
3) Altina and Eric shows character development. We see Altina develop from a reckless fighter to a mature leader. Eric becomes a great marksman.
4) Bastian and Elizabeth are very likeable. And hilarious at times.
5) Altina and Elizabeth are great pacifist characters.
What I dislike:
1) Plot can be predictable. Regis succeeds all the time.
As of right now, the writer is putting this light novel on hold to focus on another isekai light novel (which I do not like). My rating might change in the future.
Reviewer’s Rating: 7
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