The Charisian Empire, born in war, has always known it must fight for its very survival. What most of its subjects don't know even now, however, is how much more it's fighting for. Emperor Cayleb, Empress Sharleyan, Merlin Athrawes, and their innermost circle of most trusted advisers do know. And they know if they lose it will be far worse than their own deaths and the destruction of all they know and love. For five years, Charis has survived all the Church of God Awaiting and the corrupt men who control it have thrown at the island empire. The price has been high and paid in blood. Despite its chain of hard-fought naval victories, Charis is still on the defensive. It can hold its own at sea, but if it is to survive, it must defeat the Church upon its own ground. Yet how does it invade the mainland and take the war to a foe whose population outnumbers its own fifteen to one? How does it prevent that massive opponent from rebuilding its fleets and attacking yet again? Charis has no answer to those questions, but needs to find one...quickly.
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Praise for David Weber Combines superb action SF elements and (surprise!) homage to the great novels of the Age of Fighting Sail (by C. S. Forester, Patrick O'Brian, and their ilk). Weber has an enormous audience that welcomes each enormous book.--Booklist, starred review on A Mighty Fortress Highly recommended.--Library Journal, starred review on By Schism Rent Asunder Gripping... Shifting effortlessly between battles among warp-speed starships and among oar-powered galleys, Weber brings the political maneuvering, past and future technologies, and vigorous protagonists together for a cohesive, engrossing whole.Publishers Weekly, starred review on Of Armageddon Reef --Various
About the Author
DAVID WEBER is the author of the New York Times bestselling Honor Harrington series, the most recent of which was At All Costs. His many other novels include Mutineers' Moon, The Armageddon Inheritance, Heirs of Empire, Path of the Fury, and Wind Rider's Oath. He lives in South Carolina.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
30 of 32 people found the following review helpful
By Marshall Lord
TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is the fifth installment in the "Safehold" series in which the major character is Nimue Alban. Not all of the author's fanbase will like it - there is very little here for the people who like high-tech space battles for instance - but I thought it was a big improvement on volume four and as with the previous books in the series I could hardly put it down.
Again, like most of the previous novels in this series it's another massive doorstop of a book, with five pages of maps and 550 pages of story followed by another 50 pages or so of appendices (character index, glossary etc.) But I found the editing quite a bit tighter than the last installment, and you have more of a sense that the author knows where he is going with the story, despite the fact that the war between the good guys and the evil "Temple" seemed to be facing a complete stalemate at the end of book four.
If you're going to read this series, don't begin with this book: start at the beginning and work through in order. The five "Nimue Alban"/Safehold books published to date are:
1) Off Armageddon Reef
2) By Schism Rent Asunder
3) By Heresies Distressed
4) A Mighty Fortress (Safehold 4)
5) This book, How Firm a Foundation, and
6) "Midst Toil and Tribulation (Safehold).... Read more ›
Again, like most of the previous novels in this series it's another massive doorstop of a book, with five pages of maps and 550 pages of story followed by another 50 pages or so of appendices (character index, glossary etc.) But I found the editing quite a bit tighter than the last installment, and you have more of a sense that the author knows where he is going with the story, despite the fact that the war between the good guys and the evil "Temple" seemed to be facing a complete stalemate at the end of book four.
If you're going to read this series, don't begin with this book: start at the beginning and work through in order. The five "Nimue Alban"/Safehold books published to date are:
1) Off Armageddon Reef
2) By Schism Rent Asunder
3) By Heresies Distressed
4) A Mighty Fortress (Safehold 4)
5) This book, How Firm a Foundation, and
6) "Midst Toil and Tribulation (Safehold).... Read more ›
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In this book, Weber manages to move the various threads along rather more than in the previous volume.
The book is, however, still marred by excessive long-windedness, and by a light/teasing/sarcastic dialogue that is so often misplaced; I positively cringe at some of the dialogue, especially with Sharleyan. In fact I find myself skimming over whole pages of verbiage. Such a pity when the Safehold concept is so good, and when there are many really well-written and well-structured scenes (including fine set-piece battles). The problem is that one gets hooked by the early volumes, and now it's necessary to wade through an awful lot of pages of drivel. W. badly needs a good editor who can put a blue pencil through a lot of this, making for a much tighter work. In this way, the author could probably complete the project in 3-5 volumes.
The book is, however, still marred by excessive long-windedness, and by a light/teasing/sarcastic dialogue that is so often misplaced; I positively cringe at some of the dialogue, especially with Sharleyan. In fact I find myself skimming over whole pages of verbiage. Such a pity when the Safehold concept is so good, and when there are many really well-written and well-structured scenes (including fine set-piece battles). The problem is that one gets hooked by the early volumes, and now it's necessary to wade through an awful lot of pages of drivel. W. badly needs a good editor who can put a blue pencil through a lot of this, making for a much tighter work. In this way, the author could probably complete the project in 3-5 volumes.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In the latest installment of the Safehold series, the Empire of Charis has only narrowly defeated the Navy of God, but faces an escalation of methods in their struggle for survival. The Church is learning how to deal with the immense advantages of Charis' knowledge of their activities and the Inquisition has moved to the tactics of terror in their efforts to destroy the only realm on Safehold that does not answer to them. In the face of revelations regarding the legacies of the Archangels, the Charisians must take their war deep on the continent, where revolutions are brewing and a captive prince needs to be rescued.
As usual with this series, Weber weaves different threads into the tale: issues of faith in the light of Merlin's revelations; abuse of power by the Church and fear of the same by Charis; war on the high seas between the fleets of Charis and the Church; and swashbuckling action as the war takes to the streets and mountains of the mainland. To this is now added the fear induced by terroism and the ravages of civil war as a realm comes down firmly on the fence between Charis and the Church, and comes apart.
The book is a definite page turner and hard to put down, events unrolling slowly on the strategic scale but exploding into action on the immediate scale.
As usual with this series, Weber weaves different threads into the tale: issues of faith in the light of Merlin's revelations; abuse of power by the Church and fear of the same by Charis; war on the high seas between the fleets of Charis and the Church; and swashbuckling action as the war takes to the streets and mountains of the mainland. To this is now added the fear induced by terroism and the ravages of civil war as a realm comes down firmly on the fence between Charis and the Church, and comes apart.
The book is a definite page turner and hard to put down, events unrolling slowly on the strategic scale but exploding into action on the immediate scale.
7 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Having been rather scathing in my review of the previous book in this series (A Mighty Fortress (Safehold 4)) which suffers from serious pacing problems, I am pleased to report that Weber is on much better form this time, with none of the ponderousness, padding, and lack of plot progress of the last book. In fact the pace here is at least as fast as it has ever been in the whole series.
So if you've been worrying that the series would end up dragging to a halt, fear not; it looks like that fate has been averted for now at least.
Some readers might even prefer to skip book 4 entirely and pick up the series again here - it should be easy enough to pick up the important events of the previous book from context alone.
The only reason I'm not giving the book 5 stars is because the series as a whole still carries two great flaws; the $!%@!ng names, and the fact that the plot is still somewhat on the predictable side (which is probably unavoidable given the series concept and how it started off).
I do have some slight concerns about the fact that while a deadline has now been revealed, at the current rate of progress it will take something like sixteen more books to reach. I really hope that Weber is planning either a large time-skip or two, or to significantly pick up the rate of passage of in-universe time; while Weber is obviously no stranger to long-running series, I really doubt that this setting has enough scope to sustain that many books without once again getting bogged down. But that is not a concern that affects the enjoyment of this book at all.
So if you've been worrying that the series would end up dragging to a halt, fear not; it looks like that fate has been averted for now at least.
Some readers might even prefer to skip book 4 entirely and pick up the series again here - it should be easy enough to pick up the important events of the previous book from context alone.
The only reason I'm not giving the book 5 stars is because the series as a whole still carries two great flaws; the $!%@!ng names, and the fact that the plot is still somewhat on the predictable side (which is probably unavoidable given the series concept and how it started off).
I do have some slight concerns about the fact that while a deadline has now been revealed, at the current rate of progress it will take something like sixteen more books to reach. I really hope that Weber is planning either a large time-skip or two, or to significantly pick up the rate of passage of in-universe time; while Weber is obviously no stranger to long-running series, I really doubt that this setting has enough scope to sustain that many books without once again getting bogged down. But that is not a concern that affects the enjoyment of this book at all.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent
David Weber just gets better and better.
Not a book for the "zap,zap, bang, bang space opera only" enthusiast, but a well written absorbing addition to the Safehold... Read more
Not a book for the "zap,zap, bang, bang space opera only" enthusiast, but a well written absorbing addition to the Safehold... Read more
Published 12 days ago by John Dean
4.0 out of 5 stars
Slow but steady
This novel is a clever example of technological advances changing societies. Done in an entertaining story arc. A little slow perhaps but enjoyable none the less. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Captain Kretin
4.0 out of 5 stars
Once you get past the nautical gibberish, a fine book
This book starts terribly. We are treated to sixty pages of incomprehensible gibberish in which sailors desperately thwart the top-gallants and abaft the mains'l while the sea... Read more
Published 1 month ago by D. R. Cantrell
4.0 out of 5 stars
Another worthy (and wordy) sequel.
If David Weber has a fault as an author, it's that all his characters talk in the same spectacularly long-winded way. Having said that, this is still an enjoyable read. Read more
Published 2 months ago by derek_c
3.0 out of 5 stars
A mediaevil slash-and-thrust with a veneer of science fiction
The author obviously loves sailing and the world of galleons and there's a lot of affection in the writing - and, I suspect, a great deal of accuracy. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Mr. Leonard F. Clark
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good continuation
The safehold series continues well in this book.
By now the basic storyline is fairly clear but this book goes deeper into the impact of true religious war. Read more
By now the basic storyline is fairly clear but this book goes deeper into the impact of true religious war. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Liam B
2.0 out of 5 stars
Boring............
I've read all the series, but this one sadly, does little to advance the saga's story line. There's very little technology,and little action from the cybernetic avatar who could be... Read more
Published 4 months ago by WGR
4.0 out of 5 stars
like it but flawed
dear lords why did you spend what felt like 3 chapters on the one scene of a ship in a storm? there was no dramatic tension as all the characters were secondary at best and there... Read more
Published 4 months ago by Mokkhan
4.0 out of 5 stars
David Weber, latest Safehold.
David is in the top 5 of the present SF authors. However it appears that he gets paid by the word as he minutly describes the thought process of all the characters. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Chris Davidson
5.0 out of 5 stars
Good book in a nice package.
You can read the premise and reviews of the content of the book elsewhere.
Personally I like the book and the series. Read more
Personally I like the book and the series. Read more
Published 4 months ago by customer
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