--- product_id: 19843268 title: "The Peshawar Lancers" price: "₨10261" currency: LKR in_stock: true reviews_count: 8 url: https://www.desertcart.lk/products/19843268-the-peshawar-lancers store_origin: LK region: Sri Lanka --- # The Peshawar Lancers **Price:** ₨10261 **Availability:** ✅ In Stock ## Quick Answers - **What is this?** The Peshawar Lancers - **How much does it cost?** ₨10261 with free shipping - **Is it available?** Yes, in stock and ready to ship - **Where can I buy it?** [www.desertcart.lk](https://www.desertcart.lk/products/19843268-the-peshawar-lancers) ## Best For - Customers looking for quality international products ## Why This Product - Free international shipping included - Worldwide delivery with tracking - 15-day hassle-free returns ## Description desertcart.com: The Peshawar Lancers: 9780451458735: Stirling, S. M.: Books Review: Stirling channels Kipling with gusto - I am a great fan of S.M. Stirling, whose Nantucket and Change series are enormous fun for devotees of time travel and/or alternate history. In The Peshawar Lancers he is at his best, with a rousing adventure tale set in the Raj as Kipling would have imagined it under the particular circumstances of the Stirling-provided history. You see, there was a catastrophic series of meteor strikes, known as The Fall, in 1878 through much of the northern hemisphere. Their impacts would be in the hundreds of megatons, and along with the subsequent tsunamis the devastation was enormous. The loss of infrastructure and the severe winters caused by the resulting cloud cover effectively destroyed organized agruculture above the equator, leading "Saint" Disraeli to organize the Exodus of most of the survivors from the British Isles to more viable parts of the Empire. Fast forward to 2025 in the Raj as it might have become. Stirling's story begins with a young captain of the Peshawar Lancers detaching from his unit to allow his wounds to recover at home. Things seem little changed from the 1870's, at first. As events unfold, we learn of certain technologies that would qualify this as "steampunk", notably the enormous dirigibles that the transplanted Crown uses for long-distance transport. The "Great Game" is very much at the heart of the action, with a Russian master spy conniving to recreate chaos. But these Russians have been turned by starvation brought about by The Fall into cannibals and death-worshippers. The action rocks along through the cities and plains of the subcontinent, with romance and the occult liberally mixed in. I found this all to be great fun, but also found myself occasionally stopping to marvel at Mr. Stirling's ability to capture the tone and texture of a story set entirely in South Asia. His other books showed his wide-ranging interests but were set in America or the Bronze Age, details of which few readers could find room to quibble with; but how does a writer venture with confidence into such an alien setting as India? And he takes his pseudo-history very seriously, indeed. There are no less than five appendices attached to his novel, describing The Fall and various other "facts" that were considered too dry for his story but in his own mind were essential background. At bottom, this was a thrilling adventure tale, a steampunk Kipling, but one that Mr. Stirling clearly loved in the telling. I loved it in the reading, and was sorry when it ended. Review: Great alternate history/future adventure tale - I'm a fan of alternate history books and this is one of the best. It's set in the near future but depends heavily on an alternate 19th century in which the Northern Hemisphere has been devastated by a comet or asteroid strike and the dominant power in the world is now the British Empire transplanted to India. Technology has developed more slowly, society has hardly developed at all, and geo-political intrigue swirls among Russia, Dai-Nippon, France-outre-Mer, and the Empire. There are touches of speculation about parallel universes and alternate time strands, too. The characters are based on familiar stereotypes but have been given their own individual quirks. Though not complex, they are engaging and memeorable. The book assumes a continuing racialism in the Empire that I didn't read as advocacy but a part of the plot line; however, some might find it disturbing. The ingenious plot catches the reader up in the action and keeps the pages turning. Some of it is predictable, but part of the pleasure of the book is its unique take on the action/adventure genre, which just IS predictable. The author's meticulously detailed descriptions provide a vividly realized setting in a believable alternate India. He has gone to some trouble to think out linguistic, social, religious, economic, and military implications of a destroyed Europe and relocated Western civilization - for those who get confused in the beginning of the book, feel free to turn to the appendices to orient yourself, though I didn't read them until I finished. A good read which I highly recommend - and yes, the title is a bit inaccurate, but nevertheless serves as a nice tag for the book's premise and plot. ## Technical Specifications | Specification | Value | |---------------|-------| | Best Sellers Rank | #758,614 in Books ( See Top 100 in Books ) #423 in Alternate History Science Fiction (Books) #3,192 in Science Fiction Adventures #4,557 in Science Fiction Crime & Mystery | | Customer Reviews | 4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (579) | | Dimensions | 4.13 x 1.26 x 6.77 inches | | Edition | Reissue | | ISBN-10 | 0451458737 | | ISBN-13 | 978-0451458735 | | Item Weight | 9.2 ounces | | Language | English | | Print length | 496 pages | | Publication date | January 7, 2003 | | Publisher | Ace | ## Images ![The Peshawar Lancers - Image 1](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/I/71Az+YVYb9L.jpg) ## Customer Reviews ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Stirling channels Kipling with gusto *by C***N on May 7, 2012* I am a great fan of S.M. Stirling, whose Nantucket and Change series are enormous fun for devotees of time travel and/or alternate history. In The Peshawar Lancers he is at his best, with a rousing adventure tale set in the Raj as Kipling would have imagined it under the particular circumstances of the Stirling-provided history. You see, there was a catastrophic series of meteor strikes, known as The Fall, in 1878 through much of the northern hemisphere. Their impacts would be in the hundreds of megatons, and along with the subsequent tsunamis the devastation was enormous. The loss of infrastructure and the severe winters caused by the resulting cloud cover effectively destroyed organized agruculture above the equator, leading "Saint" Disraeli to organize the Exodus of most of the survivors from the British Isles to more viable parts of the Empire. Fast forward to 2025 in the Raj as it might have become. Stirling's story begins with a young captain of the Peshawar Lancers detaching from his unit to allow his wounds to recover at home. Things seem little changed from the 1870's, at first. As events unfold, we learn of certain technologies that would qualify this as "steampunk", notably the enormous dirigibles that the transplanted Crown uses for long-distance transport. The "Great Game" is very much at the heart of the action, with a Russian master spy conniving to recreate chaos. But these Russians have been turned by starvation brought about by The Fall into cannibals and death-worshippers. The action rocks along through the cities and plains of the subcontinent, with romance and the occult liberally mixed in. I found this all to be great fun, but also found myself occasionally stopping to marvel at Mr. Stirling's ability to capture the tone and texture of a story set entirely in South Asia. His other books showed his wide-ranging interests but were set in America or the Bronze Age, details of which few readers could find room to quibble with; but how does a writer venture with confidence into such an alien setting as India? And he takes his pseudo-history very seriously, indeed. There are no less than five appendices attached to his novel, describing The Fall and various other "facts" that were considered too dry for his story but in his own mind were essential background. At bottom, this was a thrilling adventure tale, a steampunk Kipling, but one that Mr. Stirling clearly loved in the telling. I loved it in the reading, and was sorry when it ended. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Great alternate history/future adventure tale *by M***D on June 19, 2004* I'm a fan of alternate history books and this is one of the best. It's set in the near future but depends heavily on an alternate 19th century in which the Northern Hemisphere has been devastated by a comet or asteroid strike and the dominant power in the world is now the British Empire transplanted to India. Technology has developed more slowly, society has hardly developed at all, and geo-political intrigue swirls among Russia, Dai-Nippon, France-outre-Mer, and the Empire. There are touches of speculation about parallel universes and alternate time strands, too. The characters are based on familiar stereotypes but have been given their own individual quirks. Though not complex, they are engaging and memeorable. The book assumes a continuing racialism in the Empire that I didn't read as advocacy but a part of the plot line; however, some might find it disturbing. The ingenious plot catches the reader up in the action and keeps the pages turning. Some of it is predictable, but part of the pleasure of the book is its unique take on the action/adventure genre, which just IS predictable. The author's meticulously detailed descriptions provide a vividly realized setting in a believable alternate India. He has gone to some trouble to think out linguistic, social, religious, economic, and military implications of a destroyed Europe and relocated Western civilization - for those who get confused in the beginning of the book, feel free to turn to the appendices to orient yourself, though I didn't read them until I finished. A good read which I highly recommend - and yes, the title is a bit inaccurate, but nevertheless serves as a nice tag for the book's premise and plot. ### ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ Exciting Story *by D***N on December 30, 2013* In The Peshawar Lancers S. M.Stirling writes an exciting adventure story set in an alternate history in which a comet strikes the Earth in the year 1878. The impact and the ensuing severe cooling of the climate caused by the dust and water vapor thrust into the atmosphere causes the death by starvation of most of the inhabitants of the Northern hemisphere and the collapse of civilization. By the time of the setting of the story, 2025, the world has almost reached the level of technology it possessed before the Fall. The British Empire has survived, based around its former colonial possessions, especially India. The Empire has even recolonized the British Isles. The French established themselves in Algeria and the Japanese have conquered China. The Russians have also survived after turning to Devil worship and sacred cannibalism of their subject peoples. The rest of Europe and most of North America is still inhabited by savage cannibals. In this world, Athelstane King is a captain of the Peshawar Lancers. Along with his aide, the Sikh Narayan Singh, his sister Cassandra, a mysterious Russian seeress Yasmini, and the Royal Family, King finds himself trying to foil a Russian conspiracy against his family with the fate of the Empire, and the survival of humanity at stake. The Peshawar Lancers is, as I have said, an exciting adventure story, a little like Kipling’s best. S. M. Sterling presents an immensely imaginative background for the adventure with the details that makes the society come to life. The characters are, perhaps, somewhat two dimensional with the villain, the Russian Ignatieff, being really, villainous, but they are likeable and their actions and motives are realistic. The plot moves along nicely with the right amount of suspense and action. I thoroughly enjoyed reading the Peshawar Lancers and I hope the author might be persuaded to write more stories set in that world. --- ## Why Shop on Desertcart? - 🛒 **Trusted by 1.3+ Million Shoppers** — Serving international shoppers since 2016 - 🌍 **Shop Globally** — Access 737+ million products across 21 categories - 💰 **No Hidden Fees** — All customs, duties, and taxes included in the price - 🔄 **15-Day Free Returns** — Hassle-free returns (30 days for PRO members) - 🔒 **Secure Payments** — Trusted payment options with buyer protection - ⭐ **TrustPilot Rated 4.5/5** — Based on 8,000+ happy customer reviews **Shop now:** [https://www.desertcart.lk/products/19843268-the-peshawar-lancers](https://www.desertcart.lk/products/19843268-the-peshawar-lancers) --- *Product available on Desertcart Sri Lanka* *Store origin: LK* *Last updated: 2026-05-14*