Jane rules!
> They're not necessarily in chronological order, no, but there's a causality order. > "I hate you because your future self will kill my brother" works, > "I hate you because the plot requires me to" doesn't.
I've been arguing this for years. I'm glad at least one person agrees with me. Or the other way around.
> What I mainly noticed was that they changed from being a nice comprehensible loose pseudo-Roman analogue with overtones from the British Empire and the Soviets
Mentally at least, I've merged the old with the new. When it comes to the army, I still see it as very Roman. But the Roman empire was never just about the legions. Almost every army had a bunch of allies that were nothing like the legions. Light cavalry, slingers, etc. Sometimes even hoplites. So that part still works for me. The officers are the most Roman-looking and -acting for me: Heartlands snobs interested in suppressing these barbarians mainly to score points back home.
The parts about the Brits and the Soviets is an awful lot like the Persian empire to me. Greg's been explicit that there's a definite Persian feel to a lot of the Lunar empire, in the sense that there's a lot of regional variation and rulers of the provinces get away with a lot. That's a lot like the Soviets in central asia (or Britain in India, for that matter). Add in the British sense that anyone from the center of the empire is better than the raggamuffins from its edges (or the equivalent Soviet tendency not to trust non-Russian, Stalin being the huge exception). Then add in the weird Soviet cults of personality, secret organizations, and purges. I'm there!
Chris Lemens
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