A Novel in the Safehold Series (#1) - Off Armageddon Reef

This is the first book I have read by David Weber. I mean no insult to him, or his fans but I have to say there were times when I almost gave up on this book and put it on the shelf (To later list for resale on Ebay!)

""IT WAS A RELIEF TO FINISH IT!""

Too much "POLITICS!" I realize politics (IN MODERATION!) can make a good story,, but that is all this book is!! Maybe that is the "POINT!" but I had a hard time with it. If I had known this was a "Political S.F." novel I would have thought twice about buying it.

There were too many characters that you had to remember or you would lose track of the story. The index in the back was not much help.

The story was way too long. (I think that is my main issue with it.) I will say it started off very good and there were some good moments toward the end: Some good Naval battles! Although the battle strategies did not make much sense to me. I am a landlubber though, so what do I know??

After slogging through it I expected more than a "TO BE CONTINUED" ending.

I can't remember when I first started reading David Weber's work - I suspect it was when I stumbled across his Bolo short stories - but for years, I've enjoyed his books, even to the point of forking out extra readies to get the ARC versions from Baen.

Unfortunately, while I continue to follow the Honorverse and wait in hope of another entry in the War Gods series, I'm rapidly losing interest in the Safehold series. And the reason for this is simple: we've pretty much seen all of it before.

Humanity fleeing to an unknown planet in a bid to escape a hostile alien race? That was the central theme in Bolo! /and/ the final book in the Dahak series.

A world dominated by a technology-hating religious organisation? Again, that was the central theme of the final Dahak book - and one of the major plot-threads in the Honorverse centers around a planet of technology-hating religious fanatics.

A small group of off-worlders using advanced technology to uplift civilisation and beat the tar out of pre-industrial armies? Welcome to Dahak, March Upcountry - and to a lesser extent, The Apocalpyse Troll, The Excaliber Alternative, the War Gods short story Sword Brother and the (co-authored) 1632 series

Long, heavily detailed political story-threads, inspired by European pre-industrial countries and wars? Why, hello the entire Honorverse, Dahak and 1632!

To be fair, David has written a lot of books (and continues to produce new books at a startling rate of knots), and it's not uncommon for people to revisit themes they've previously touched on. But in this case, it does often feel like you could lift paragraphs - if not entire chapters - from David's previous books, slot them unchanged into Safehold and no-one would be any the wiser...

The scenario is hurriedly defined at the start of the book and the details are relatively irrelevant. When the story gets under way and the concept of bringing a society from midevil technology levels back to interstellar travel levels is really outlined it becomes quite fascinating.

Seemingly simple and isolated technologies which we naturally take for granted or even no longer use today have completely altered and advanced human history.

Yes, it's true, this book has some similarities to Heirs of Empire and In Death Ground. However, this is different enough that it really wasn't predictable. It added a new twist with the way the main character is no completely infallable (like Heirs). Furthermore, this is a bit different for Weber, as it's sea battles, which are new for him, and were done absolutely fabulously. And unlike his New Hell's Gate series, this was very enjoyable and easy to read. Highly recommended for anyone who likes David Weber, Midieval and/or Renaissance Military History, and hardcore Sci-Fi/Fantasy lovers.

Once again, I'm stuck asking why Weber's editor is AWOL. I loved Weber's early work. It was tight and well-written with action-packed plots and believable characters. This story still has a plot with awesome potential and the action sequences remain superb. But they are drowned in endless pages of internal dialog and socio-political background. It's wonderful that Weber's thought out the backstory in such detail but the backstory of a novel should become evident through the main action, not laid out explicitly in chapters of text.

Even the writing style got to be too much for me. I could not believe that he actually wrote that "the thunder roared thunderously". How else would thunder sound? You might forgive that phrase in an author's first novel but Weber is an accomplished writer. Where was the editor for this book? Why didn't someone give Weber some decent advice before sending this to print?

Overall, I'd say that this was a great 200 page story lost in 600 pages of redundancy and plodding background. If you like Weber's earlier work - and I love it - wait for the Readers Digest version.

When I first read about Weber's new series I was rather doubtful; however thanks to a hour spent in the cafe of my second favourite bookshop I hadto revise that opinion (and buy the book).

While the concept is derivative (not least of Weber's own "Heirs of Empire") it's done well. The background feels a little forced but is necessary for the setup.

After the background and setup is over the book begins. And it's good, if a little lite on action until nearly the end.

My one quibble is with the Safehold maps, they are rather unclear and cluttered.

It's remarkable how well Weber can write across his numerous series.

The basic story for the "Safehold Saga" is essentially a retread of the plot of Heirs of Empire. A planet full of descendants from an interstellar empire who have deliberately renounced technology and are under threat from an alien species. That does not, however, make it any less enjoyable. His heroes are all too human, and likeable, the villains aren't just cookie-cutter evil stereotypes. The action is superb and the history lessons he gives you when discussing improvements in naval technology are fascinating. Weber fans will not be disappointed, but if you are new to Weber, I'd suggest beginning with Mutineer's Moon or On Basilisk Station.

If you read Heirs of Empire or March to the Stars then you will notice a lot of similarities. I have a feeling that the next book will be even more similar. Future technological ideas giving one side an extreme advantage during a black powder era of technology. If you don't find this interesting then this probably isn't for you.

I was a little dissapointed with the lack of action for such a large book but it did keep me interested and I had trouble putting it down. I love Weber's style of writing and am looking forward to the next installment.

I bought this book on an impulse, not really expecting to be too impressed with the storyline. And while it's not the BEST Sci-fi I've ever read, I still found it to be a good read. Compelling enough that I fully intend to purchase the rest of the series. I did find that there was a few weak points in the plot, but still overall, well worth the read.

A rite of passage for the best and the brighest in the military sci-fi genre is to write a series which contains pre-20th century warfare, but set in a science fiction setting. The best two examples of this kind of series is David Drake's "Belisarius" series, which just ended recently with the "Dance of Time" novel, and S. M. Stirling and David Drake's "The General" series.

Up until recently, Mr. Weber has concentrated on other subjects. His only attempt at this sub-genre that I am aware of is the third book in the "Dahak" series, "The Heirs of Empire". But recently, Mr. Weber has dived into this sub-genre full force with his "1632" series (with Eric Flint). Now, we see a solo effort with this latest work.

Mr. Weber uses his tried and true "Honor Harrington" style of writing superb science fiction. Start with a larger than life Horatio Hornblower main character, surround them with a likeable cast, make the bad guys worth crushing, and above all, make your stories about the characters themselves, with the technology, the politics, and battles a suitable backdrop.

My only gripe is Mr. Weber is in such demand, seemingly collaborating on five or more novels at the same time, that it may take an excruciating long time before he returns to the planet Safehold. I waited over two years for the final book in David Drake's Belisarius series, please don't make your avid fans wait that long before the sequel to Armageddon Reef, Mr. Weber!

They came in war in the second half of the twenty-fourth century and by the end of the second decade of the twenty-fifth century, the Gbaba Empire had eradicated almost all of humanity. To save mankind from extinction, Admiral Pei Kau-zhi begins Operation Ark in which he and several of the remaining survivors give up their lives as a diversion so a few people can escape in a relatively low tech vessel that would be difficult for the Gbaba to detect and destroy.

Those chosen to live receive false memories, but two of the surviving leaders Chief Administrator Langhorne, and psychologist Bedard add additional servitude directions into the implant without permission. The lesser beings are to worship the Operation Ark's command staff as gods.

By 2499, the colonists have made it to a safe haven planet Safeholden where they outlawed most technology and employed an orbital surveillance program that destroys anything that emits tech spoors. However, by the Year of the Gods 890, centuries after the Command staff deities died, a Personality-Integrated Cybernetic Avatar arises using the name of Nimue Alban, a human who died during the Operation Ark diversion. Her task is to undo the harm caused by the long dead Langhorne and Bedad, but society is male dominant.

As he has done with Honor Harrington, David Weber creates a terrific universe that readers will believe exists as the few remaining humans create a male theocracy on Safeholden that seems so genuine medievalist. Nimue Alban is a terrific protagonist who understands a female will be ignored as women have no rights; she must decide whether to take her chances as a distaff rabble-rouser or switch gender by Merlin into a man. Fans of the author will appreciate his terrific opening tale that as always is epic in proportion, much more than the write up above.

Harriet Klausner

I liked the book and will read the sequels if I remember to get them.

Some critical comments:
1. The book did not mention that it was sequel oriented and I didn't notice until about half way through.More notice would have been nice by the publisher on the cover.

2. The author fell in love with his characters and the book is 100 to 150 pages too long. Drop those pages and you have a tight book. As it is, you get lost, bored and simply don't care for all the details. It does not move the story along and that is a critical flaw for any author.

Otherwise, he is a good writer and I enjoyed the story. What more can you ask of a book.

Longtime Weber fans will instantly recognize this plot as a repeat of Heirs of Empire, only expanded into multiple books. A worthy project, certainly entertaining but the lack or originality kind of gnaws at you. Adding to the bad feeling is the slow and wordy pace with which the plot develops. Since the plot/universe is already familiar there is little entertainment the first 400 or so pages until you get to the battle scenes that makes you a Weber fan. The ending is quite predictable as well.

Really, if you're an old Weber fan, its not that great a book, but you read it because you know there are several more novels in the series and they'll likely be better.

In summary, Heirs of Empire was better, but this is a series.

Better than the Harrington series, so far. At the end of the book I immediately went to the web, looking for the sequel. If you are addicted to video games or have a short attention span this book is not for you. I more than appreciated the details. A fifteenth century epic without most of the worst superstitions. What I liked - very much - were the incredibly rich background materials that effortlessly justified the actions of the characters. Reading this book I almost never came across an episode or character motivation that was unjustified or gratuitous. There were simply no loose ends. That is very rare in any novel, and rarer still in science fiction novels. Ok, the misspelled names were annoying - at least at first - and without a glossary if would be almost impossible to keep up with them. But gradually I became accustomed to them and in the end they added a kind of authenticity to the book. At times it almost seemed I was evesdropping into real historical events. I really look forward to the sequel.

I do not like to write long winded reviews, so I will get straight to the point. This book is 592 pages long. I would estimate that about 40 pages is science fiction. The rest of the book is about political machinations in a medieval, feudalistic society. I found the 40 sci-fi pages interesting. The rest of the book was not bearable- it was boring and had way too much irrelevant detail. I would theorize that the author committed to produce a series of books and therefore needs a huge amount of filler material to meet his commitment.

I have always wanted to write a (Science) Fictional account of how Starship visitors to earth may have gotten stranded here thousands of years ago, and then looked at our Bible from the point of View of them trying to survive on our world amongst indiginous (yet primitive) people of the time... My Friends told me it would be too controversial, and I'm NOT a great writer, so I shelved the idea.

I can rest easy now.. the book has been written FAR better than I EVER could have hoped for or imagined, and the problems inherent in writing that type of book have been deftly sidestepped.

I admit I thought at first, "Great book!", then as I listened more I thought "Oh No, 27 more hours of this".. and then back to "GREAT BOOK!!!!!"

It got back on track of, "GREAT BOOK!", and stayed there... and it's left wide open for, what I hope are, many other books to come.

As an AVID and long term Sci-fi reader, I can usually guess the outcome of each plot or situation as the book goes along, and usually guess the ending pretty closely by about a quarter of the way through a book. A good writer gives you "Choice one, or Choice two" as an outcome of a situation in a book, and it's usually pretty easy to tell which one is coming.

A GREAT writer makes you say, "Ah! A THIRD (or FORTH) choice I didn't see!" And THAT'S really what reading sci-fi is all about, right? The Entertainment, Wonder and stirring of the imagination that seems to become deadened as you read more and become wise (and jaded) in the ways of most writers.

The Only time I think Weber can be better is when He's in League with John Ringo (Which he doesn't seem to be in this book).. but the book is simply awesome. I would have given it a 5 star rating, except it's not "Altered Carbon".

***** I am glad to see Fine Authors putting out more thought provoking and deep sci-fi, rather than the pabulum that is usually shoveled off on us, predictable, and almost written to formula.. Weber can't be accused of EVER fitting into the latter mold. *****

Reviewed by Trip Williams of Huntress Reviews.

I have read David Weber books for years now, and of all of them this has to be one of my favorite reads ever. First of all for those of you who get frustrated when you don't get right to the action this might be a tough read. In this book Weber sets up the world and establishes an entire new theme, but if you stick with it you will like it. I had to re-read it before I completely understood everything but I loved it all the same. Once it captures you it doesn't let go so it's not really a thing to read for half an hour each night ether. I won't get into the plot or try to write a summery of it because I don't want to be a spoiler but this is definitively a book worth taking the time to read.

The overall premise of the series is interesting, but after reading the first three books, I have found that skipping pages of internal dialog, reading only the quoted sections, and skipping anything to do with rants against religion, I can get the gist of the plot in seconds without needing to wade through Weber's pedantic style. I suspect I can just skip to the last hundred pages of the last book and save myself the trouble of turning all those intervening pages. Full of fluff and padding, this should have been a trilogy at best if it was tightly and cleverly written. But it isn't.

This is my first book by this author, and it started out so promising! It has a great premise... but it was just HARD to get through. I imagine that naval battles were fascinating battles of mental preparation like a 20-moves-ahead chess game, but does it have to read at the same pace as an ancient naval battle? Anyway, I kept at it and made it to the final page, but it didn't pick up.

Enjoyable read but Weber badly needs a good editor. He's not as bad as Tom Clancy yet but the trend is disturbing.

OAR is very, very similar to _Heirs of Empire_ but with naval combat instead of land warfare. Lots and lots of recycled plot elements: the evil technology-stifling religion, the orbital doomsday machine that prevents the hero from openly using his own high technology, the religious capital with mysterious power sources, the cabal of venal and cynical religious leaders, etc.

The book's biggest drawback is the endless dialog about espionage and politics between various bad guys (also a serious flaw in the later Honor books). This material is unbearably tedious and only marginally relevant to the story.

A manufactured repository for human intellect helps one side in a series of world-spanning naval battles.

Starts off with a very strong, hardcore SF plot, but most of the book is 17th century sea battles and palace intrigue. The book dragged on too long; the last half contained no surprises. If Weber had had an editor hold him to 300 pages, he'd have had a much better book.

Webber also falls into the trap of creating a technology that is too powerful for a good story; it's too easy to whip up a solution to any problem, and that makes the tale too predictable.

Horrible book. Nice concept, but very one-sided. The good guys are always good, the bad guys are always and obviously bad, with one exception showing one of the invading princes actually having a family. The book is an endless series of good turn of events for the good guys. [...]. Longhorn-forbid that they face a single hitch, setback, or complication. I guess the king dies eventually, but then the book abruptly ends. The 4 church dudes never get an update, the temple is never torn down, they never whip out the tank or the AKs. For all the buildup there is no resolution. This isn't a book, it's the first of three chapters. The empire may strike back eventually, but I'd stay away until you could actually read the whole thing.

Also, Weber puts an excruciating amount of detail into describing the technology and logistics. This may have been less painful had we read it rather then listened to it on a trip.

I had the opportunity to interview David Weber regarding "Off Armageddon Reef" for the now-defunct PAGES print magazine, prior to the book's publication in 2007. If anyone's curious, I've just posted a slightly expanded version of that article at Suite101: [...].

Bob

A large portion of this book is spent setting the background for this series. Although several friends found it too long for them to continue, its worth going through it so one knows how the basic history of this society to follow the series and where things are going. I am enjoying the series and am looking forward to the next book.

For those familiar with the story, it's crime enough that this isn't movie material, but this is perfect for a video game- having a P.I.C.A. unit with a personality of a dead woman trying to reunite humanity with it's history? Doing missions with SNARC's? That'd be awesome!

Okay, so I'm not done with the book; I'm 3 hours into the approx 30 hour audiobook, & so far this is what has happened:
-people on a spaceship said goodbye to one another because they were about to be wiped out by evil aliens, the Goobarabbas (or somehting like that). The aliens have tremendously more advanced technology, apparently, but no clue is given as to what it is, how it words, what they're like, etc. Didn't see the battle/wiping out.
-There's a colony planet which is deliberately low-tech to prevent notice by the Gabbagoos. A teeny bit was told about the history of the colony, in a general way & without mentioning anything that actually happened. Didn't see the removal of tech, or any of the (possibly) interesting aspects of setting up the colony; that was long ago.
-various guys have talked --a lot-- about politics, bickering, & infighting in the church, which seems to be the major institution on the colony planet. Heard a LOT about church history, factions, points of dogma. Then they talked about breaking for lunch. Didn't see the lunch.
- some guys have talked about some other guys in a kingdom; apparently these two groups don't get along. Dunno why, or what happened, or what is happening (if anything).
-Most exciting action scene to date: some guy walked across a room & looked out a window. Didn't get to see what was out there.

Absolutely nothing has happened. Words are said by people. Aliens are referred to. Things --boring things-- are revealed by telling, nothing by showing. Much passive voice is used.
Does anything ever happen in this stupid book? Even Oliver Wyman, stellar narrator that he is, cannot make literary paint-drying interesting. I feel sorry for the man; it must've taken enormous willpower to not yawn or sigh loudly, or allow his voice to descend into a monotone-drone.
I have the distinct feeling I've wasted my hard-earned money; I could get a lot more excitement reading the Congressional Record.
Am going to battle my way a while longer, see if anything ever happens, but this is really annoying.

As a new Weber reader to Weber books I am astonished. This is a high quality science fiction writing. Weber starts with an intersting introduction but then whole book conctrates itself on building fictional universe , international , commercial , intelligence , military relations and interactions and creating and developing characters on fictional medieval Safehold planet. Sometimes he gets lost in details ( some descriptions of sailing , gunnery and shipbuilding is sometimes too long...) Besides you can lose track of characters because except main types like Merlin , Haarald , Cayleb etc..there are so many secondary characters. At the other hand all of them have a function in story one way to another , plot goes on in a reasonable pace and accelerating towards end. The descriptions of mediaval technology , politics between kingdoms give a very realistic edge to story. There is a pun intended to religious fundementalism and theocracy. This novel is like playing an "Age of Empires" or "Empire Earth" game. I am anxiously waiting the sequel

I am about 60% of the way through the book and have enjoyed it very much and in fact I am looking forward to the next in the series. What strikes me as interesting is that I have read a book with a similar plot that was written either in the late 50's or early 60's titled "Lord Calvan of Otherwhen" written by H. Beam Piper, although I will admit that in Piper's book the hero is a Pennsylvania State Trooper plucked form his own time and placed in an alternate universe. He too finds himself in a theocratic society and in a kingdom that is being persecuted by the church. He too introduces better gunpowder, better cannon, rifled firearms etc. I am assuming that Weber thought this plot up on his own but there are definite similarities. That however, will not stop me from buying the rest of that books that will eventually complete the series.

Interesting story, but too much detail. Over 600 pages but once the author gets past the background, the story only covers about 2 years of events. At this rate it will take 500 novels for Merlin to guide humanity back to technology and defeat the aliens. That is the story I was interested in. Why can't authors today seem to tell a complete satisfying story in a single novel?

It seemed like an updated version of H Beam Piper's "Lord Kalvan of Otherwhen" except all Kalvan had was his guts, brains, and clothes on his back.

I perhaps did not follow the traditional method to read this book, I bought the audio version. For medical reasons, its far easier for me to listen than read this book.

Nevertheless, please Mr. Weber, find another word for "unfortunately". You use this word far too often, and in listening to the book, the usage becomes pronounced.

I too, have enjoyed previous books by David Weber. ie. In Death Ground, etc. While there are many similarities, in writing style and in detail, I like the spin this series is taking.

Additionally, I agree with other commenters on the lack of empathy I feel towards the protaganist, and her "alter-ego" Merlin.

Fans of David Weber will find no surprises in his new book, "Off Armageddon Reef". The book is engaging, decently written, and generally enjoyable, exactly as you would expect from Weber. Of course it also contains excessively long and unreadable explanations of the background of his fantasy world - but that, also, is standard for Weber's writing style.

Unfortunately, the book has a crippling flaw: it shamelessly recycles the plotlines of previous Weber books. If you have already read his "Heirs of Empire" trilogy (Mutineer's Moon, the Armageddon Inheritance, and Heirs of Empire) you will find an enormous number of parallels in the plot. Even the titles are recycled ("Armageddon Inheritance" vs. "Armageddon Reef")!

In particular, the parallels are much too close between "Off Armageddon Reef" and the third book of the trilogy. I strongly recommend that you read only one of these books. If you read both, you will feel like you've just read the same story twice - which will be exactly the case, since Weber unfortunately didn't bother to generate any new material at all. Literally every single thing in "Armageddon Reef" has been done in a previous Weber story.

Want details? Here is a list of the parallels between "Off Armageddon Reef" and "Heirs of Empire". In BOTH STORIES:

* The human race is involved in a struggle for survival against powerful, irrational, genocidal aliens who will not even negotiate with us.

* The story heroes are naval officers from spacegoing societies, stranded by treachery or deceit on a primitive human world.

* The primitive humans know nothing of the larger (genocidal alien) conflict.

* The primitive world is completely dominated by an evil Church.

* The evil Church supresses new technology, leading to a stagnant society that has persisted for many, many centuries.

* The Church has the trappings of ancient technology, used to prove its divine authority, but doesn't really understand how to use it.

* There is a military satellite system still active around the planet, which the stranded naval officers must defeat.

* The stranded naval officers want to rejoin the fight against the major alien threat but must first deal with the evil Church.

* The stranded naval officers have access to advanced technology that seems like magic to the locals.

* The stranded naval officers have advanced reconnaisance technology which allows them to observe and outmaneuver enemy military forces.

* The stranded naval officers are physically enhanced, with speed and strength far in excess of normal humans.

* The stranded naval officers make armor and weapons for themselves out of modern materials, further increasing their personal combat abilities.

* The stranded naval officers reveal their "mystic" powers to impress the locals and claim a place within the religious mythology of the primitive society.

* The stranded naval officers have only a superficial and legalistic respect for the truth. Although they are careful to never tell a direct lie, they gleefully mislead everyone into believing they have mystic powers by phrasing things in a way that the locals will misunderstand.

* The central city of the Church hierarchy has functioning defensive systems which prevent the heroes from using their technology there.

* The stranded naval officers pick their favorite locals, then teach them how to make flintlock rifles and better cannon.

* The stranded naval officers raise up a serious military rebellion in order to overthrow the evil Church.

* The evil Church calls for a crusade against them, getting every available military force on the planet to oppose the heroes and their chosen allies.

* Numerous battles ensue, described in tremendous detail, but the advanced reconnaisance and communication technology of the stranded naval officers continuously saves the day despite overwhelming odds.

Really, the biggest difference between them is that "Off Armageddon Reef" has naval battle scenes, while "Heirs of Empire" contains land-based combat scenes. Aside from that, it's the same story.

It's pretty obvious that David Weber has run out of fresh material. Perhaps he needs to take a year or two off and recharge his batteries?

I'm going to give it 4 stars just so that somebody reading reviews will actually see my review, which start with favorable reviews. I love the book concept ... but I strongly suggest reading the 1 star reviews before buying. They are correct.

I really enjoyed the story; however, after reading the Prince Roger series I felt that the story was a little recycled. Introducing technology, and allowing domination over ones enemies. The other portions of the story was very intriguing though. It was a very enjoyable read, and I'm looking forward to the sequel!

I'm astounded by many of the reviews I read here. This novel is one of the most 'talky' major fantasy novels I've ever read - and that is NOT meant as a compliment. For the first 400 pages or so virtually NOTHING happens. All the major characters talk incessantly, but do very little. Admittedly, the last 50 pages have some very fine sea battle scenes, but if what you're looking for is a good sea-going novel, let me suggest Patrick O'Brian. If it's fantasy you want, look elsewhere.

I read it on a trip and I had to pace myself because I didn't want to finish it too quickly. This is a great story line, and a refreshing read. I guess I'm partial to strong and capable heroes, like in some of David Weber's other books. I also liked The path of the fury / In fury born and the Prince Rogers series. I hope this is the begining of a new series.

Great book and highly recommeded.

Only the first 20 pages or so is sci fi, the rest reverts to a primitive society (water wheels and galley ships). Weber is always more interested in politics then warfare, and this is no different. However, who hasn't thought about going back in time and pointing out all the blindingly obvious things we know now. And even better if your an immortal ai...The only thing missing is sex....

If you've read "The Apocalypse Troll", "Heirs of Empire" or any of the "Honor Harrington" books, you've already read "Off Armageddon Reef". In some instances the military scenes and the "Bad Guys" (BG) seem almost a cut and paste from these other books. This is a good book, it's simply not a new book.

WANTED:

1) A better class of BG. More developed, more sympathetic. Wrong, but with the best of intentions, not simply sneering incompetents.

2)A more human hero(ine)? Instead of a techno-magical superman(woman?) why not a real woman in disguise with the danger of discovery? No super human powers, no "OWL" supercomputer. . .this would have made for real drama. Frankly I can't understand why Weber even had a 'female' character at all since it doesn't seem to impact the plot in any way.

3) Some real cultural world building, and events that follow logically from cause, rather than situations the author hammers into place simply so his avatars can blow up the bad guys in a big battle. There is no real reason for this to be SF, it could easily have been Fantasy (simply substitute 'Magic' for 'Science') or better still, an historical novel for the sea battle. Except of course, the author wouldn't have been able to 'kill baby seals' when destroying the bad guys. Which seems to be the entire purpose of this book . . .700+ page set up simply to blow the H*LL out of the bad guys.

Not a bad book, worth a read at the library. I'll buy it once it hits the $5.00 bargin bin. It's too much like Weber's other books for me to pay full price though.

To see what can really be done with the concept of humanity attacked by superior aliens:

Of Men and Monsters by William Tenn

With Friends Like These... by Alan Dean Foster

when the star kings die by John Jakes

I really enjoyed the story; however, after reading the Prince Roger series I felt that the story was a little recycled. Introducing technology, and allowing domination over ones enemies. The other portions of the story was very intriguing though. It was a very enjoyable read, and I'm looking forward to the sequel!

I'm astounded by many of the reviews I read here. This novel is one of the most 'talky' major fantasy novels I've ever read - and that is NOT meant as a compliment. For the first 400 pages or so virtually NOTHING happens. All the major characters talk incessantly, but do very little. Admittedly, the last 50 pages have some very fine sea battle scenes, but if what you're looking for is a good sea-going novel, let me suggest Patrick O'Brian. If it's fantasy you want, look elsewhere.

I read it on a trip and I had to pace myself because I didn't want to finish it too quickly. This is a great story line, and a refreshing read. I guess I'm partial to strong and capable heroes, like in some of David Weber's other books. I also liked The path of the fury / In fury born and the Prince Rogers series. I hope this is the begining of a new series.

Great book and highly recommeded.

Only the first 20 pages or so is sci fi, the rest reverts to a primitive society (water wheels and galley ships). Weber is always more interested in politics then warfare, and this is no different. However, who hasn't thought about going back in time and pointing out all the blindingly obvious things we know now. And even better if your an immortal ai...The only thing missing is sex....

If you've read "The Apocalypse Troll", "Heirs of Empire" or any of the "Honor Harrington" books, you've already read "Off Armageddon Reef". In some instances the military scenes and the "Bad Guys" (BG) seem almost a cut and paste from these other books. This is a good book, it's simply not a new book.

WANTED:

1) A better class of BG. More developed, more sympathetic. Wrong, but with the best of intentions, not simply sneering incompetents.

2)A more human hero(ine)? Instead of a techno-magical superman(woman?) why not a real woman in disguise with the danger of discovery? No super human powers, no "OWL" supercomputer. . .this would have made for real drama. Frankly I can't understand why Weber even had a 'female' character at all since it doesn't seem to impact the plot in any way.

3) Some real cultural world building, and events that follow logically from cause, rather than situations the author hammers into place simply so his avatars can blow up the bad guys in a big battle. There is no real reason for this to be SF, it could easily have been Fantasy (simply substitute 'Magic' for 'Science') or better still, an historical novel for the sea battle. Except of course, the author wouldn't have been able to 'kill baby seals' when destroying the bad guys. Which seems to be the entire purpose of this book . . .700+ page set up simply to blow the H*LL out of the bad guys.

Not a bad book, worth a read at the library. I'll buy it once it hits the $5.00 bargin bin. It's too much like Weber's other books for me to pay full price though.

To see what can really be done with the concept of humanity attacked by superior aliens:

Of Men and Monsters by William Tenn

With Friends Like These... by Alan Dean Foster

when the star kings die by John Jakes

After Too Much Information about Honor Harrington's personal life, and the boring Hell's Gate, I had my doubts, but David Weber has returned to what he does best - politics, warfare (esp. naval warfare!), and adventure! This is a good solid book and I look forward to more like it!

This book and its sequel are great works of science fiction right up there with 1632 and the ring of fire series. It is well worth the money.

David Weber really knows how to build well rounded characters who turn into people that you can care about.

I like many of David Weber's books, but this one didn't quite click with me. It was interesting to see 17th century sail battles secretly aided by 22nd century technology, but I just didn't find myself sympathizing with the super-human protagonist. An OK military SF read so I may still read the sequel, but I'll wait for it to show up used.

Here, if you think of the artist at work, you find threads of many of the ideas that show up in Off Armegeddon Reef were introduced in his earlier books. If you think of them as deeper background, they can be an ehhancement of the "beginnings" of Off Armegeddon Reef. All are good and worth reading. Starting in 1991 the three books are: Mutineers' Moon; The Armageddon Inheritance, and Heirs of Empire.

David Webber has made a living out of telling inspiring stories with well developed characters. This book is no different. The plot line is a bit predictable if you've read the Honor Harrington series but you still have to love the people and keep turning those pages to see how they will fare. I think that this is just the begining of another fine series of books developed to present an interesting post-apocolyptic vision. I'm looking forward to the next one. I just wish I didn't read them so fast!!

I'm actually a big David Weber fan. He is not the most profound or challenging writer by a long shot, but his books are usually interesting and fun. This book was a huge disappointment. This was an original but poorly executed story idea. The characters were just too obvious to care about.

I didn't finish this book. To be precise I got to page 182 out of 600 when I quit reading. I loved "Armageddon" in the beginning as the author slowly and carefully set up an alternate world. The earth and all its space colonies are destroyed by pugnacious aliens; a small group of survivors takes refuge on a distant planet. Their leaders form a theocracy with commoners banned from knowledge of any form of advanced technology -- although the church leaders use technology themselves to shock and awe their followers.

So it is for about 800 years, a medieval society surviving undetected in the universe, until a super-hero awakes from her (his?) long sleep with an agenda to overthrow the tyranny of the priests and bring "progress" again to the human species. Why progress is desirable when it might bring detection and destruction by the aliens and the extinction of the human race was not explained -- but perhaps it is after page 182.

The author sets up his story admirably and I was thinking that this was that rarest of books: a alternate society and history of complexity, depth, and interest. But somewhere after page 100 it becomes an action tale with our hero cutting down villains by the dozens. I began to nod. With about the second major bloodletting and an interminable display of super-human wisdom by our hero I fell asleep. Sorry, David. Next time write a more compact story. One sword fight is enough. Find something else to say. I'll give the book three stars because the first hundred pages are worth reading for the outstanding setup.

Smallchief

I have read quite a few of Mr. Weber's works and was awaiting "Off Armageddon Reef" with shere delight! When it arrived, I had just finished "Brother Odd" by Mr Koontz and dove headlong into "Off Armageddon Reef". Mr. Weber has created a totally cohesive piece here. It's so totally plausible and written so well that I find it very hard to put it down. I beg of Mr Weber to continue the tale of Nimue Alban aka Merlin. And what about the Gbaba?

I'm currently on page 225 and I can't wait to get to the end. The only sad thing will be to finish the book. Because--what then? Mr. Weber I want MORE!

This is an excellent piece of political sci-fi with a twist. Mr. Weber is a master at this!

I highly recommmend this to anybody who loves sci-fi or David Weber!

When I began reading this book I quickly came to the conclusion that it was "Heirs of Empire" another David Weber book. It had the techology being outlawed, the central all powerful church set up to prevent a resurgence of technology. In short I quickly lowered my expectations for this book. What I forgot however was the reason that I am such a big Weber fan. Unlike some books (Hell's Gate) Weber is writing his trademark engaging characters and placing them in masterfully crafted battle scenes. Probably his best book since the middle part of the Honor Harrington series. Just work through the first 100 or so pages and you will be amply rewarded.

Just the right mix of sic fi, geopolitics, military action, (fake) geography, and historical sailing education. Hope David Weber outlives me - hate to think of a world where no more of his books are being written.

This book has a lot in common with Weber's Children of Empire: Both feature high-technology protagonists marooned on a more-or-less medieval planet where the only remaining high technology is treated as divine and used to prop up a monolithic organized church, which inhibits further technological progress theologically and culturally. Amidst this, both books involve the protagonist(s) inserting themselves into the most philosophically progressive country around, with fairly predictable results.

That said, Weber remains an interesting writer with a strong sense of imagery. The characters tend to group pretty easily into omni-competant moral paragons versus backstabbing morons, but frankly, the book is just so much fun to read that it doesn't matter. If you like Weber's style, naval combat with a twist, or plots of this general template, this is a book worth reading. Otherwise, it may leave you fairly cold.

The premise sounds interesting...but I was expecting something more. This book starts out slow and loses speed. I've read some of Weber's collaborations and they are all pretty good. Now, after OAR, I guess Weber was responsible for the character development and the other author for the action. I'll stick with Ringo.

I literally devoured this book over a weekend. I thought the premise was unique enough to grab my attention and the characters really popped off the pages. That in particular is the reason I read Weber. Being a stand-alone, it's not quite as daunting to pick up "Reef" as it is one of the Honor Harrington or War God books and it is still a good example of Webers writing.

I liked this story even though it is a bit of a reworking of the last book in the Dahak series. You can definatly tell that DW's writing style has matured a bit, and the attention to detail is good. His use of bits and pieces of old earth mythos is fun. I am looking forward to the sequel to this if there is one coming.

This is the sort of novel that gives the science fiction genre a bad reputation. Weber refuses to offer the reader anything but bland and pointless narrative, choosing to pontificate only when the subject matter is of the same variety encountered on two dozen previous occasions in the story's arc. I found myself quite intentionally skipping entire pages of this novel - the dialogue was dry and completely redundant, and whenever something interesting or inciting may be discussed Weber just gives you the ellipsis treatment (as though the actions the character is describing after the ellipsis is unpredictable and worth waiting for, which is invariably not the case).

Most frustrating? The reader is made painfully aware that Weber is using the SciFi motif only to talk about his favorite subject - sailing/naval warfare. And that topic is only one thousand years old. Some science fiction.

The only true redemption for this novel is the minor political intrigue. I should really award only one star but at least Weber explores (albeit minimally) the damage of universal religiosity imposed upon human society.

Yet another great work by one of Science-Fiction's greatest authors! Weber does an amazing job of combining classic 'space opera' with an enthraling world of 'techno-fantasy'. A great read for fans of Sci-Fi and Fantasy alike!

I was disappointed by this book. I've read and enjoyed a lot of Weber's work, and have recommended On Basilisk Station to numerous people. However, I have been let down by most of his recent work.

I think this and recent books have failed for similar reasons - the flaws of Weber's writing style are overshadowing his strengths. His best books have tightly plotted military science fiction, with a detailed background world and engaging main characters (Honor Harrington ranks among the best sci-fi heros of the past few decades) fighting against overwhelming odds. His willingness to kill of main characters adds some extra suspense to the plot.

However, the blood lust of high body counts has gotten kind of silly. It's at the point that you know when you pick up a new Weber novel that he's going to find some way of killing off a significant fraction of the Earth's population, possibly in the first chapter. Even in the Harrington universe, he keeps upping the body count higher and more horribly killed. When you've got death tolls in the billions, it gets kind of hard to keep outdoing yourself.

Then there are the massive info dumps. Doing thorough research for a military sci-fi novel is good. But I'm simply not interested in reading pages upon pages of of exposition on early fire-arm design, metalwork technology or sailing ships (to give examples) shoe-horned awkwardly into the middle of an already slow plot.

There are a huge number of characters, including multiple layers of enemies that blur into each other. Series generally get more complicated with time, so if you have to take notes of who's who to follow the plot in the first book, it doesn't bode well. And the names are incredibly, frustratingly, annoying. All the personal names are modern names quasi-phonetically respelled, possibly by the dregs of baby naming boards. Reading through this is like reading with a stutter - every time I saw a name I had to pause to translate it into it's real spelling, and it gets really old, really fast, but you can't stop doing it.

Next is the superhuman main character, Merlin, manipulating things in the background, with the ability to fly, incredible strength and reflexes, no sense of pain, access to technology centuries beyond the rest of the planet, and with a deployable network of microscopic spies and an AI system to comb through the results.

The basic plot idea here could have been interesting, but he's already done it once. A planet settled from Earth that has reverted to pre-electric technology to escape a menace that killed of most of the rest of humanity, with innovation suppressed by a totalitarian theocracy, that is dragged into modernity by a super-human with access to advanced technology who starts by making allies with the most progressive state and quickly improving their military technology in an plan to over throw the theological dictatorship? Sounds a lot like Heirs of Armageddon, point by point, down to the word Armageddon in the title.

Basically, this was a tedious enough read that I barely finished it. I flicked through the next book in the bookstore, and have zero desire to read any of the rest of the series.

However, if you aren't familiar with Weber's work, do go and read On Basilisk station and subsequent books, because they *are* excellent.

I've read a couple of other David Weber books and I'd have to say I liked this one the least. Perhaps my expectations were off, as I was looking forward to a page turning scifi epic. While there are SciFi elements to this novel, the bulk of the book has more of an alternative history/fantasy/naval strategy feel to it. If you're looking for a political story on the high seas, you will enjoy this book. But for me it was too slow moving and was rather annoyed with the way the author came up with charactor names, ie, Harold becomes Haarald, Jenifer becomes Zenifer.

Off Armageddon Reef (2007) is the first SF novel in a new series. Humans have been expanding through space for hundreds of years without finding any other spacefaring species. In 2368, however, they found the remains of another civilization that had been thoroughly destroyed. Although some argued that the aliens had committed suicide, most supported the development of a real space navy.

Ten years later, the Terran Federation Navy encountered the Gbaba. The TFN thoroughly lost its first battle with the aliens, but took out some of the enemy. The aliens then systematically killed every remaining human in the system. This scenario became the rule for the next few decades.

In 2421, the TFN managed to sneak out a squadron of ships to establish a holdout colony. A prior effort had worked for a while, but eventually the Gbaba located the colonists, probably through the characteristic emissions of advanced technology. The current group of refugees was supposed to revert to primitive technology and multiply for several centuries until the Gbaba became less alert.

Eric Langhorne, civilian chief administrator of Safehold, made some radical changes to the original plan to ensure that all high technologies -- and even the scientific method -- were suppressed. One of the key points was a modified psychological profile imposed upon the colonists, which established the Church of God Awaiting with Langhorne and his department heads proclaimed as Archangels. Another was the erasure of all knowledge of the Gbaba.

Some of the administrative council objected to these changes and moved away from the main colony to Alexandria, where they maintained records for all human history. Langhorne ordered Alexandria destroyed. Kinetic missiles crossed and recrossed the site with high energy strikes until every body was vaporized. The area was filled with craters, forming Armageddon Reef, and was thought to be haunted by demons.

In this novel, Nimue Alban awoke within a cave in the Mountains of Light some eight centuries later, or did she? A holographic recording explained to her that the real Nimue Alban had died in battle with the Gbaba. She is the PICA -- Personality-Integrated Cybernetic Avatar -- of Nimue and her job is to prepare the colony for battle against the Gbaba.

Mother Church is still running the colony, although it has direct control only in the Churchlands. The hierarchy of archbishops and other clerics strongly influence the nation states elsewhere in the world, but communication delays preclude effective management of the peripheral nations. Moreover, the Church is mostly guided by secular concerns and the archbishops spend more time at the Temple of God than in their nominal lands.

Charis is among the richest of the peripheral nations, with the largest fleet of ocean-going vessels. King Haarahld VII is the current ruler of Charis. The kings of Charis are unusual in that they feel responsible for the well-being of their citizens. These kings have encouraged a number of innovations that have eased the life of the citizens and increased their individual wealth.

Crown Prince Cayleb is heir to the throne of Charis. Like his father, Cayleb feels a personal responsibility for the citizens of Charis. When he hears of a slash lizard terrorizing a small town near the capital, Cayleb tries to slip out to hunt the lizard. Unfortunately, his marine guard refuses to be left behind, so he has five others to tag along in the hunt.

Unknown to Cayleb, he is the target of another hunt. A group of mercenaries has followed him into the hills. When the slash lizard is killed instead of the Prince, the mercenaries attack the small party. Then the mercenaries learn that they too have been followed and another person has become involved.

Merlin Athrawes is really Nimue Alban in a slightly modified body -- it is now male -- and a slightly different personality. His arrival doesn't worry the mercenary commander until he tries to parry the first slash of the intruder's strange sword. When that sword cuts through his own weapon and decapitates him, he doesn't have much time to be anxious.

Merlin saves the Prince, disposing of more than his share of the mercenaries, but two of the marines are killed. After a short -- and somewhat vague -- explanation of his presence, Merlin accompanies the Prince and his surviving bodyguards back to the palace. Then the King interviews Merlin and tentatively accepts him as companion and personal bodyguard of the Prince.

In this story, Merlin has his own agenda for Charis, but convinces the King that his aims are for the betterment of the nation state. He passes on some technological concepts to a selected group of military and commerce advisors and is amazed at the resulting inventions. He may have initiated the projects, but the locals have turned the basic concepts into hardware.

Merlin also spends some time protecting the royal household and advisors. However, he points out one flaw in their security that no one is quite ready to believe without more evidence. When he is found to be correct, Merlin is accepted as an essential advisor to the King and Council.

Merlin finds that almost everyone on Safehold strongly believes in God and Mother Church. Yet many of the rulers recognize the secular ambitions of the clergy and use massive bribes to win church support for particular goals. In many respects, this wholly fabricated Church reflects the politics and venality of the Eastern Church during the Byzantine Empire and the Holy Roman Catholic Church prior to the Reformation. Some of these scenarios were probably lifted whole from church history, with names changed to fit the story.

This story is a rather modified variant of the advanced technology wizard tale. Since Cecil Rhodes essentially used this approach to found Rhodesia, few could argue with the credibility of this plot. Many other tales have used this plotline -- e.g., Lest Darkness Fall -- but this one has several enhancements, including the use of an immortal android as the main protagonist.

The name Merlin is suggestive of his role in the story, but the Safeholders probably lack knowledge of King Arthur. However, one wonders at the name Nimue. Of course, any character with this name should know of the Arthurian saga, but maybe the author just chose such names to pay tribute to these tales.

Highly recommended for Weber fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of cultural engineering, technological explosions and interesting characters.

-Arthur W. Jordin

The whole 'religion as the basis for a fantasy book' bit has been done before... and often better. I guess it tells you something when every book he writes is 6 or 7 hundred pages long.... this guy is in love with his own prose. I got tired of the Harrington books and now I'm just tired of David Weber.

Seriously; when I think about it I wonder if maybe a good Clarion workshop (as a student) wouldn't refresh his writing.

I had low expectations for this book, but once I got into to it, it is a pretty good read. Clearly the start of a new series from him, with lots of possibilities in the future books.

A fun read for a light weekend.

I feel that this book is one of the best fantasy novels out there. I dont ever realy read and I could not put this book down. It was a little slow to start but the rest of it was way more than enough to make up for it. I would highly recomend this book.

Weber takes us through a journey in time as a struggling world must grow to face an ancient enemy among the stars. This has all the hallmarks of a long series in the making and want to along for the ride.

Normally love any book written by David Weber, but having a little trouble getting in to this one, as the characters don't seem to have as much depth as in other books. Great story though, with the potential to develop in a great series. Hope it's not a 'one off' story, as there is a lot of history in the book that needs to be resolved.

David Weber has done it again. He has taken old myths and stories and made them new again. True this is less Sci Fi than is typical for Weber but the story is engaging and I look forward to the next installment.

Not one single female character (not counting the cyber-android). No male-female interaction at all (not counting one brief conversation between a prince and princess.

A decent map of the world, but many (most of the critical) places not shown on map. Just where the heck is Tellesberg?

I am a great fan of David Weber, and have read all of the Honor Harrington series, along with his other collaberationns, but this book is just horrible, and slow. I could only take about a 1/4 of the book before donating it to Salvation Army. Please return to the Honor Harrington series, and forget this book.

Meh,

One of the few books I'm sorry I wasted my time on.

I'm not sure how to put this except to say there is no foreshadowing, instead, just before some super power is needed the author is like "oh yea, by the way, the main character has this super power". It sounds like it was written by a kid.

Fans of David Weber are well aware of his life long interest in and study of naval military history.

All I can do is recommend the book. Its a brilliant 18th century naval war, its a detailed view of the political, the spying, the managing of people and fleets, the entire zeitgeist of the genre, whilst also having excellent science fiction underpinnings, which are fit neatly into the entire story line.

Thanks, David. Excellent!!

Ian Clark

Australia

David Weber, an above average author, continues his series with a mix of science fiction and fantasy. The characters are well developed. It was a difficult book to put down and leaves you anxious for the next installment.

There were so many interesting directions this story could have taken. It took none of them. They were just teases. Instead it was utterly straightforward and predictable with not a single unexpected event. The book would have just been boring except that the ignored potential was infuriating.

This is the first Weber book I don't own (though I have read it. While late in the book there are some good action sequences, somehow the story never became compelling. I would consider this the weakest of any of Weber's novels.

Not badly written, but tedious at times, hard to get through, and most importantly, not at all science fiction.
This is a medieval story of knights, kings and a sorcerer trying to masquerade as a SF story.
And it's a shame, because the beginning of the book and the style of writing suggest that the author has the capacity of writing a decent SF book.

This book does not work, either as a standalone story, Arthur legend homage or as a Dumas pastiche. Honor Harrington works for me as a guilty pleasure, but this is simply a poor effort.

Weber, you need an editor who can say "no" and "rewrite this". The narrative stumbles from wordy exposition to pompous, interminable speeches to unexciting action. It's painful to read.

Purchased this book as the plot premise seemed very interesting . Enjoyed the novel however, when I went and previewed the following novels in the series I realized that it did not seem to be going anywhere near where the original novel was heading, and also it was part of a series (Unfinished). Looked up to no. 3 and got very bored. Why do these novelists think we need massive numbers for a decent story?
If I had realised that this was part of an unfinished series I would not have bothered in the first place. I for one am really over unfinished business books. The downside of purchasing on line is being unable to flip the pages to the end to see if the book actually has a finish.

This book does not work, either as a standalone story, Arthur legend homage or as a Dumas pastiche. Honor Harrington works for me as a guilty pleasure, but this is simply a poor effort.

Weber, you need an editor who can say "no" and "rewrite this". The narrative stumbles from wordy exposition to pompous, interminable speeches to unexciting action. It's painful to read.