Books like Prince of Sparta

Fascism, how I have missed thee! I went through a mil-SF phase in the 90's, voraciously reading anything from Warworld over the Drakaverse to Hammer's Slammers, and of course the Falkenberg series. I found the latter thoroughly distopian, even on the side of the 'good guys', which I ascribed to SF's "myriads of viewpoints" until finding out about JP's political side. Still, I did like the books back then, so I decided to go on a Falkenberg rereading binge, so this review is about the whole series. Yes the politics are still distastefull: Falkenberg's still the icecold Übermensch ex Machina, he still massacres an entire political movement, and in Prince of Sparta the Legion still installs a fascist fratboy monarch as Emperor of all mankind, by the grace of God. So why is this any good? Well, it does everything you expect from mil-SF, and it does it well. There's a touch of Hornblower, a lot of Kipling, and all the historical references you could ever wish for, from Belisarius to the fall of Berlin (elderly citizens manning roadblocks with the Collinsjugend..err..I mean Eagle Scouts spotting targets :-D ), Pournelle knows his stuff and likes to show it. Also, though Pournelle's personal preferences are obvious (see the annoying Dr. Whitlock's rants), he does allow for all sides to make their points. In this way, I see the Falkenberg series as a cautionary tale, showing how both ends of the political spectrum can slide down the slippery slope of good intentions towards the ruin of mankind. And that makes it much more than a mere good adventure story (which it most certainly is).