A Savage War Of Peace (Ark Royal Book 5)

I generally enjoy Mr. Nuttall's stories and the way he writes them. The Ark Royal series has been a fun read and the continuation of the universe into the Warspite branch of this family seemed to be well on it's way to being another good investment. Unfortunately this installment wasn't' a story in my eyes as much as it was a bundle of stuffing to buffer you for the real story to come.

This book sidelined the main characters and focus (the Warspite herself in this instance) so that a bad prequel political drama could unfold. I can only assume that the intent was to set the stage for a major war arc (which I want to read) but wasted my time with a story I feel was best left to the Prelude introduction chapter of the war book itself.

Would have been better with out the homosexual character... that added nothing to the story. I'll not be reading the next installment.. tired of having the homosexual agenda foisted upon me at every turn.

While I think Nutell can string a decent plot together the prose are really poor. It feels like he fed a storyline into a computer with very limited phrasing. The repetition became very irritating towards the end.

Compared to the previous books in the series this story was a disappointment and I would recommend that you don't read it as it would spoil what came before it. I found this story very slow and difficult read which is why it took me so long to finish. I read three other books in between as I kept putting it down.

This is the second episode of the “Warspite” trilogy, with the same cast of characters, including Captain John Naiser and Percy Schneider, being sent back to Vesy. Percy’s reporter sister is also part of the trip. Unfortunately for them, the British are not the only ones interested in Vesy, its aliens and its very strategic system. So are a number of other powers and one of these (I guess I can mention it is India, since another reviewer has “spilt the beans” already) has decided to engineer a tale over of the planet and system through a rather devious plot of which I will say no more.

Another reviewer has mentioned the irony of having India using the same methods as the ones used during the 18th century by Britain to take-over India at the time. While there is some limited truth in this, with the British and the French supporting various Kingdoms and ex-Provinces of the Moghul Empire which they helped to destabilise and overthrow, the parallel should not be over-emphasised or pushed too far. Unlike the Vesy, which are shown as a pre-gunpowder society made up of rival city states at war with each other, India in the late 17th and early 18th was dominated by a sophisticated if declining Empire. It was also both very rich and had gunpowder, cannons and muskets, at least in some regions, even if these may not have been as efficient as the weapons that the Europeans brought in and traded with the various Rajahs in exchange of commercial and political advantages.

Again, and instead of the large space battles that were one of the main features of the Ark Royal trilogy, what you get in this episode is mostly about politics, plots and intrigues, at least until the take-over takes place. When this happens, you do get a fair amount of ground action as the British and their allies (and the Royal Marines in particular) try to extricate themselves from a rather difficult situation. One minor regret I had here is that, once again, the story is exclusively told from the British versus Indian viewpoint. There is, for instance, nothing on how their American and French allies fair, to mention just these two. There is also, and perhaps surprisingly, little Chinese involvement and, as in all of the previous volumes in the two trilogies so far, there is little to no explanation as to how Britain became a Major Power and the Royal Navy a major fleet once again.

Another mild disappointment is that while I did find the story interesting and even exciting at times, it was rather predictable. In addition, and like others, I am not too keen on “cliff hangers” and I did get the distinctive feeling that this volume, although not bad, was more of a filler than anything else. Accordingly, and despite having enjoyed this one, I cannot rate it more than three stars. I will, however, certainly read the next instalment which I hve already ordered…

This book shows very well how political can make a mess out of something because they have no point of reference when it comes to a military situation. As if it were torn from the pages of today's news paper.
The characters are believable and quite well developed by the author. You want to care about them and their plight. I found myself cheering for both sides in this case because the political jackals actually screwed both sides. Well worth the read.

Thank god a friend had this already. Saved me wasting money on it. The other books in this series were far superior to this. The story felt forced and uninspiring. The crew felt superflouous to the entire story. It really isn't a book about the ship or captain but rather about the embassy's mission on the planet, which they thoroughly botch at every turn.

The previous book, while not as good as the original Triology, was far better than this. I was really excited about this book until I read it. Thankfully I didn't pay for it. Additionally the increase in price is a slap in the face considering the quality is sub par compared to his previous (and less expensive) books.

In an interesting turn, Mr. Nuttall shifts his storytelling to political intrigue in the setting of an advanced society (intentionally or not) preparing to steamroll a primitive one, each power jockeying for best position. Definitely an interesting read; I look forward to the conclusion.