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I'd go with Benedict of Amber, his backstory makes more sense for the claim Isaac Send a noteboard - 15/01/2010 08:34:57 PM
Considering how limited, unrealistic, and flat wrong the tactics or strategies employed by military geniuses in fiction tend to be, I'd say the only way to evaluate them would be 'whose backstory actually makes sense for the title of best general?', the alternative basically being to try to decide which author understood strategy best and which character they used as a proxy to discuss it, in which case RJ has a better claim than most, and I can't think of any actual generals who have written scifi fantasy, though I think I'd like to read them if they exist.

Such being the case, Benedict wins out, he's a millenia old near-demigod and spends tons of time watching battles then watching their alternate realities with minor changes, he's commanded forces big and small in places from the normal to the surreal, I'd say as major characters where descriptions are given, he probably deserves to have the title, after that Cauthon's claim is pretty solid, as opposed to Ender for instance, since Mat has the memories of a bunch of generals, thus vast experience. In the symbolic sense of things, benedict actually launched a succesful attack on the Gates of Hell in book 5 of amber, which is pretty impressive ;)
The intuitive mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift.
- Albert Einstein

King of Cairhien 20-7-2
Chancellor of the Landsraad, Archduke of Is'Mod
This message last edited by Isaac on 15/01/2010 at 08:36:56 PM
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Sci-Fi / Fantasy 's greatest strategist / tacticians - 12/01/2010 08:33:14 PM 1514 Views
Re: Sci-Fi / Fantasy 's greatest strategist / tacticians - 13/01/2010 12:46:55 AM 1017 Views
Croaker from the Black Company *NM* - 13/01/2010 02:07:44 AM 428 Views
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Seconded *NM* - 14/01/2010 09:50:06 AM 420 Views
Only military? Because otherwise, I'd say Verin. - 13/01/2010 05:11:27 AM 930 Views
thrawn *NM* - 13/01/2010 05:31:03 AM 384 Views
Hell yeah. *NM* - 13/01/2010 11:24:17 PM 389 Views
Ender Wiggin *NM* - 13/01/2010 04:16:12 PM 455 Views
But... - 14/01/2010 02:45:56 PM 944 Views
You could probably put in many people from Battle School. *NM* - 14/01/2010 10:23:55 PM 430 Views
this! *NM* - 19/01/2010 05:17:17 PM 403 Views
General Tacticus from the Discworld series *NM* - 13/01/2010 05:01:22 PM 420 Views
Miles Vorkosigan *NM* - 13/01/2010 05:43:12 PM 419 Views
OK. Those look like good books. I must remember to find them. *NM* - 14/01/2010 07:41:53 AM 402 Views
Totally agree! - 14/01/2010 05:00:42 PM 786 Views
Yes! First character I thought of! *NM* - 18/01/2010 09:39:37 PM 400 Views
Tenaka Khan (Gemmel), Thrawn (Zhan), Ineluki (Williams) *NM* - 13/01/2010 11:40:46 PM 367 Views
I'd go with Benedict of Amber, his backstory makes more sense for the claim - 15/01/2010 08:34:57 PM 809 Views
Aye, that's something I wonder. - 15/01/2010 08:45:33 PM 743 Views
Napoleon from Napoleon And The Conquest Of The World - 15/01/2010 08:47:35 PM 744 Views
... - 15/01/2010 08:49:52 PM 743 Views
I have never it read it myself - 15/01/2010 09:02:47 PM 730 Views
Oh. - 15/01/2010 09:08:34 PM 815 Views
well I was thinking about reading it and I probably will when I have time - 16/01/2010 06:38:39 PM 787 Views
He shouldn't have started a land war in Asia. - 16/01/2010 07:07:10 PM 743 Views
inconceivable! - 16/01/2010 08:08:44 PM 893 Views
Worked OK fo Alexander the Great - 18/01/2010 02:13:07 AM 730 Views
You know, Genghis Kahn didn't really have a problem either. - 18/01/2010 02:17:47 AM 717 Views
Parmenion, the Lion of Macedon by David Gemmell... - 16/01/2010 11:16:34 AM 828 Views
Oooh, good call. I'd switch my Khan for this. *NM* - 17/01/2010 05:33:30 PM 393 Views
Yes, Parmenion, the genius behind Alexander's entire conquest... - 17/01/2010 08:38:33 PM 767 Views
Rodrigo Belmonte, anyone? - 19/01/2010 01:55:14 PM 857 Views
But Dassem is his general... *NM* - 19/01/2010 05:27:43 PM 388 Views
Yes, but his is the evil plottingness. - 19/01/2010 07:52:18 PM 1031 Views
Obviously Richard Rahl - 20/01/2010 04:18:45 PM 792 Views

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