"Legend of the Galactic Heroes" Vol. 1

Politics...in...spaaaaaace!

"Legend of the Galactic Heroes: Dawn" (LOGH) is the first volume of the English translation of (in my opinion) the greatest TV show ever made. The author Yoshiki Tanaka is known for his historical writing style, which comes through clearly in the novelization. Though it's set centuries in the future, "Legend of the Galactic Heroes" explores issues that are incredibly relevant today, such as the problems with various forms of government, the tension between regressive religious doctrines and the modern economy, terrorism, when war is justified, and much more.

In the future, humans colonized the stars, but over time society lost its cohesiveness and vitality:

Social lifestyles and culture steadily decayed. People lost sight of their proper values and gave themselves over to drug abuse, alcoholism, promiscuity, and mysticism. Crime rates skyrocketed, while arrest rates fell in inverse proportion. The tendency to make little of human life and to ridicule morality grew increasingly pronounced.

Of course, there were many who lamented the phenomena, who could not stand to sit idly by while humanity in its decadence marched toward the same miserable fate that had awaited the dinosaurs.

They believed that drastic treatment of humanity's collective illness was needed, and in this they were not mistaken. But when they selected their favored form mof medication, the majority opted not for the kind of long-term therapy that requires endurance and perseverance–instead, they quaffed a fast-acting elixir that came with many side effects.

This was the powerful drug called "dictatorship."

The dictator Rudolph von Goldenbaum crowns himself emperor of the galaxy, and republican forces flee the settled planets to form their own government. When the story begins, sporadic conflict between the absolute monarchy of the Galactic Empire and the democratic Free Planets Alliance has continued for over a century, and the governments continue fighting primarily out of ideology and inertia.

The first book follows the early careers of rivals Yang Wenli of the Free Planets Alliance and Reinhard von Lohengramm of the Galactic Empire as they rise through the military ranks of their respective nations. But fundamentally, LOGH is a clear-eyed case study of democracy and autocracy, the strengths and weaknesses of each, and the kinds of people who prefer one or the other. Both sides have their share of admirable and despicable characters, and propaganda aside, neither can truthfully claim to have a just cause.

My highly subjective rating: I think the show is a better introduction to Tanaka's intricate, historically plausible world, but this book is a welcome reprise with enough additional context and subtle differences to be interesting, and I'll certainly be picking up the other volumes.