Jan. 21st, 2010

starlady: (dodge this)
Weber, David and Eric Flint. Torch of Freedom. Riverdale, NY: Baen Books, 2009.

I wanted to like this book so much less than I did. In point of fact, it's the most sheer fun I've had in the Honorverse since…I don't know when; maybe not since The Short Victorious War (though I think the Saganami books are also pretty enjoyable). It's also an interesting mixture of frustrating tropes combined with some surprisingly thorough thinking on (among other things) slavery as an institution and human nature.

This is the most recent book in the Honorverse, which is at 14 books and counting, but I have made every effort not to discuss anything which isn't generally comprehensible from the backs of the books.

First cut! )

There's always more to say.  )

So, all in all, a guilty pleasure, but a guilty pleasure in which my faith has been partially restored. And if you're interested, you can download full-text HTML versions of the first 14 books here; they're off the Torch of Freedom CD bound into the book, which is free to share for free. I've numbered the main novels according to internal chronology; the remainder of the books are the short story collections, which generally fill in interesting gaps in the narrative.