David Weber has said that we'll get a much better view of the Arcanan side and how they aren't all monsters in the third book. So far, we've really seen no Arcanans outside front line military except for the two diplomats.
I can totally see people acting the way the Arcanans have acted with very few of them being evil. The first clash, Garlath's cowardice, and Thalmayr's stupidity are all the kind of thing that happens in real life. Mul Gurthak using war as a political maneuver and Skirvon acting in his own best interest by supporting mul Gurthak (who appears to have bought Skirvon's assistance) are also possible, maybe plausible. And troops abusing prisoners when they're furious at something they think the other side has done certainly happens. Harshu was apparently ordered to attack, though he doesn't seem to have felt reservations about it. Given that he apparently has at least some honor and reasonableness, that was probably the least likely thing I saw about the Arcanan conduct.
But I was also disappointed that there was no Sharonian misconduct. The Sharonians are supposed to be just as mad about Shaylar's death as the Arcanans are about vos Halathyn's, yet they don't act that way. Not even one Sharonian hit any Arcanan as far as we know, even against orders (they weren't gentle when taking prisoners at Fort Salby, but nothing was said about abuse). That bothers me some, just like it does in the Safehold series. Chava and the Seneschal are certainly Sharonian bad guys, and we'll probably see more crimes out of them in the next two books, but I hope we'll also see common Sharonians suffering from human weaknesses and doing criminal acts in war. (An odd thing to hope for, I know, but it would make them more human and the story more realistic.)
And no, not all Sharonian rulers are happy to surrender their sovereignty. But Ternathia is very powerful and he has the support of several of the other powerful countries. Almost all of which seem to have once been part of the Ternathian Empire. And I suspect that their stating their Glimpses of war has frightened others. Enough to carry the ruling, anyway.
As for the Caliraths being too wonderful, David Weber is very fond of writing stories with a powerful family and/or monarchy that is strong-willed, highly ethical, and with a very strong sense of duty. Almost every series has one, and many of the stand-alones. The Caliraths are far from unusual, though they've certainly lasted longer than most. I wouldn't be in the least surprised to discover that Arcana has an equivalent, probably Jasak's father and many of the other Andarans.
The fact that the side ruled by said monarchy doesn't do anything really wrong is also not unusual for him. He's very good when writing about good guys on the "bad" side (I put it in quotes, because it's rarely true evil, usually just weakness and corruption), but not as strong (in my opinion) in writing about bad guys (I mean cruelties and evil acts by otherwise good people, not the few corrupt or venal people) on the "good" side. But I have yet to find an author that doesn't have some sort of pattern or areas where they aren't very good, and DW has a lot fewer of those than most, so I find his books an excellent read anyway.
Karthak wrote:I'm just disappointed because I'm almost at the end of the first book, and all the asshattery so far has been Arcanan. When I picked up the series I thought it was going to be about two sides who were equally in the wrong, as it were. Instead we get one side making all the mistakes, and the other being practically saintly.
Also doesn't help that I find the Arcanan PoVs much more interesting than the Sharonian ones, especially with how the narrative keeps beating us on the head about how wonderful the Ternathian royal family is...(I'm not effing buying that every nation except the Uromathians would be so eager to surrender their sovereignity)
