The Antagonists is not totally successful, although it includes most of Gann's typical techniques. Once again, memory flashbacks provide most of the story, and Gann's careful research adds to the sense of documentary realism.

The time sequence is also restricted, although suspense suffers because of the historical outcome — always a difficulty with historical fiction; the general lack of action heightens the sense of the soldiers' boredom, but also adds to the reader's impatience when encountering yet another long reflection on the same character's past.

Gann's consistent workmanlike prose contains few attempts at "fine writing" which obscure meaning; likewise, he uses few metaphors and similes, but those that occur are usually appropriate, as in the boating imagery used by Eleazar. In general, Gann has not developed significantly as a writer, nor has he needed to. The success of his books depends far more on...