Review of Amasia: The Orion War -- The Future of Warfare?

The purpose of this paper is to provide a review of Amasia (2017) by Kali Altsoba, including an analysis concerning how the author draws on past military battles in history to extrapolate these events into the future battle for Amasia, the supercontinent that scientists predict will be created when all of the worlds continents collide around the North Pole. In addition, a discussion concerning how the author correlates real life together with historical armies and battles including prevailing misogynic views in the contemporary and future armed forces, and the implications of the formation of the first all-female military division. A comparison of the devastating totality and destruction of real-life wars and their science-fiction counterparts is followed by a discussion about soldiers who live to kill and lust for it, the effects of religion on warfare, most especially with respect to radicalized religious fanatics and extremists. Finally, a summary of the book together with key findings concerning the foregoing issues are presented in the papers conclusion.

Review and Analysis

One of the more compelling aspects of Amasia is the authors reliance on real-world combat field reports as well as authentic journal entries and firsthand accounts provided by eyewitnesses to the horrific events that are used to create a future where war is no longer limited to regional conflicts between two belligerents where the outcomes are reasonably predictable advance. Moreover, as an indication of the well written aspects of this science fiction, Altsoba is meticulous in the use of empirical observations of past real-world military encounters to conceptualize what war might be like in the future. Likewise, by placing the action on a future supercontinent that comprises all of the various types of environments that characterize different continents today, the author is able to write about virtually any type or climate, weather, terrain, and wildlife, bringing more reality to...…that drives some humans to participate in the Orion Wars. In addition, the author also refers to the enormously powerful effects of religious beliefs on some people and how their views can radicalize them into believing that with God on their side, even the most powerful forces cannot stand against them. These qualities make Amasia an especially interesting and poignant read with special relevance for modern readers.

Conclusion

In his science-fiction thriller, Kali Altsoba draws on his extensive experience as a military historian to create a futuristic setting for a cataclysmic war that will determine the fate of humankind. By drawing on real-world examples of past conflicts and conceptualizing how these events would play out in the future, the author makes the impossible seem plausible in ways that contribute to the overall effectiveness of his writing. In the final analysis, Altsoba has crafted an entire alternative world that is populated by a wide array of belligerents and encounters that still manage to resemble real-world…