Torch of Freedom (Audible Audio Edition) David Weber Peter Larkin Eric Flint Audible Studios Books
Download As PDF : Torch of Freedom (Audible Audio Edition) David Weber Peter Larkin Eric Flint Audible Studios Books
As the slavemasters of Mesa plot against the Star Empire of Manticore and the newly liberated slave planet of Torch, Anton Zilwicki and the notorious Havenite secret agent Victor Cachat set off on a dangerous mission to uncover the truth concerning a wave of mysterious assassinations that have been launched against Manticore and Torch.
Most people are sure that the Republic of Haven is behind the assassinations, but Zilwicki and Cachat suspect others of being the guilty party.
Queen Berry of Torch was one of the targets of the unknown assassins. The former head of the Ballroom slave liberation organization, Jeremy Xnow one of Torch's top officials, but still considered by many the most dangerous terrorist in the galaxycalls in some past favors owed to him.
In response, a security officer from Beowulf arrives in Torch to take charge of Queen Berry's securitya task made doubly difficult by the young monarch's resentment of bodyguards and the security officer's own growing attachment to her.
Meanwhile, powerful forces in the Solarian League are maneuvering against each other to gain the upper hand in what they all expect to be an explosive crisis that threatens the very existence of the League itself.
Torch of Freedom (Audible Audio Edition) David Weber Peter Larkin Eric Flint Audible Studios Books
First, and fair warning, <<SPOILIERS AHEAD!!!>>Now, before I get too criticized, I like Weber in general, and the Honorverse in particular (although much like Patrick O'Brien and Forester themselves, Honor got too big, too fast, and so now the action has to be with secondary characters and series like this away from the main story arc!) I think "On Basilisk Station (Honor Harrington)" is on a par with other classics of military Sci-Fi like Heinlein's "Starship Troopers," Drake's "Hammer's Slammers," or Pournelle's "Janissaries." And while the main arc books have been uneven, "War of Honor (Honor Harrington Series, Book 10)" is classic, "In Enemy Hands (Honor Harrington Series, Book 7)" not so much, overall there is a real compelling quality that makes you come back for more. In some ways the side projects, such as the short stories and "Cluster" books, are even better at times. So trust me, I am a fan. That said...
"Disappointing" and "insulting" seem too mild to describe this volume. First of all, the entire "Torch" arc is contrived far beyond the rest of the series. An improbable revolt on a slave planet that is somehow not massively guarded and protected, a teen queen (literally) plucked at random from another story line, ruthless slave terrorists who seem mild even compared to real ones today, a hodge-podge of cute but discordant "odds and ends" characters from the rest of the series, most of whom should have different agendas and priorties than they actually do... And so on. "I have a duty and interest in supporting a galactic power, but I think I will toss all of that away because Queen Berry is so sweet it's magnetic..." And the ridiculous inbred amusement park in space family is too, too, too much. Sorry. The creation of this plot line had to involve beer. A lot of it!
Everyone has already commented about the endless scripted conversations, tedious oratory, etc. Also, the editing is really slipping. One gets the impression the publisher wants a huge book, for us to pay for in hardcover, and using a copy editor would just impede the cash flow! In one chapter I read three different plot lines, all of which began with the same cliche! Seriously. The writing has become hackneyed and repetitive. I guess in the future all women will have "crooked smiles." (You think by then surgeons could correct that?) But where this book utterly fails is in what passes for action. Most of this is espionage. Weber excels when he is describing future space battles with a science of missile technology, ship speeds, etc., that are technically impressive, bordering on a Physics lesson. But get on the ground, especially in a covert setting, and he reverts to purely 20th Century plot devices that put one in mind of "Get Smart" or Hogan's Heroes." Apparently high tech future cultures will not have the facial recognition software, substance detectors, or advanced access controls that are already becoming common in the 21st Century. Need to penetrate the most secure research lab of a paranoid genetically-designed super-villain? Just get Cachat and Zilwicki (aka, Newkirk and LeBeau) to find some clever disguises and even more clever banter, and then just walk on in. Meanwhile back on the slave world, we have programmed assasins with poisons clever enough to defeat advanced security procedures, but slow enough to save the lives of all the main characters (again, thank heavens 20th Century nerve agents are no longer around.) And on, and on, and on. For me it's not that the book is tedious (it is), or wordy (it is), or even painfully contrived (it is.) It's simply that it is bad.
So why 2-stars? Well, because this comes (at least in hardcover) with a huge bonus: the Weber Honorverse CD with it seems to have most/all of his previous stuff, much of which is totally brilliant! So for the price of a bad hardcover (and it is now under $10 new), you essentially get a full library of much, much better books! That's a lot more value for your money, like $100s worth, and you get to see how truly good Weber can be (there's a reason these are all best sellers!) This book has the feeling of something Weber & Flint just "mailed in" to meet a publisher's deadline and maybe make a few tongue-in cheek jokes along the way to a paycheck. Both are capable of far better than this mess, so if you bought this book and were disappointed, please don't just pitch it away. Plug in that CD and see how good Weber can be when he is not just, "mailing it in."
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Torch of Freedom (Audible Audio Edition) David Weber Peter Larkin Eric Flint Audible Studios Books Reviews
I have been a David Weber fan ever since I read the first Honor Harrington novel. But, I have noticed a real tendency for the author to move more and more away from action in his novels and more and more into plotting, scheming and politicking. I am about half way through the book and only two occurrences that aren't just some people sitting around a table talking has occurred. Each of them requiring only a couple of paragraphs to relate. Other than that the story to this point is nothing but dialog.
And, these intelligent people (or so the author describes them) are absolutely obtuse. A war continues between the kingdom and Haven just because a couple of people (mainly the queen) won't sit down and talk. The attempted assassination of Berry has all the fingerprints leading to either Manticore, Beowulf or Mesa (the novel points out that they are the only ones capable of having the technology to attempt it the way it was done). And yet they jump immedidiately to the conclusion it was Haven. With no evidence at all. The queen is depicted as a hot headed, petulant, stubborn woman who will believe anything in order to continue the war with Haven and cost her subjects many thousands of lives.
The new administration in Haven has been trying constantly to broker a peace with the kingdom, but Mesa derails it at every turn with ploys that wouldn't fool any rational being; just a very gullible queen. And so the killing continues.
I guess David's novels have moved in this direction due to his own interest in politics and the inner working of governments. Or so it seems. And, he seems to have forsaken the excitement contained in the early novels.
Others will be hopelessly lost.
"Torch of Freedom" is an Honorverse novel that's a direct sequel to "Crown of Slaves," and for those familiar with the Main Sequence it begins at the tail end of "War of Honor" and during, and past, the events of "At All Costs." It's strictly for fans of the late-sequence Honor books, as it contains a lot of talk, a lot of internal monologues, and a lot of politics. A series that Weber began back in the 1990s as superior space opera has now morphed into something much more.
So fans who want strategy, tactics, and battles--but nothing more--should probably avoid this book, and should, in fact, probably not go on with the Honor series--either the Main Sequence or these side quests. But fans of late Honor will have a fine time as we continue with the adventures of Cachat, the Zilwickis, and the delightful Queen Berry of Torch--to say nothing of the cast of thousands (fortunately listed in the back). It's a tale of interlocking conspiracies, assassination attempts (those of you who have read "At All Costs" will immediately recognize the event Baen's peeps have selected for their signature front-of the-book pullquotes), and shifting points of view allow you to see how the various schemes are developing. And while I have no idea (and could care less) whether Weber or Flint came up with the idea of an amusement park on a space station (see the cover) I tip my hat. Great concept.
One minor annoyance is continual references to the glands and hormones of teenaged boys, but perhaps this is unsurprising in a book that features a teenaged queen. But not to worry. They go by quickly. So those who want to go on with the Honorverse (and you know who you are) should grab this one--the book's essential reading because the scheming of the Mesans and Manpower, Inc. (creators of genetic slaves) intrudes into the main sequence. So set aside some time.
Notes and asides Honor herself has only a cameo on this book, and those who have read "At All Costs" will immediately recognize it, too
First, and fair warning, <<SPOILIERS AHEAD!!!>>
Now, before I get too criticized, I like Weber in general, and the Honorverse in particular (although much like Patrick O'Brien and Forester themselves, Honor got too big, too fast, and so now the action has to be with secondary characters and series like this away from the main story arc!) I think "On Basilisk Station (Honor Harrington)" is on a par with other classics of military Sci-Fi like Heinlein's "Starship Troopers," Drake's "Hammer's Slammers," or Pournelle's "Janissaries." And while the main arc books have been uneven, "War of Honor (Honor Harrington Series, Book 10)" is classic, "In Enemy Hands (Honor Harrington Series, Book 7)" not so much, overall there is a real compelling quality that makes you come back for more. In some ways the side projects, such as the short stories and "Cluster" books, are even better at times. So trust me, I am a fan. That said...
"Disappointing" and "insulting" seem too mild to describe this volume. First of all, the entire "Torch" arc is contrived far beyond the rest of the series. An improbable revolt on a slave planet that is somehow not massively guarded and protected, a teen queen (literally) plucked at random from another story line, ruthless slave terrorists who seem mild even compared to real ones today, a hodge-podge of cute but discordant "odds and ends" characters from the rest of the series, most of whom should have different agendas and priorties than they actually do... And so on. "I have a duty and interest in supporting a galactic power, but I think I will toss all of that away because Queen Berry is so sweet it's magnetic..." And the ridiculous inbred amusement park in space family is too, too, too much. Sorry. The creation of this plot line had to involve beer. A lot of it!
Everyone has already commented about the endless scripted conversations, tedious oratory, etc. Also, the editing is really slipping. One gets the impression the publisher wants a huge book, for us to pay for in hardcover, and using a copy editor would just impede the cash flow! In one chapter I read three different plot lines, all of which began with the same cliche! Seriously. The writing has become hackneyed and repetitive. I guess in the future all women will have "crooked smiles." (You think by then surgeons could correct that?) But where this book utterly fails is in what passes for action. Most of this is espionage. Weber excels when he is describing future space battles with a science of missile technology, ship speeds, etc., that are technically impressive, bordering on a Physics lesson. But get on the ground, especially in a covert setting, and he reverts to purely 20th Century plot devices that put one in mind of "Get Smart" or Hogan's Heroes." Apparently high tech future cultures will not have the facial recognition software, substance detectors, or advanced access controls that are already becoming common in the 21st Century. Need to penetrate the most secure research lab of a paranoid genetically-designed super-villain? Just get Cachat and Zilwicki (aka, Newkirk and LeBeau) to find some clever disguises and even more clever banter, and then just walk on in. Meanwhile back on the slave world, we have programmed assasins with poisons clever enough to defeat advanced security procedures, but slow enough to save the lives of all the main characters (again, thank heavens 20th Century nerve agents are no longer around.) And on, and on, and on. For me it's not that the book is tedious (it is), or wordy (it is), or even painfully contrived (it is.) It's simply that it is bad.
So why 2-stars? Well, because this comes (at least in hardcover) with a huge bonus the Weber Honorverse CD with it seems to have most/all of his previous stuff, much of which is totally brilliant! So for the price of a bad hardcover (and it is now under $10 new), you essentially get a full library of much, much better books! That's a lot more value for your money, like $100s worth, and you get to see how truly good Weber can be (there's a reason these are all best sellers!) This book has the feeling of something Weber & Flint just "mailed in" to meet a publisher's deadline and maybe make a few tongue-in cheek jokes along the way to a paycheck. Both are capable of far better than this mess, so if you bought this book and were disappointed, please don't just pitch it away. Plug in that CD and see how good Weber can be when he is not just, "mailing it in."
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