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 enlarge | Author: David Weber
Publisher: Tor Books
Category: Book
List Price: $25.95
Buy New: $13.53
You Save: $12.42 (48%)
New (49) Used (17) Collectible (5) from $13.44
Rating:  62 reviews
Sales Rank: 9334
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 512
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.7
Dimensions (in): 9 x 6.1 x 1.7
ISBN: 0765315017
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.54
EAN: 9780765315014
ASIN: 0765315017
Publication Date: July 22, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Customer Reviews:
 Great book, and a Great new series! October 14, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
David Weber is my favorite writer, and while I don't read ALL of his stuff, I've read most of his works. The Honor Harrington series, The Dahak series, etc., and this series seems to have taken all of those and modeled this one. It starts off so much stronger and cleaner than others, and actually, the series seems to be a RECASTED continuation of the Dahak series, which ended with Heirs of the Empire. I really loved that book, as a great what-if, and I think this is where he re-imagined the tale. Humanity has a chance to do it all over again, but this time with a sentient guardian. The book has a right mixture of intrigue and action, and the characters are all "believable", which has been some problems I've had with previous Weber books on occasion. Overall, I'm REALLY looking forward to reading these books for years and years to come. This storyline has massive potential, since he's got to take humanity all the way back to the stars, and victory!
 The schism with no thunder October 14, 2008
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Spoiler alerts. Read at your own risk.
This book feels incomplete, full of useless details the reader doesn't really need, and too neat for my tastes.
First, there is no romance to Merlin. If the man is as handsome and as commanding as he is, someone must be attracted, at some level, to the man. Nothing of the sort anywhere.
Second. The beauty of the character Merlin is the magic, the mystery, the burden of truth he carries, and the weight of secrets surrounding the character. In this novel, Merlin is stripped of the mystery surrounding him. His mechanical body is explained and discussed openly between significant characters, the amazing impossibility of his existence is accepted without a flinch, and the burden of secrecy Merlin bore alone, is now shared among many, to the -detriment- of the character. No longer is Merlin an object of hidden awe, he is now an impressive work of forbidden technology though not completely understood by those in the know.
I ... hated ... the revelation of a secret society dedicated to the truth of safehold and that such a society not only understood, in part, what Nimue was, but that it could so easily accept such a marvel without fear.
And that's the cusp of it. There is no fear from those who learn Merlin's truth. There is no reverence either. There is nothing except blind acceptance. The lack of wonder, the simple lack of anything resembling logical apprehension at the thought that across from them sat a marionette created by Forbidden Technology in the age of Angels and Demons, is not only unbelievable but downright unpalatable.
A prudent reaction would be fear; to wonder what the -real- agenda of this creature is and how far it could be trusted. Its simple self-preservation and understanding that such doubts must exist not only in wording but in a manner that affects the characters actions.
The minutia of explanations drowns the overall story from an epic saga to the .. preamble.. of an epic saga. Nothing much of importance happens on this book (as so far as the overall picture) except marriage (something easily seen coming from the first book and no surprise), the acquisition of an unexpected a reluctant ally (probably best char in the book) and a tightening of sanctions by the church (expected as well). Even the remarkable revelations of Merlin have no real impact in the story. They're made irrelevant by inaction.
There is a huge lack in the characters.
Most of the main characters talk, act, and think the same way. Its like watching 10 different version of the same character fighting each other, talking to each other, hating, or respecting each other. That's it, the same char over and over and over in different "dresses" ... as if Nimue Alba had split into 100 different people and been reprogrammed with a different background for each.
The book is disappointing, yet, is a must read because it sets the stage for the next book. Hopefully with all the explanations in this novel, the next one will get to the point.
 I have really enjoyed this series so far October 6, 2008
Mr. Weber has taken a bit of a left turn in producing this series but I have really enjoyed it so far. He has moved away from the space opera format that served him well in the Honor Harrington and Bug Wars but I have really enjoyed his character development and plot twists that he has in this series. I sat down and read book two in about 1 1/2 days and came away convinced that it is one of the best books I have read this year. I am eagerly awaiting #3
For someone looking at this series to read it is a combination of revolt in 2100 meets the day after tomorrow by Heinlein in a lot more detail. I think if you come into this series without any preconceptions of what a Weber book is you will enjoy the series
 please tell me there's a story in our future October 3, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
i was introduced to the genre of science fiction by the master of all time, robert a. heinlein. unfortunately, in his later years, the dean got caught up in extolling endless, wrangling debates about nonsensical points of view or miniscule, scientific errata. a darned shame really, but i did develop the ability to skim through multiple pages of drivvle until the story was reintroduced.
this skill has stood me in good stead with a great deal of david weber's stuff. the man has a terrible case of heinlein's disease.
"by schism rent asunder" is an obvious expansion of the co-plot from "heirs of empire" right down to the substitution of the five-day for a week. by itself this is not a downcheck. "heirs" was great fun and could stand revisiting.
the sad part is that both volumes of this series to date, if written in the style of the earlier honor harrington yarns, could be distilled down to half a dozen chapters. this isn't helped by the cast of thousands weber's employed. (i had to create a chart of characters to keep them all straight.)
the tale, by and large, is still enticing. i just wish he'd get on with it and cease indulging himself in the endless committee meetings. i'll probably read the next one that comes along, but my expectations are no longer very high.
tedious... make that tedious squared October 2, 2008
0 out of 1 found this review helpful
This book starts out slow and goes downhill from there. I really wonder what happened to the Weber who wrote the early Honor Harrington books.
Gone forever I fear. Starting with the last few Harrington books and continuing with his current work he seems to have forgotten the cardinal rule of the fiction writer--show don't tell. This current book could easily be cut in half without losing a single important plot element or bit of action. I forced myself to get through it (don't ask me why) by skimming over the endless and repetitive and repetitive and repetitive (well you get the point) explanations of the various weapons, characters, situations, motivations, etc.
I have no idea how many books in this series Weber plans, but if he continues as he has been it will need to be a few dozen just to get Safehold to a mid-twentieth century level of technology. And he will lose quite a few reader along the way (me for one).
Do yourself a favor, if you think you must suffer through this book check a copy out of the library.
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