We Lead The Way: David Petraeus In Westeros
is a sort-of crossover inserting the real-life US Army General David Petraeus into A Song of Ice and Fire.
The story actually starts three days after Petraeus wakes up in the body of a common archer in the army of Lord Robert Baratheon of Storm's End in the early days of Robert's Rebellion. Petraeus is taken from 2011 when he was commanding US forces in Afghanistan, before he became the Director of the CIA (which is how he hasn't heard of Game of Thrones).
Recurring tropes in We Lead The Way include:
- Badass Creed: "We Lead The Way", motto of the US Army Rangers.
- From Nobody to Nightmare: Likely to become this in the eyes of the Westerosi nobility. A common-born soldier turned into a military genius with new and deadly weapons.
- Genre Savvy: Played with. Petraeus certainly has not read the books, but he is a decorated general from the 21st century and quite knowledgeable about history (although he wishes he'd taken more history electives at West Point).
- Giving Radio to the Romans:
Word of God is that he'll introduce gunpowder. His real impact will be modern tactics and military doctrine. - Older Than They Look: Physically, Petraeus is 19. Mentally, he is 59. And by the time the plot of the books rolls around, he'll be past 70.
