Andreas Rosboch's Blog, page 42

The Apocalypse Troll – David Weber

In the future, mankind is winning the war against the Kangas. But the enemy attempts to send troops back in time to Earth 2007. Only one Kanga unit, a deadly Troll, remains alive in 2007 after mankind tries to stop the plan. But a human from the future also survives… And so it begins.

The idea of only one "future human" surviving is entertaining, and Weber on a bad day is still better than many authors on a good one. However, I did feel that Mr. Weber was treading water here. The plot is predictable and somewhat prosaic. The ending is a bit too syrupy and well tied up. The good guys are a bit too good. A nice way to spend an afternoon or two, but nothing fantastic.

The Shadow of Saganami (Saganami I) – David Weber

This is the first of a spin off in the Honor Harrington series. It starts off by dealing with the next generation of midshipmen. Helen Zilwicki, one of the characters created by Eric Flint for the Honorverse, is prominently featured.

I was disappointed with the first 300 pages but after that the book rapidly picks up the pace and shows true Honorverse form. It is a shame that Weber has descended into verbose overflow. Yes, David, I understood what you meant after the first sentence. You don't need to re-explain and expand for another overly long paragraph. It slows down the action too much.

I would recommend this for the Honor Harrington fan, but not as a first taste of Weber. There is too much background information that needs to be known to make it enjoyable as a first foray.

Note: This series is also known as Saganami Island.

Crown of Slaves (Wages of Sin I) – David Weber & Eric Flint

This is the first of a spinoff series in the the Honor Harrington Universe. My guess is that Flint is doing most of the writing since he is the one who came up with the Zilwicki characters in the Honorverse anthologies.

All the way through reading the book, I kept thinking that Weber and Flint can do much better than this. While the characters are engaging, the plot is lackluster. There's a lot of interesting material here, but it just doesn't feel like the high adventure it's supposed to be. The whole thing is rather construed and feels forced. The first half is very dull, but the novel thankfully picks up during the second half. And then there's the endless exposition; just as in the later works by Weber, the explanations drone on and on. If I hadn't been a fan of the Honorverse, I would probably not have finished the book.

Kris Longknife – Daring (Kris Longknife IX) – Mike Shepherd

United Sentients, led by Wardhaven, takes action to find the cause for the Iteeche ships that are disappearing, a topic introduced in Undaunted. Kris, as commander of a patrol squadron, is ordered to lead an exploration into very deep space. Various other states, prominently including the Greenfeld Empire, decide they need to go along. Kris finds herself in the lead of a rather large fleet of exploration, though not in command. The political machinations make her life complicated. The main action starts when the fleet actually finds a race of aliens who devastate and plunder other civilizations. Any attempt at contact is met by immediate aggression. Kris must now save a race that is not even aware of humanity's existence, and survive in order to report her findings.

This is the first time since Defiant that the series has set our heroes with their backs to the wall in a real win or die situation with immense stakes. Kris must battle the demons of her past to do the right thing, even if her actions will likely lead to condemnation on her return to base. Shepherd skillfully continues developing Kris as a heroine who deserves happiness but whose background and sense of duty prevent it. Unlike many other long series, Shepherd dares to reinvent this one and kill off key characters, keeping the whole thing fresh and exciting.

Note: Shepherd has previously written about our heroine's great-grandfather Raymond under his real name, Mike Moscoe.

Crusade (Starfire I) – David Weber & Steve White

Naval military science fiction which unfortunately is not especially good.

Note that although it was published second, this novel is first in the series chronologically.

We Few (Empire of Man IV) – David Weber & John Ringo

The final book in the Empire of Man series has the ever smaller band finally getting off the planet Marduk. But their problems aren't over. The Empire is in the hands of traitors who claim that Prince Roger is the real traitor. The bad buys also hold Roger's mother, the Empress, under psychological control. This one is a departure for the series, with space battles and high level political intrigue. While still a cracking read, it suffers from Weber's datadump writing at times. The action will stop and one is subjected to two or three pages of long-winded explanation about some pet political or tactical point. Having said that, if you liked the first three books, you will enjoy this one just fine.

March to the Stars (Empire of Man III) – David Weber & John Ringo

The third book in the Empire of Man series continues in the same vein as the previous two. The band discovers that their problems far  from over even if they manage to get off Marduk. After a hefty bodycount (most of it in the last 100 pages) we are left hanging until the next book.

Note: This series is also known as the Prince Roger Series or the March Upcountry series.

March to the Sea (Empire of Man II) – David Weber & John Ringo

The second installment of the Empire of Man series starts slow but gets much better towards the end. Weber's obsessive verboseness unfortunately shows up here and there. Real people just don't talk like that. There is lots of enjoyable discussion about weapons development, although a couple of drawings would have been nice for us mere mortals.

Note: This series is also known as the Prince Roger Series or the March Upcountry series.

March Upcountry (Empire of Man I) – David Weber & John Ringo

In the first book of the Empire of Man series, Crown Prince Roger is a spoiled, annoying brat. When his ship is sabotaged and crashes in the wilderness on a backwater planet, he is forced to rough it towards civilization with a company of Marines from the Imperial Guard. Very enjoyable military science fiction.

Note: This series is also known as the Prince Roger Series or simply the March Upcountry series.

The Dahak Series – David Weber

A human pilot finds out that the moon is in fact a giant warship left there by the mutinous crew that turns out to have originall colonized the Earth. Our hero inherits an age old conflict. The premise is way out there, but these three books are good military science fiction, and a great deal of fun. The series consists of:

Mutineers' Moon
The Armageddon Inheritance
Heirs of Empire

The three books have now been republished in the Empire from the Ashes omnibus.