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Wow. This was something else, I tell you.
I wonder what Poul Anderson thought the first time this idea popped into his head. Because it's completely bonkers, and what did you expect, it works out in a crazy way.
Many have endeavoured in the world of medieval fiction, others have tried their hands on science fiction and trying to answer the question whether we're alone in the universe.
Poul Anderson probably wanted to right historical fiction and science fiction, but couldn't choose which one he liked best. So, he just did both and wrote a novel about aliens coming to earth when England and France were still at each others throats, dealing with knights instead of soldiers. Considering the not so heavy artillerie the aliens are defeated in trying to seize earth but what happens after is a tale only possible from a very inventive mind, aided by historical knowledge of that day and age.
It isn't a longwinded novel, at that, which makes it just perfect. It's told from a third person perspective, who is in its own also part of the story but who can give us an almost objective version of what happened.
At some points I caught myself thinking I was crazy myself for spending time on this, because the novel doesn't grant any emotional value. But only going on how inventive one person can be and still be able to produce a novel that's not half bad, is sometimes enough. There's no limit of what we can think of.
It's worth a 7 out of 10.
