I received this book for free from the library in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Source: the library
Empire from the Ashes
by
David Weber
It is part of the , , series and is a military science fiction, space opera in Hardcover edition that was published by Baen Books on February 25, 2003 and has 774 pages.
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Other books by this author which I have reviewed include Mission of Honor, Insurrection, Worlds of Honor, Changer of Worlds, Torch of Freedom, Hell’s Gate, Hell Hath No Fury, In Fire Forged, In Fury Born, Off Armageddon Reef, By Schism Rent Asunder, Mission of Honor, By Heresies Distressed, A Rising Thunder, A Mighty Fortress, How Firm a Foundation, Fire Season, Midst Toil and Tribulation, Shadow of Freedom, House of Steel, Worlds of Weber: Ms. Midshipwoman Harrington and Other Stories, Beginnings, Like a Mighty Army, Cauldron of Ghosts, Treecat Wars, A Call to Duty, Hell's Foundations Quiver, At the Sign of Triumph, A Call to Vengeance, Uncompromising Honor, Through Fiery Trials, The Shadow of Saganami, A Call to Arms, A New Clan
First, second, and third in the Dahak space opera science fiction series.
My Take
David Weber writes the most incredible stories…although, with all his imagination, I would have expected him to have come up with a different alien being. His Achuultani sound very similar to John Ringo’s Posleen in appearance…c’mon David…
That said, this series was intense. I couldn’t read fast enough to find out how everyone fared. Weber does tend to exaggerate his characters’ personalities and morals…it just makes for an excellent story…er, stories.
The Stories
Mutineer’s Moon will make you question everything you ever took for granted as Lt. Cmdr Everyman, Colin McIntyre, demonstrates humanity’s resilience and capacity for caring when he enters into the dark side of the moon and learns the truth of man’s creation on Earth. It was cute how Anu’s sabotage is used to explain Pluto’s arbitrary orbit. Just the first step of the most amazing adventure man could ever contemplate, Colin McIntyre takes back his future and humanity’s from the immortal terrorists who threaten everything.
Weber has some awkward phrases in this story that have me reading sentences over and over trying to figure out just what he is telling me. I also thought General Hatcher leapt to the idea of an alien invasion much too fast.
Armageddon Inheritance finds Earth at the mercy of species-killing aliens who will stop at nothing to destroy anyone not them. Colin must find the Empire and beg their help against the Achuultani while Horus, Lt. Gov of Earth, must meld the warring countries of Earth under one leadership to prepare for the invasion. The tricks and strategies cooked up between Colin, his people, and Dahak will keep you on the edge of your seat. Along with the final revelation of what can go wrong when a computer becomes self-aware.
Heirs of Empire was truly named. There are heirs all over the place. The betrayal that seemed to assassinate the Crown Prince and the Princess with 80,000 others ended when they, in turn, conquered Pardal for the Empire using a mix of Imperium strength, decency, and ancient military tactics. The loss of the prince and princess goaded Colin and Tanni into another set of twins. And then there’s the peoples of Pardal, Earth, and Birhat who could be argued as being heirs.
The Title
The title suits the three novels together, for it is an Empire from the Ashes.
