Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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114 of 118 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A brand new series., 18 Oct 2006
In the early part of the twenty-fifth century, the Gbaba had succeeded in almost making humanity extinct. Had the Gbaba known that even one human remained, they would have hunted him down and finished their task. In a last desperate move, the people under Admiral Pei gave up their lives to insure that a few human beings slipped away without the Gbaba's knowledge. It was called Operation Ark and was to create a refuge for humanity without the betraying high-tech spoor which might draw Gbaba scout ships to it. The colonists aboard the Ark would sleep for many, many years.
The sleeping colonists had volunteered to have false memories of a false life implanted. None of them expected the colony's chief administrator, Langhorne, and the colony's chief psychologist, Bédard, to also program them into believing that Operation Ark's command staff were gods. There were quite a few among the command staff who balked at the notion of people actually worshiping them, mere humans no matter how advanced in technology, but it was too late. The deed had been done. A short revolution ended with the deaths of all the command staff.
The colonists led simple lives on the planet they named Safeholden. Invention, progress, change, any advancement at all is strictly forbidden. In orbit, a surveillance system still sweeps the planet, automatically striking anything that emits tech spoors. The colonists believe these rare blasts to be lightning bolts from their god, Langhorne, to keep them in line. Even in death, Langhorne would have won had it not been for Pei Kau-yung and a few select others. Kau-yung's elite few hid a PICA (Personality-Integrated Cybernetic Avatar) deep beneath a mountain. It looked, thought, felt, and basically WAS the human female named Nimue Alban. The biological Nimue had been one of the more brilliant tactical officers the Terran Federation Navy had ever produced. She had been one of the many that sacrificed her life for Operator Ark to succeed. A PICA may not have a heart, but it is identical to a real human, fully functional. This Nimue can eat, sleep, bleed, feel emotions, and more. However, this Nimue can do so many things that a real human could never accomplish. Kau-yung also left Nimue several high-tech gadgets. But nothing that would attract the attention of the orbital surveillance system. This Nimue "slept" beneath the mountain until Kau-yung's recording "woke" her up...750 years later.
Nimue Alban's task is to undo the mess created by Langhorne and Bédard's extra programming to the colonists. She is to restore the rich, varied heritage to the humanity from whom it had been stolen. And since this Nimue is 98% as real as the biological Nimue, she takes her tasks very seriously indeed.
**** Author David Weber never writes a short novel. This is because he is so descriptive, especially when it comes to weaponry and tactical maneuvers. There is absolutely no way that I can write a clear, concise synopsis of the book without it being over triple the size of this one. However, I believe I managed to give enough so that potential readers can decide whether or not this book is one they wish to purchase. This is the first of a new series by Weber, who has taken the sci-fi community by storm since his first Honor Harrington novel was debuted. And it has created a solid foundation upon which the rest of this series will build upon. Very well done and highly recommended! ****
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17 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Weber Classic - in every sense of the word..., 8 Mar 2007
Okay folks, for those who are new to Weber's works...you'll love this. It's got action, adventure and political intrigue but, such is Weber's steady hand, none of it overwhelms the other. The pacing is excellent, the main characters, with one or two exceptions, deep enough that we can actually care about them.
Now, despite the 5 stars, a word of warning to all those who are familiar with Weber's other works. It feels VERY familiar. It reads almost exactly like any of his Honor-verse books, or especially the Dahak-verse series.
Some of you may hate it for this very reason, I will admit, it struck a chord with me and for a fleeting moment, i felt a little shortchanged but ten chapter's into it and I felt like I was being visited by and old and welcome friend.
I really, really liked the overall premise and the concepts involved and once you get past the jarring familiarity that the names of the character's present (White Haven = Grey Harbour for example), its a damn fine read.
Worth the money and the wait.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Seriously worth reading time, 4 Mar 2008
A book that has taken a new take on an already established myth and reworked it into something entirely new. Not for Webber the plain old Arthurian tales of old but taking from the futuristic worlds where mankinds in its final days after aliens destroy the world in the prologue only to leave a few survivors fighting in a medieval world with no idea as to how they got there or the glorious achievements that mankind achieved beforehand. That is, of course, until a reborn survivor of mankinds fleet comes onto the scene and enacts the part of Merlin through the use of technology. Whilst the tale may appear simplistic within the pages, it's the sheer depth of the descriptiveness of the tale that makes this such a huge book. Is it required? Certainly as its this that separates David's work from many others and will endear him to fans who have only just discovered this author who's work may well become the next big epic as this tale springs into three separate stories from differing angles. Great quality writing with highly descriptive combat maturely blended with big screen mis-en-scene and characters who live a 3D life with emotional conflict. A real pleasure to read.
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