History Literature / ThePeshawarLancers

* GirlsLove: It's mentioned briefly that Cassandra once gave this a go, but was disappointed by the result. In the actual novel, [[RebelliousPrincess Sita]] goes out of her way to make it look like she and Cassandra (her tutor) are having an affair. This is quite possibly the smallest amount of LesYay in any S.M. Stirling book.

** Also SchizoTech: none of the surviving empires developed modern small arms, almost 150 years after the cataclysm they are stuck with Lee-Metford and Berdan rifles. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in universe, as weapon development beyond the bolt-action rifle had been the child of the arms race between France, Imperial Germany and Britain, and there was no longer any German Army to oppose [[CoolGuns Mauser 98s]] to the Angrezi Metfords. The most likely opponents were either cannibal savages or primitive tribes, many of whom wield flintlock Jezails, much as many of the real world afghans did up until the 1970s. Automobiles are a relatively new invention, which are not considered wholly reliable yet (the opening chapter mentions several army vehicles breaking down and needing to be towed back home by elephants).

* FauxYay: After Cassandra has been around court for a while, gossip spreads that she's sleeping with both Charles and Sita, much to her embarrassment. Sita, who is completely heterosexual, has a lot of fun teasing Cassandra by flirting and holding hands with her in public, and even implying that they are slipping off for a lesbian trust to get her bodyguards to keep their distance.

''The Peshawar Lancers'' is a 2002 AlternateHistory novel by Creator/SMStirling (author of the ''Literature/TheDraka'', ''Literature/IslandInTheSeaOfTime'' and the ''Literature/{{Emberverse}}'') which takes place in a world where [[ColonyDrop a series of comet strikes]] destroyed much of Western Europe and North America in 1878, the resulting long winter finishing off most of civilization in those areas. Most of the survivors that didn't become [[ImAHumanitarian cannibal savages]] fled to their overseas colonies, in particular the French remnants relocated to their North African possessions and the British to India, South Africa and Australia. By the early 21st Century, the latter (at least in India) have gone native to the point of referring themselves as the Angrezi Raj.

* FiveManBand: Using the group that operates together for much of the book yields the following -
** TheHero: Athelstane
** TheLancer: Narayan Singh (with elements of TheBigGuy)
** TheSmartGuy: David bar-Elias and Sir Manfred Warburton
** TheBigGuy: Ibrahim Khan (despite not being all that big)
** TheChick: Yasmini

* IncestIsRelative: The Dreamers are deliberately and forcibly inbred by their masters to ensure their talent is passed on. This includes both BrotherSisterIncest and ParentalIncest. Gross.

* AfterTheEnd: in the style of Rudyard Kipling.
** The latter parts of the story concern the threat of a second impact (not [[Anime/NeonGenesisEvangelion that one]]).

* BreadEggsMilkSquick: Richard Allenby claims to be a dignified Political Service agent living in a mansion with a harem of beautiful Indian girls, until we find out he took part in Satanic cannibal rituals and had killed a girl some time before while raping her. Cue the NightmareFuel when one wonders where did the girls sacrificed by Ignatieff in his cellar come from and how many of them were...

* UsefulNotes/TheBritishEmpire: Known in the book either as the Angrezi Raj or the New Empire, based in Delhi. Australia-New Zealand and South Africa are Viceroyalties (each having their own colonies).
** The old British accent vanished long before. Since the "Imperial English" used (at least in India and the elite) is mentioned as a pidgin language with heavy Hindi borrowings. Australia and the Cape use more "conservative" versions closer to the Victorians.

* ColonyDrop: The Fall
* DeusSexMachina: [[spoiler: Yasmini's ''only'' means to preserve her sanity involves some quality time with Athelstane.]]

* EldritchAbomination: the cult of Malik Nous in the remains of Russia worships one and believes [[spoiler: bringing about the destruction of humanity will please him]]

** It is said explicitly the Czar, despite running an empire of cannibals, had the same wishes as an ordinary ruler, to conquer lands, peoples and resources - while a faction of fanatic worshipers of the Black God [[MoralEventHorizon seek to end humanity itself]].

* EverythingTryingToKillYou: A reader could be forgiven for thinking the book is an RPG transcript; Athelstane and co. have to deal with attacks from devil-worshipers, Afghans, ninjas, Thugee, bandits, white supremacists and air pirates!
** [[spoiler: And practically all of them were bribed/manipulated/set up by Count Ignatieff.]]
* {{Expy}}: The Kapenaar (Anglo-Afrikaner South Africans) are essentially [[Literature/TheDraka Draka]] if the British managed to restrain them. With the added touch of them being the only ones left wearing Pith helmets. They're even called the "Bad boys" of the Empire by Stirling himself.
* FeudalFuture: It's more of a Victorian TwentyMinutesIntoTheFuture

* {{GirlsLove}}/{{LesYay}}: It's mentioned briefly that Cassandra once gave this a go, but was disappointed by the result. In the actual novel, [[RebelliousPrincess Sita]] goes out of her way to make it look like she and Cassandra (her tutor) are having an affair. (This is quite possibly the smallest amount of LesYay in any S.M. Stirling book.)
* GoingNative: The British to the point of calling themselves the ''Angrezi Raj''. It's implied that this is only applicable to India as Australia and the Cape are described as decidedly more culturally "conservative" by Angrezi standards, dressing and speaking much more like their European ancestors, though Cape English is substantially inflected with Afrikaans and Bantu.

* HollywoodTactics: The Pathans, despite their claims to be [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy exceptionally skilled warriors]], fall into this a few times, from fighting to board a crippled airship instead of leaving it to slowly fall to the ground and reap the spoils, to Ibrahim Khan's comments which describe them betraying and robbing each other, taking prisoners for ransom to goad even worse reprisals over themselves, raiding the Angrezi lands although they know punitive expeditions will come after this and so on.

* IncestIsRelative: The Dreamers are deliberately and forcibly inbred by their masters to ensure their talent is passed on. This includes both BrotherSisterIncest and ParentalIncest. {{Squick}}.
* InSpiteOfANail: Australians, Afghans, Jews and Brazilians are implied to be more or less recognizable.

* [[KingIncognito Prince Incognito]]: [[spoiler: Henri de Vascogne turns out not to be just a random French aristocrat, but the heir to the throne. And Afghan adventurer Ibrahim Khan ''said'' his father was a ruler ... he just didn't mention Dad controls not one but twelve villages ''and'' "a strong hill-fort with a town at its feet."]]

* MyCountryRightOrWrong: The favorite insult towards traitors is ''killer of men in the same uniform as you!'' No big deal for a RealLife 21st century man, who saw plenty of callous cruelty. A mortal insult in a world where [[ValuesDissonance "the different ones" were usually cannibal savages]].

* RoyalsWhoActuallyDoSomething: Every royal character of any significance.
** Also consider the fact that while the Angrezi (at least) are nominally a constitutional monarchy, the current royals wield ''much more'' power than Victoria ever did.
*** This got an explanation [[WordOfGod from the author himself]]: the Raj grew in an environment of constant wars, punitive actions, harsh reprisals to impose a semblance of order, daring actions to retake cannibal-held lands, and this needed a militaristic and hands-on approach to government (with added flavor of reliance on technology and technical learning, since this was the only thing that gave "civilized" people the upper hand over barbarian cannibals), which has been held even after the pacification of the world. Rather [[{{Irony}} ironically]], the RealLife 20th century political system that grew in roughly similar conditions had been the Soviet Union.

* VirginPower: Yasmini. But she loses it the only way possible.

* ZeppelinsFromAnotherWorld: Powered by ''Stirling''-cycle engines.
** Which [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stirling_engine are a real thing]], by the way.

* [[spoiler: DeusSexMachina: Yasmini's ''only'' means to preserve her sanity involves some quality time with Athelstane.]]

* [[spoiler: WeddingsForEveryone: Athelstane and Yasmini, Charles and Cassandra, Henri and Sita]]

** the airships using hydrogen as the lifting gas have a nasty tendency to burn when they crash, which leaves little to loot.
** all of which are well-attested. The Pathans/Pushtun were historically a formidable bunch, but also natural anarchists, feudists, and inveterate raiders, traditions which flourish into the present.

* EverythingsBetterWithPrincesses: [[LampshadeHanging Lampshaded]] by Athelstane, chatting with Sita, when he remarks that every adventure story needs a beautiful princess.

** Also SchizoTech: none of the surviving empires developed modern small arms, almost 150 years after the cataclysm they are stuck with Lee-Metford and Berdan rifles. [[JustifiedTrope Justified]] in universe, as weapon development beyond the bolt-action rifle had been the child of the arms race between France, Imperial Germany and Britain, and there was no longer any German Army to oppose [[CoolGuns Mauser 98s]] to the Angrezi Metfords. The most likely opponents were either cannibal savages or primitive tribes, many of whom wield flintlock Jezails, much as many of the real world afghans did up until the 1970s.