For reals, is Banner of the Stars an East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere masturbation fantasy? It might be because we are placed in the Abh's perspective, but the entire story comes off as smugly mocking the uncivilized monkey humans for not just lying down and submitting to naked aggressive expansionism by gene-chipped space elf empire which is after all be best state of affairs they could live under.
Crest of the Stars
Luis Martin
Thomas Torres
i think the story pretty clearly shows the Abh as indifferent and even unable to understand landers. It doesn't really imply that their rule is better, it just is.
Thomas Walker
Wow Same Voice Actor
James Martinez
>For reals, is Banner of the Stars an East Asian Co-Prosperity Sphere masturbation fantasy?
Not exactly. It does play to the boner the Japanese have for imperialism, but not to that particular approach to imperialism. The Abh basically leave the populations of planets to do whatever the hell they like, as long as it's ultimately acknowledged that they're part of the Abh Empire, and the Empire controls space travel. This is in contrast with the other interstellar governments that talk big about "freedom" but impose their own values on the societies of whatever planets come under their control.
David Hall
>She sees your dick
Ryder Cox
Having exclusive control of space travel and the interstellar trade is a pretty massive imposition. IRL colonies have revolted because being forced to trade exclusively with the metropole was a heavy chain on the economy.
Liam Hill
True enough, but the Abh seem to be fair enough in their terms that most planets are okay enough with being under them. Certainly doing well enough economically. I think it's implied that - in times of peace, at least - they can trade with planets outside the empire, it's just that they lease spaceships from the Abh rather than own them.
Isaiah Rivera
Mate, I don't care, space elf pussy.
Kayden Perez
Its not really subtle how much the author likes the Abh and treats them as the "good guys" of the series.
The "bad guys" are the united mankind and other aggressive human nations...OK fair enough.
Except that the Abh basically show up and try to annex everyone without space flight, and argubably the only reason they dont annex everyone with space flight is because they dont want to get into a conflict.
They have a very obvious race based caste system where the Abh are at the top (with VERY rare exceptions like Jinto who is a noble despite being human) and normal humans are convenient subjects...capable of helping to crew starships and contributing to the economy, but barred from any real power.
The worst part is that they have all this gene tech that can help humans, but its all reserved for the nobility who are almost entirely Abh. They could give human descendants longevity, but they withold it for their own use.
Imagine living in a society where you are constantly reminded that you are inferior and will never obtain what the Abh was given at birth. It would be better if the Abh freely provided their gene tech to all their subjects, in order to truly create a benevolent empire, but by restricting it to themselves, they are just tyrants.
Also the most ridiculous part of the first 3 novels was when Lafiel easily outruns and outshoots a platoon of trained soldiers more or less by herself, since Jinto was just trying to keep up and not doing much else. That scene just showed how much the author liked the Abh to the point of giving them plot armor.
Hudson Kelly
IRL colonies are not the size of a planet. They have all the resources they need for thriving economy right where they are.