|
''March Upcountry'' is the first novel in the science fiction series of the Empire of Man by David Weber and John Ringo. It tells the story of Prince Roger MacClintock and his bodyguards of the Empress' Own Regiment who get marooned on the alien planet of Marduk due to an act of sabotage on their ship, and must fight their way towards the local space port (held by enemies of the Terran Empire) in order to get back home to Earth. The book appeared on the ''New York Times'' best seller list.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=David Weber )〕 ==Characters== Prince Roger MacClintock is the youngest and least loved child of Empress Alexandra VII, ruler of the Empire of Man from her second consort, Lazar Fillipo, the Earl of New Madrid. An extremely handsome and tall 22-year-old man who loves dressing up in extremely fine and expensive clothing, Roger is considered, by most, as a fop and is not well regarded by pretty much anyone except his valet, Kostas Matsugae. Aware at times of his childish behavior and in desperate need of love and genuine parental guidance (and at times, parental discipline), Roger manages to learn several important lessons about life, his responsibilities as a member of the royal family, his behavior towards those who are beneath him socially, and the circumstances of his birth which are the cause for his strained relationship with his mother. He is an experienced game hunter who's used to hunting game that can "hunt back". This experience serves him well throughout the March, as his superlative marksmanship and his high-priced but antiquated chemically-propelled hunting rifle (dubbed a "smoke-pole" by the marines) saves the expedition countless times (though it also gets him in trouble at least once). Captain Armand Pahner is the commander of Bravo Company, Bronze Battalion of the Empress's Own Regiment, the elite bodyguards charged with protecting the royal family at all costs. A 50-plus year veteran of the Imperial Marines, Pahner is an extremely capable, competent and professionally paranoid individual who possesses a degree of personal calm that is almost frightening and who rarely loses his temper (though Roger's shenanigans manage to unnerve him several times throughout the story). He is a former smoker who now chews gum on a regular, almost ritualized, basis (as seen in the way he unwraps the sticks of gum). While initially disdainful of Roger and constantly at odds with his childish behavior, he does manage to see in Roger the potential of becoming a decent junior commander on the expedition and Roger eventually comes to view him as a surrogate father figure that had been missing in his life. D'nall Cord is a native of the planet Marduk whose life is saved accidentally by Roger. Cord is a Shaman in his tribe, the X'Intai, the very first society Roger and his marines encounter on Marduk. By saving his life, Cord becomes indebted to Roger for all eternity (known as the bond of ''asi'') and is forced to forswear all relationship with his tribe (as if he died) and follow Roger around for the rest of his life. He was mated only once in his past but his mate died in childbirth. As such, he sees his nephews as substitutes to the children he never had. Having studied in his youth in the fabled city of Voitan, Cord is something of a warrior monk and philosopher who trains Roger in the use of the sword, teaches him the meaning of duty as a "chieftain" to his "tribe" and manages to whack some sense into the young prince's head (once quite literally with a blunt object). He serves as the company's guide throughout the story in region where they land. D'nall Denat is one of Cord's nephews. A hunter in his tribe who's experienced in hunting by night, Denat joins the March out of curiosity and his liking of playing card games with Poertena. The March brings out of Denat an amazing talent for languages and a natural flair for intelligence gathering, particularly when he plays the role of a "dumb barbarian", listening in on conversations others believe he can't understand. Eleonora O'Casey is Roger's chief of staff and former tutor. Holding multiple doctorates in sociology, political sciences and human history, O'Casey manages to help the company in their interactions with the locals, serving as both interpreter and political adviser. However, her main area of expertise is Imperial politics and she has a great deal of knowledge in the inner workings and Byzantine plots in the Royal Court (including the reasons for the repudiation of Roger's father, from the Court). She is a city girl who is unused to the horrifying conditions of Marduk, and spends much of March in complete agony (though she eventually adapts). Kostas Matsugae is Roger's valet and manservant who becomes the company's caravan chief. Kostas is mousey and fussy as he likes to provide Roger with all creature comforts possible (such as fine clothes and good food), even on Marduk. He's also a kind and charitable soul who essentially believes that really terrible things don't happen "in this day and age". While merely a civilian, Kostas is a trusted imperial servator and the only person, prior to hitting Marduk, who is close to Roger. Eva Kosutic is the senior NCO in Bravo Company and an extremely competent and experienced combat veteran. A native of the planet Armagh, Kosutic is a Satanist priestess, with a wry sense of humor and a matter-of-fact attitude. She constantly presses the troops to maintain their discipline, professionalism and paranoia as members of the elite Empress's Own and she knows more about the troops and Captain Pahner than anyone (including Pahner himself). Julio Poertena is the armorer for Bravo Company. A native of the planet Pinopa and from a non-English speaking household, Poertena speaks with a heavy accent, enjoys swearing a lot and is something of a joker. He is also an Olympic class swimmer (his home world being mostly made up of archipelagos) and an avid gambler who carries a deck of cards with him everywhere he goes and he introduces the Mardukans to card games (and managing to swindle those who play against him). His professional approach to dealing with recalcitrant weapons and armor is to beat them with a meter-long Stilson adjustable wrench (dubbed his "pick pocking wrench") until it shapes up or ships out. He carries around a huge rucksack that contains everything a first-class armory would need (though not a kitchen sink - the marines asked). Adib Julian is one of the senior NCOs in the company and the former company armorer. Dubbed "the laughing warrior" by Cord, Julian tends to become humorous in the face of danger and joke around a lot, particularly at the expense of his strait-laced Asgardian best friend Gronningen. His opinion of Roger is not particularly high initially, though it changes as the story progresses. Nimashet Despreaux is a squad commander in Bravo company. She is beautiful and vulnerable yet also tough and very dangerous. She manages to draw Prince Roger's interest to her as a woman despite all the Prince's formidible self-control where women are concerned, an interest that appears mutual from the very beginning and causes her to be much more sympathetic towards the Prince. Warrant Officer Mike "Doc" Dobresceau is one of the shuttle pilots who land the company on Marduk. He became a pilot after serving as a Raider medic, trained to perform surgery in the field on combat injuries. His inclusion on the March turns out to be extremely fortuitous, since none of the doctors from the ''DeGlopper'' could come along. Mark & John St. John are identical twins who serve in Bravo Company, with John being the hard-working, smart and capable NCO and Mark being the fighter. While the two maintain a low-level sibling argument throughout the March over every possible topic - from pranks in bygone days to who their mother loves more - they cover each other's backs at all times. Their first sergeant had ordered them to have a distinguishable mark on their bodies at all times (because he couldn't tell them apart) and as such Mark always shaves the left side of his head. Empress Alexandra VII is the ruler of the Empire of Man and Roger's mother. Their relationship is strained due to Roger's similarity in appearance and behavior to his hated father and because Alexandra has been forced to spend most her time away from him, dealing with the many internal crises that are destabilizing the empire (though she spent much more time with him as a baby). After discovering New Madrid's connections to the Adoula Cabal and consequently expelling him from court, Alexandra considered terminating her pregnancy with Roger (who'd been in a uterine replicator at the time) but eventually decided against it. While highly intelligent and competent, she admits she's not good at dealing with the "personal stuff" in her life. Xiya Kan is king of the city-state Q'Nkok, the first city the Marines visit on Marduk. King Xyia is a moderate ruler who is forced to contend with an endless number of plots directed against him and the independent merchants of the city by the various great houses of the city; he longs to rid himself of them permanently. Though a member of a technologically primitive race, he is by no means unsophisticated or foolish and knows that direct action is not always the best choice. He happily collaborates with the Marines to expose a plot directed at Cord's people (and threatens war between Q'Nkok and the X'Intai) and later on assists the marines with funds and support that are crucial for their journey. T'Leen Targ is a Voitanese veteran of the Kranolta wars and a weapons dealer in Q'Nkok who sells a Katana-like sword to Kosutic for Prince Roger. Though a giant even by Mardukan standards and a warrior in his past, his fighting days are long since over after losing his left true-arm at the elbow and sustaining numerous other wounds. Both his horns are capped with "wickedly sharp" bronze points, and a hook has replaced his left true-arm. After seeing the marines in action in Q'Nkok and hearing that they plan to travel through Kranolta territory, he contacts his fellow Voitan and T'an K'tass survivors, seeing an opportunity to reclaim Voitan once more. Radj Hoomas is king of the city-state of Marshad. An extremely ambitious and devious individual, he seeks to use the Marines in his quest to conquer the Hadur region and unify it under his rule. To that end, he attempts to poison Prince Roger and his commanders, not realizing how alien they truly are. As a result of past actions of his father, Radj Hoomas is the sole land owner and has used his position to accumulate more and more power and treasure at the expense of others, including his own subjects (who live in crushing poverty). Kheder Bijan is the head of the Marshad secret police and a self-proclaimed "tinker". While crafty and outwardly loyal to Raj Hoomas, he joins with the marines to topple the king to install himself as monarch. In turn, he tries to renege on his promises to allow the marines out of the city fully supplied and use them as Raj Hoomas wanted to use them (to conquer the region). T'Leen Sena is a female "intelligence operative" of sorts in Marshad. Raised in the Voitan ways - where females had much greater standing than in Marshad (or elsewhere for that matter) - she is very independent, strong-willed and capable. She is trained in the ''enat'' fighting techniques which make a fairly dangerous individual as well, but is equally capable at remaining unabtrusive and docile-looking which permits her to blend into the background. Dogzard is a pet Roger picks up at Cord's village. Once the runt of the litter, she grows enormously during the March and follows Roger around slavishly, constantly looking either for food or a fight (or usually both). Patty is one of the ''flar-ta'' pack animals the company employs. While similar to the wild ''flar-ke'' beasts the ''flar-ta'' are much more docile, though Patty seems to have some ''flar-ke'' DNA in her (as seen in her tendency to fight mean and not run away from a fight). Roger develops an unusual rapport with the beast that allows him to use her as a war steed, plowing his way through enemies and letting her do most of the work. It is Roger who gives her this human name since she reminds him of a "Patricia" he once knew in boarding school. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「March Upcountry」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|