Laughing Wolf
Saturday, March 24, 2007
Book Review: Hell’s Gate
The second book David gave me last summer was Hell’s Gate. It also poses a most interesting question: what happens when two civilizations, one founded on magic and the other founded on technology (and psi) encounter each other under the worst possible circumstances?
This collaboration with Linda Evans looks at what does happen, and is simply outstanding. It is richly textured, with outstanding characters and characterizations, imagery, and all the historical and realistic underpinnings that can take a novel to an even higher level. It simply is one of the best fiction/action books I have read in some time, with elements of fantasy, science fiction, and historical fiction woven into a delightful tapestry that enthrals, entertains, and even teaches a bit. The collaboration between David Weber and Linda Evans brings out the best in both, and works on a level I’ve not seen since Jane Lindskold collaborated with the late, great, Roger Zelazny.
No more, for to get into why I like it so much would spoil. Simply trust me and go read it, and while you are off doing that, I plan to read the next book in the series.
LW
Friday, March 23, 2007
Book Review: Off Armageddon Reef
Crossposted at Blackfive.
A joke of sorts: How do you tell the difference between a Weber novel and a Ringo novel? David kills off humanity in large cataclysmic events. Ringo hunts them down and kills them individually.
The basic concept of the joke is stolen (thanks David!), but is in some ways not far off the mark. The question to my mind is who is the more devious about it and has the most fun with it…
That said, David Weber has outdone himself on that and other areas in Off Armageddon Reef. The book in some ways goes back to some of the plot and underlying concepts in his Empire from the Ashes series. Indeed, one will find enough similarities that it can cause concern; yet, those would be misplaced. While part of the plot is very similar to the series, and many names and considerations are similar to the last book in particular, it is not simply a rehash. Rather, many of the characters have similar names because of historic and philosophical issues and people that underlie the concepts.
What has been done is the creation of a new universe and a new series that explores a variety of concepts in a new and novel fashion, from religious and military history to gender identity, from the rights of individuals to ways in which power is so often abused by those who find themselves with what appears to be absolute power. By the end of the book, the major characters are fully fleshed and any concerns about rehash are out with the trash.
The read is compelling, informative, and fun. It is still in the bookstores as a hardcover, and I do recommend it—and not just for Weber fans. As with most Weber books, though it is well grounded in history and philosophy, it also echos the events of today on a level that reminds me very much of the Honor series. Go check it out.
LW
Who also says “Thanks David! Sorry it took so long!!”
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Book Review: A Deeper Blue
Crossposted at Blackfive
This is going to be a difficult review, for two large reasons. First, I never did post my review of Unto The Breach that I promised a long time ago (on a blog far, far away?). Second, there is a safety issue that throws me for a loop. Your mileage will vary, but for me it broke the suspension of disbelief.
The first part is easy to deal with: Unto The Breach is one of the best, if not the best, thing I’ve ever read by John Ringo. It all works together and comes together with authority and power. The parts that offend some are not out in full force, though there is a scene which, though quite funny, did leave me desiring some minds-eye bleach for the visual it inspired as the wrong person was in chaps. At least in my, highly biased, opinion. That said, it was the best written, best balanced, best nuanced book so far—and it continues the tradition of exploring facts and philosophy behind any number of topics including combat.
Yet, this is a problem too, for it was so well done that I expected that and more with A Deeper Blue. The book is a good read, and continues the Ringo traditions including discussions of fact and philosophy. There is a high body count, scum get what they deserve (some wonderful twists there), and we are treated to seeing even more character development and set-ups for what is to come.
My problems come from two scenes that break my suspension of disbelief.
The first one revolves around a high-level staff meeting. Having sat through some fairly high-level meetings, I will say that I would pay cash money to see what happens in the book happen at some such meetings. It is a dream, and, for me at least, the dream did not work—no matter how much I wish it could.
The second issue involves electrical safety. Yes, electrical safety. There is a scene that if done in real life will kill the person involved, and is done only by amateur idiots (as in the plot to this mystery) or those who don’t care/want to kill a person.
When you work with electricity, from wiring a house to working on electronics, you get taught a number of important lessons. The prime one being that one does NOT create a path across the heart, for if you disrupt and/or fry your sinoatrial node, you are toast. Period. Doesn’t matter if it is household current or radio frequency, if you set up a path that takes the current across the heart, bad things can and do happen. Trust me on this, as I have been incredibly lucky on that count. As a cocky high school kid, I didn’t bother with those rules doing some “quick work” on a silly scope that ended up sending me flying across a room (and I am lucky did not damage or kill me). A somewhat older and more cautious me has still had a couple of things happen that did interesting things—and made me even more cautious.
For that reason, this particular violation really blew things for me. It not only pulled me out of book space, it also raised a number of other questions for me and rather dimmed my enjoyment of the book. That said, I would urge you to read the book and decide for yourself. Most people are not going to get the same knock to suspension of disbelief as did I, and the book is indeed well worth the read. While I don’t think it was as good as Unto The Breach, it is still a good read and shows growth for characters and for author.
All-in-all, it is a good read and I do recommend it. If you have not yet read Unto The Breach, then you really, really do need to get it and read it first. Trust me on that. While I don’t think A Deeper Blue is up to that level, I also think it is a hard standard to meet. Enjoy both of them, and let me know what you think.
LW
Content copyright C. Blake Powers and the individual authors. Comments become the property of C. Blake Powers and may be altered, edited, deleted, and used by C. Blake Powers or the individual authors without restriction or recompense.
