Off To A Foreign Land
The Steel, the Mist, and the Blazing Sun
By Christopher Anvil

6 Jul, 2025
Because My Tears Are Delicious To You
Christopher Anvil’s 1980 The Steel, the Mist, and the Blazing Sun is (almost) a stand-alone post-apocalyptic proto-military SF novel.
The atomic unpleasantness left half of North America as slag lands1, and left Europe untouched but a Russ dependency. The Russ even established colonies on the North American east coast. It seemed unlikely that the invaders would ever be forced to leave. After all, the Russ have (dwindling) stores of Old Stuff, whereas the descendants of American and Canadian survivors make do with far more primitive equipment.
Recent events proved that the Russ were curiously vulnerable. Under Arakal, King of the Wesdem O’Cracys2, the North American savages somehow overcame their technological and ideological impediments, outmaneuvered their enemy, and drove the Russ high command from North America.
What next?