by
David Weber
ISBN: 0-671-31860-8 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com
A fast-moving, robust and simplistic adventure of warfare, courage and inimicable aliens, this novel's black-and-white moral landscape leaves as little room for ambiguity as for emotional involvement.
Reviewed by David on December 23, 2001 (rev. 1)
Genre: Science Fiction (Military, Historical, Aliens)
Synopsis: In the Fourteenth Century, a squadron of English ships with reinforcements destined for France foundered in the sudden fierce summer squall. However, some of the people, fighters and their families, were picked up by an alien ship looking for low-technology troops for some of their proxy wars.
Sir George of Wickworth and his men have to survive the deadly perils of incredibly advanced technology, just to get to the bloody battles for their new masters. But it's the Galactic politics which may prove a danger which the courage and ingenuity of the Englishmen cannot overcome.
Full Review: Despite fast, light entertainment, the novel suffers from a couple of major flaws. First, the major villains in the story are so bad that there no possibility of sympathy or even respect for them. Worse, the good guys are uniformly good, and rarely make any avoidable mistakes. This flawlessness makes it difficult to sympathize.
The other major issue is the almost incredible string of successes enjoyed by the good guys. Even their struggle against overwhelming odds lacks intensity as their failures and fears are barely sketched, when shown at all.
On the whole, while entertaining while being read, this novel provides little in the way of lasting satisfaction, emotional intensity or thoughtful appreciation: somewhat like literary junk-food.
Overall: 5; Plot: 5.5; Characters: 5; Style: 5; World-building: 4.5; Originality: 4.5;
Copyright date 2002, Baen Publishing Enterprises (Baen), January 2002, Cloth, 313 pages
ISBN: 0-671-31860-8 Order from: Amazon.com Barnes & Noble.com