銀河英雄伝説 8 乱離篇 [Ginga eiyū densetsu 8]

銀河英雄伝説 [Ginga eiyū densetsu] #8

by Yoshiki Tanaka

It’s the master tactician of the ruthless Galactic Empire versus the Free Planets Alliance in Japan’s greatest space opera epic!

In the thirty-sixth century, humanity has conquered the galaxy and colonized countless star systems. The Galactic Empire, modeled along Prussian lines, and the democratic Free Planets Alliance are at war, and the fate of every human being in the universe hangs in the balance. This classic Japanese space opera, adapted into a legendary anime, is finally available in English for the first time.

After utterly defeating the Free Planets Alliance, Kaiser Reinhard has brought 99 percent of inhabited space under his control. Still, dissatisfaction and unease coil within his breast, for the galaxy's last remaining sliver of territory is defended by none other than Yang Wen-li. Seeking decisive battle, the Imperial Navy moves to attack Iserlohn Fortress, but due to Yang's unexpected plan, the battle has already begun before Reinhard arrives. The Yang Fleet must overcome an enormous difference in force strength—while at the same time, a trap laid by the Church of Terra is closing in around Yang…

Genres: Science Fiction, Fiction, Light Novel, Science Fiction Fantasy, Space Opera, Novels, Literature

223 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1987

About the author

Yoshiki Tanaka (田中 芳樹 Tanaka Yoshiki) is a Japanese novelist. He was born in Kumamoto Prefecture and took his doctorate degree in Japanese Language and Literature in the Graduate School of Gakushūin University in Tokyo.

His major works include the fantasy novel series Arslan Senki, also known as The Heroic Legend of Arslan, and the sci-fi space opera novel series entitled Ginga Eiyū Densetsu, also known as Legend of the Galactic Heroes, both of which were adapted as anime and manga. His fantasy works also include the novel series Sohryuden: Legend of the Dragon Kings that was also adapted as anime.

Tanaka is an avid fan of Chinese history and wrote some novels set in China. He also published two arranged-translations of Chinese literature: "Sui Tang Yanyi" ("Stories of Sui and Tang Dynasties") and "Shuo Yue Quan Zhuan" ("Telling the Complete Biography of Yue Fei") as "Gakuhi-den" ("The Story of Yue Fei"). He is also familiar with Persian history, which Arslan Senki is based on.

Reviews

[Jacob · Rating 4 out of 5]

I cannot believe how many occasions I have finished a book in this series and thought: “What could they possibly do next?”

[Kaoru · Rating 4 out of 5]

Starting the first page you suspect that this book will be "just another one in the series to build a bridge towards the end", but halfway through an Unfortunate Event happens that is so sudden and unexpected that it catches you off-guard. The shock value isn't the point, however. At first you find yourself befuddled and unprepared, but the same applies to the characters, who, in the second half of the book, have to figure out where to go from here. Almost all of the characters find themselves in inconvenient spots as the Event happens, not even the ones who benefit from it can actively revel in it, there is no glorification or gloating, not even a story trope to fall back on. It's how life would write it, not necessarily an author. Theoretically, the development of the narrative should have been disappointing, but Tanaka pulls it off and it feels right the way it happens. In fact, the back half of this book probably even is the most pageturning section of the whole series so far.

Until then you thought had a somewhat good idea of where the overall story might be going and what the ultimate end could be, but now that you're proven wrong it's possible to predict the outcame. All bets are off and I can't wait to start on the final two installments.

[Darth JarJar · Rating 5 out of 5]

The space battles are getting better. And yang Wendy's death is handled much better than I would have expected. By sparking the newe rebellion. 4.5 stars.

Legend of the Galactic Heroes, Vol. 8: Desolation - Tanaka, Yoshiki (Highlight: 48; Note: 0)

───────────────

◆ MAJOR CHARACTERS

▪ DECEASED
SIEGFRIED KIRCHEIS
Died living up to the faith Annerose placed in him.

◆ CHAPTER 1: WIND IN THE CORRIDOR

▪ The boy once dismissed as “that golden brat” by the nobles who opposed him was now hailed as the “golden lion.

▪ There was an anecdote about Wittenfeld’s fearlessness in which one staff officer asked “Is Wittenfeld at the front?” and another replied “At the front? Wittenfeld is the front.”

▪ Put less charitably, a galaxy-spanning empire was devoting its entire military to defeating a single man. Officially, this was not only to ensure that unification was completed, but also to prevent Yang Wen-li from becoming the core of an anti-imperial movement.

▪ She opposed Reinhard’s involvement not on political or military grounds, but because she knew that his true motivation was personal pride and sheer competitive spirit. To this might be added respect for, and high expectations of, his enemy. If Yang Wen-li were to abandon all resistance and kneel meekly before him, what would Reinhard’s reaction be? Disappointment, Hilda suspected, notwithstanding the fact that Yang’s defeat had been the kaiser’s object since the previous year.

▪ “Die before von Oberstein?” he said. “Never! I’ve only made it this far, through all those battles, by looking forward to mouthing an insincere eulogy at his funeral while my soul dances on his grave.”

▪ “I almost feel like giving him half a dozen battalions to play with, and seeing what magic he works with them. Now that would be interesting!”
“Your Majesty…”
“Fräulein, I cannot rest until my score with Yang Wen-li is settled in full. Once I have his submission and the galaxy is unified, that will mark the true beginning for me.”
In the face of this masterfully crafted remonstration, Hilda fell silent.
“And even that prospect does not satisfy me,” Reinhard continued. “Would that I might face that magician on equal strategic ground!”

◆ CHAPTER 2: THE SPRING STORM

▪ Still, though—can’t we come up with a single cheer that doesn’t invoke the kaiser by name? It leaves a bad taste in the mouth. Are we nothing but linguistic parasites?

▪ Autocracy might have secured a temporary victory, but with the passage of time and the change of generations, the self-control of the ruling class would inevitably crumble. Exempt from criticism, above the law, deprived of any intellectual grounds for self-examination, their egos would swell grotesquely until they finally ran amok.

▪ An autocrat could not be punished—indeed, it was precisely immunity from punishment that defined an autocrat.

▪ The duality within the human heart condemned democracy to coexist with dictatorship along every possible axis of space and time. Even in an age when democracy seemed to reign triumphant, there were always those who longed for its opposite. These longings came not only from the desire to rule others but also the desire to be ruled by others—to obey without question. After all, things were easier that way. Learn what was permissible and what was forbidden, follow orders and adhere to instructions, and security and happiness were within your reach. A satisfying life was surely possible on those terms.

▪ But whatever freedom and safety cattle might be allowed in their pen, the day always came when they were slaughtered for the table.

▪ In the last days of the Free Planets Alliance, Reinhard had determined the strategic conditions for every one of their battles, and the victor of each had been all but decided before the first shot was even fired.

▪ When the winter of despotism came to every other part of the galaxy, they would need that tiny greenhouse to nurture the weak shoots of democracy until they matured enough to withstand the trials ahead.

▪ There’s no such thing as a ‘fateful showdown,’ Julian. Whatever our circumstances might be, our choices are ultimately our own.”

▪ Yang and his allies were facing the ultimate contradiction. If autocracy was affirmed and accepted by a majority of the people, fighting for popular sovereignty would actually make them the enemies of that majority. Yang’s campaign would amount to a rejection of the people’s happiness and the popular will.

▪ “We do not want sovereignty or even the franchise,” the argument would be. “The kaiser is ruling justly, so why not give him free rein? A political system is just a means of realizing the happiness of the people. With that achieved, why not shrug it off the same way you would a heavy, stifling suit?”
Could Yang argue against that? The question worried him. Too many people in the past had justified bloody acts in the present with fear of what the future might bring.
“To guard against the possibility that a wicked dictator might one day take control, we must take arms against our enlightened ruler today, for only by defeating him can we ensure the survival of democratic republican governance based on the separation of powers.”
The paradox was laughable. If the institution of democracy could only be protected by toppling virtuous rulers, that made democracy itself an enemy of good governance.

▪ A fanatic needs not the truth as it is, but a fantasy painted to suit his tastes. Simply allow him to believe what he wanted to in the first place, and bending him to your will is a simple matter. Within the fragile realm of Fork’s psychology burned a feverish longing to be the hero who saved democracy.

◆ CHAPTER 3: THE INVINCIBLE AND THE UNDEFEATED

▪ Humanity had endured countless battles since adopting the Space Era calendar, just as they had beforehand. Battles between law and the lawless. Between tyrants and liberators. Between privileged classes and unprivileged classes. Even between the forces of autocracy and of republicanism. But in no previous year had such an imbalance of external conditions coexisted with such evenly matched internal factors

▪ But in terms of internal factors, it was a battle between two men who were spiritual twins. The only strategist whose field of vision was as broad and far-reaching as Reinhard von Lohengramm’s, whose imagination was as rich, whose grasp of military and civilian organization was as sure, was Yang Wen-li himself. The only tactician whose powers of observation were as sharp as Yang Wen-li’s, who had the same ability to see situations as they were and respond as they shifted, and who inspired the same loyalty in his men was Reinhard von Lohengramm. The invincible and the undefeated were closing for the final battle

▪ Both men were in perfect agreement with the view that government’s purpose was to abolish injustice and increase the degree of freedom around individual choice. Was there another pair alive at that moment who shared such deep mutual respect and appreciation? And yet, the two men were forced to make their respective cases with bloodshe

▪ What compelled them to wage war on each other was a single difference in values. Was a just society best realized by concentrating authority or dispersing it? To argue that question, the greatest military minds of contemporary human society clashed, leaving a trail of blood spilled by millions of soldiers both within and without Iserlohn Corridor. Was there truly no way this tragedy could have been avoided?

▪ A brief excursion into enemy territory to achieve a flawless victory in a decisive battle: since antiquity, how many tacticians and conquerors have been led to graves in foreign soil by this dream? Not even a man of Reinhard von Lohengramm’s genius proved able to overcome the sweetness of this temptation.
But this was no mere temptation, Reinhard reassured himself as he sat in his private chambers aboard Brünhild. It was the reason for his existence.

▪ The disarray that Yang’s ships fell into when Wittenfeld detected their surreptitious approach and rained gunfire upon them was painful for Wittenfeld to watch. He did not know, of course, that Yang’s staff officer Vice Admiral Murai had once glumly observed that the only thing the Yang Fleet ever got better at was pretending to be routed.

▪ His subordinates had a joke that they had borrowed from the ancients to express that faith:
“What’s the best plan Yang Wen-li ever came up with?”
“Whatever plan he comes up with next!”

▪ It would be pointless to view the battle waged in and around Iserlohn Corridor in SE 800—year 2 of the New Imperial Calendar—after the complete collapse of the Free Planets Alliance as a struggle between good and evil. Rather, it was a clash between peace and freedom, or between will to power and faith in institutions. The imperfect scales of justice might come down on either side depending on whether the one who held them supported—or simply preferred—Reinhard von Lohengramm or Yang Wen-li.

▪ Accordingly, in the worst case, the imperial side could simply force a war of attrition. As long as the Yang Fleet’s losses matched their own, before long the enemy would be wiped out and they would be the victorious survivors. It was hardly worth dignifying with the word “tactic,” but ultimately this was where the purpose of fielding a massive army lay.

▪ Feeling scared, Karin?”
“No, Commander, I am not feeling scared!”
“That’s right, never let it show. Even clothes that are too big at first fill out as you grow. The same goes for courage.”
“Yes, sir.”
“This has been Poplin’s Irresponsible Life Advice Line, where we say what we like because it’s not our problem.”

▪ Underestimate everything!

▪ On May 2, the defeated troops rejoined the main fleet under Kaiser Reinhard. Wittenfeld’s Black Lancers had lost 6,220 of their original 15,900 ships and 695,700 of their original 1,908,000 men. Fahrenheit’s fleet had lost 8,490 of its 15,200 ships and 1,095,400 of its 1,857,600 men. And, above all, a senior admiral of the Lohengramm Dynasty had fallen on the battlefield for the first time.
“Fahrenheit is dead, then…”
Reinhard’s ice-blue eyes sank into grief. In this opening skirmish to the decisive battle, they had lost a member of their top military leadership. Despite fighting on the side of the kaiser’s enemies in the Lippstadt War, his genius in combat had seen him forgiven and welcomed by the blond conqueror. Reinhard surely regretted the loss deeply, but said nothing more. His gaze fell like a crystal sword on the other senior admiral, who had returned alive. This was Wittenfeld’s first taste of loss since the Battle of Amritsar, and the fearless admiral, face haggard but back as straight as he could manage, waited for the kaiser to unleash his wrath.
“Wittenfeld!”
“Yes, sir.”
“This error was very like you. Aware that it was a trap, you nevertheless stepped directly into it and attempted to tear your way through. Thousands died, and not one hero to be remembered.”
“I caused the needless death of a brother-in-arms and squandered thousands of Your Majesty’s troops,” said Wittenfeld, using all his strength to keep his voice steady. “I will resent no punishment you may deem appropriate for my idiocy.”
Reinhard shook his head, luxurious golden hair rippling like solid sunlight. “I do not mean to criticize you,” he said. “Better an error like you than unlike you. The task before you now is to take further action in keeping with your character to regain this lost ground. This is, I feel sure, what Admiral Fahrenheit would have wanted too. I, too, am more determined than ever to defeat Yang Wen-li. Lend me your strength.”
It was known that Fahrenheit had been named the fourth marshal of the Lohengramm Dynasty. Wittenfeld bowed his head deeply and was unable to raise it for some time. He was frankly touched by the magnanimity of his liege.
Von Reuentahl, however,

◆ CHAPTER 4: KALEIDOSCOPE

▪ The “Silent Commander,” Senior Admiral Ernst von Eisenach, had been chosen by the kaiser to lead the strike force that would follow.
“These orders are the greatest honor a warrior could possibly receive. I shall spare no effort to carry out Your Majesty’s wishes, and if those efforts should be insufficient I shall apologize with my life. Sieg Kaiser!”
…is what Eisenbach did not say, instead making only a deferential, silent bow before leaving the kaiser’s presence.

▪ It was not, he thought, that Reinhard loved war by nature; rather, war was like a vital nutrient that the golden-haired emperor needed to survive. And were these repeated fevers of late not a sign that the boundless craving of that spirit within him was too powerful for his body to bear, young and healthy though he was?

◆ CHAPTER 5: THE MAGICIAN VANISHES

▪ Larger forces defeating smaller ones is the basis of a strategist’s thinking, but tacticians often thrill to victory by a small force over a large one. They locate the height of beauty in dramatically overturning the enemy’s strategic advantage by implementing startling ideas on the battlefield.

▪ Yang had a moment of confusion as his perspective dipped. He had collapsed to his knees. Following an unsuccessful attempt to rise to his feet again, he leaned back lightly against the wall and sat where he was. Not my finest hour, he thought, but no longer had the strength even to move. The pool of blood around him grew. Miracle Yang becomes Yang the Bloody, he thought. Even thinking was immensely tiring for him now.
His fingers would not move. His vocal cords were failing. So when he spoke—
“Sorry, Frederica. Sorry, Julian. Sorry, everybody…”
—no one heard it but Yang himself. At least, that was what he himself believed.
Yang closed his eyes. It was his last action in this world. In one corner of the consciousness that now fell down a colorless well, twilight turning to lacquer black, he heard a familiar voice calling his name.
At 0255 on June 1, 800 SE, time stopped for Yang Wen-li. He was thirty-three years old.

◆ CHAPTER 6: AFTER THE FESTIVAL

▪ If I don’t like someone, I don’t care if they don’t like me either. If I don’t want to understand someone, it doesn’t matter if they don’t understand me”—such, we may conclude, was Yang’s true thinking

▪ Should we surrender, then?” asked von Schönkopf. “Bend the knee and swear fealty to the kaiser? Fair enough, I suppose. Not unnatural for a band of mercenaries to fall apart when the head mercenary goes

▪ “He wasn’t supposed to die this way,” she said. “He should have died the way he lived…”
With the tumult of war more than a generation in the past, an old man lives in an age of peace. They say he was once a famous warrior, but few remain who saw this with their own eyes, and he himself never brags of his military service. Treated by his young family members with seven parts affection and three parts neglect, he lives now on his pension. His sunroom has a large rocking chair where he can sit for hours until called for dinner, reading so quietly he almost becomes part of the furniture too. Day after day, as if time has stopped.
One day, the old man’s granddaughter is playing outside when she accidentally throws her ball through the sunroom’s entrance. It comes to rest by his feet. Normally, he would reach down slowly to pick it up for her, but this time he does not move, as if ignoring her calls. She runs in for her ball, then looks up into her grandfather’s face to scold him—but senses something she cannot explain.
—Grandpa?
There is no answer. The setting sun illuminates the man’s face, peaceful as if in sleep, from the side. Still clutching her ball, the girl runs into the living room to report what she has seen.
—Mommy! Daddy! Something’s wrong with Grandpa!
As the girl’s voice recedes into the distance, the old man still sits in his rocking chair. Eternal peace slowly begins to fill his face, as if the tide were coming in…
That, thinks Frederica, is how Yang Wen-li should have died. It is less a certainty than a memory of a real scene witnessed through déjà vu.

▪ “Of course not, Julian. No one could do what Yang Wen-li did.”
“Exactly. The gap between our abilities is just too wide.”
“No, Julian. It’s a difference in personality. You simply have to do what only you can. There’s no need to imitate him. In all of history, there’s only ever been one Yang Wen-li—but there’s also only ever been one Julian Mintz.”

▪ And if we—the ones Wen-li left behind—fail now, we’ll be making a mockery of what he always said about terror not moving history. So, even though I know I’m not right for the job, I intend to fulfill my responsibilities. People called Wen-li lazy, but I can swear to one thing: when something needed doing, and he was the only one who could do it, he always did it

▪ He understood Murai’s true intentions now—to take care of people like this. All those who lacked the bravery to succeed, fearing for their reputation or safety, Murai would gather together and lead away—knowing full well that he would bear the mark of deserter himself.

◆ CHAPTER 7: HOLLOW VICTORY

▪ Reinhard had not been born with enemies, but it was undeniable that over the course of his life it had always been enemies who showed him the path he must take.

▪ I may have conquered the galaxy, but there is no reason my descendants should inherit it if they lack the ability and the renown to do so.

◆ CHAPTER 8: MOVING THE CAPITAL

▪ The loathing felt for him by Kaiser Reinhard’s senior staff officers might not have been inevitable, but it was certainly understandable. Mittermeier referred to Lang as “a smear of filth on the sole of von Oberstein’s shoe,” and even warmhearted Müller had once described him as “an unlikable nobody with visible treachery behind his baby face.” Oskar von Reuentahl eschewed words entirely: his only comment on the man was a cold sneer.

◆ CHAPTER 9: NEW GOVERNMENT IN AUGUST

▪ Even the finest human beings have to kill each other if they’re on opposite sides

▪ Good people, fine people, killed for no reason. That’s war. That’s terrorism. That’s where the sin of both ultimately lies, Julian.”

▪ Bucock’s demise was the end of democracy, as symbolized by the collapse of the political entity that was the Free Planets Alliance. Yang’s death was the rebirth of democracy’s spirit—a new democracy not bound by the framework of the old alliance.

▪ Tactics are subordinate to strategy, strategy to policy, policy to economics

▪ And so the Iserlohn Republic was born. Its population was just 940,000 to the empire’s forty billion, making it a mere 1/42,500 of humanity, but it kept the standard of democracy high.

[DarkChaplain · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute heavy-hitter. However Tanaka managed to follow it up with two more novels afterwards is a miracle.

[h’ · Rating 5 out of 5]

After watching the OVA, this is a complementary view of the life, philosophy, and character of Yang Wen-li, the unparalleled tactician, superb strategist and an influencial star in the galaxy. The book captures the contrast between how he was precieved by historians -one of the better tools in the story- from their limited knowledge and what people around him actually saw, which shows again that history is not always what it seems like.
Farewell, Marshal.

[S · Rating 5 out of 5]

The plot lines in the book work well.

I not sure why do more books will be needed

[Eric Kariuki · Rating 4 out of 5]

R.I.P Commander Yang
I know you're up above surrounded by all the books you can read with a smidgeon of brandy in you glass because Julian still cares.

[Grant Mougin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Whether it’s the anime or the novel, this is where things take major turns. So well executed!

[Flor Belot · Rating 4 out of 5]

nunca antes mejor puesto el nombre de DESOLATION un libro

[SR · Rating 5 out of 5]

I watched the anime last year and it's fascinating to see the tonal differences between the novels and the OVA. I wasn't nearly as disabled by Yang's death, but the WORK of Iserlohn, the course of its mourning - wow, crushing.

Love the ridiculous prose and the translation work wasn't as clunky as it was for vol 7.

[svitcak]

for a long time book in serie that is focused on space battles, i was amazed how it was written. Really enjoying this serie and thinking about immidiatly buy the last one that is on amazon (sorry solomon kane, this really is a formidable foe to face)

[Xiang Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

很多年之后 重新回顾自己理想的死 亦或者说 重新回顾自己理想的新生

[Cody Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book broke me.