Rating: 
Summary: OK Space Opera in the Starfire Universe
Review: "Insurrection" is OK space opera set in Starfire universe.The story is a melange of the American Civil War and WWII-type, Pacific-style, naval actions. In this case, the frontier worlds break away from the center of Terran power. In the process they rend the fabric of the Federation Space Navy. The characters are not real 3-D, but in space opera who cares? There are a tad more of them then I believe the authors are technically able to handle. I suspect the authors harbor a secret desire to write the sf version of "The Winds of War". Good stuff for those looking for a content-free shoot-em-up.
Rating:
Summary: OK Space Opera in the Starfire Universe
Review: "Insurrection" is OK space opera set in Starfire universe.
The story is a melange of the American Civil War and WWII-type, Pacific-style, naval actions. In this case, the frontier worlds break away from the center of Terran power. In the process they rend the fabric of the Federation Space Navy.
The characters are not real 3-D, but in space opera who cares? There are a tad more of them then I believe the authors are technically able to handle. I suspect the authors harbor a secret desire to write the sf version of "The Winds of War".
Good stuff for those looking for a content-free shoot-em-up.
Rating:
Summary: A rather choppy and uneven space opera
Review: First off, "Insturrection" is a space opera, nothing more. Those looking for character developement or character interaction will be sorely disappointed. Although Weber's hand will be apparent to fans of the Honor Harrington series, particularly in the description of naval space battles, it is clearly lacking in both pacing and characters. "Insurrection" chronicles a war of secession in the Terran Federation. Its inspiration lies squarely on the american revolution (with even some overt and explicit references in the book), but the action departs rather quickly from it. Most of the book is spent on following a few characters (all of them flat) as they fight bloody naval battle after battle. The battles themselves show Weber's steady hand and excellent story telling. However, the book feels extremely choppy, with months falling off "between chapters" followed by entire chapters which describe the action of only a few hours or days. This gives the book an uneven feel which makes the whole suffer. Fans of space opera on the grand tradition of Doc Smith will probably be reasonably satisfied by "Insurrection" and its epic battles, despite its flaws in pacing; however, if you require characters to go with your action, you might want to stay away from this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Less Heroic, so better Book
Review: I am not a big fan of most David Weber work, as it mainly consists of upstanding people who always do the right thing, and never die because they choose heroism. Likewise, the villains are generally obviously evil people who get what's coming to them. This book is different. It follows the rebellion of "fringer" worlds from a democratic government that denies them equal representation. There are few bad guys, and upstanding characters exist on both sides in abundance. Characters die as a result of their heroic, but dangerous choices. Another big focus of this focus of this book is weapons development, and communications. As the war progresses, each side develops new weapons, and immediately after seeing a new weapon, work on ways to counter it. Also being able to get information on the enemy, and to friends often makes the difference between victory and defeat in this war. This is book is great, and is a part of an excellent series. "In Death Ground" and "The Shiva Option" are two other outstanding books in the series. "The Crusade" is not quite as good. If you are looking for a space military book that is more "realistic" and less bogged down with hero worship than the typical space opera fare, this book is for you.
Rating:
Summary: It was fun reading, but hard to place it in the series.
Review: I enjoyed reading the book, but I did had a hard time placing it into the series. As a stand a lone novel it was interesting and fun. Insurrection is suppose to be part of a series, but it doesn't connect with previous book in the series.
Rating: 
Summary: The first in a superb series
Review: I have read all of Weber's sci-fi works, and thoroughly enjoyed each. The writing in Insurrection is very good. The tempo of events keeps one on the edge of your seat waiting, or dreading, what comes next. The characters are normal people caught up in the most exciting and terrible events of their lives, and trying to do the best they can according to their sense of honor. The reader doesn't have the "god view" big picture knowledge of events, merely the same one the characters have similarly to Harold Coyle's military fiction books. The battles are believable, the technology consistant throughout. I highly recomend this book to readers of science fiction, and the militery genre both.
Rating:
Summary: An Impressive First Effort
Review: I recently reread this book, and was even more impressed than the first time I read it. Realizing that this book has a copyright of 1990 means it's the first book in the series that includes Crusade, In Death Ground, and The Shiva Option; it sets the stage for the other books which, though having later copyrights, occur chronologically earlier in time. What I hadn't noticed when I first read the book is that it is the last in chronological time. This adds even more impact to the book, realizing that it follows the crusade against the bugs, detailed in In Death Ground and The Shiva Option. That means that Weber and White set the stage for the other 3 novels in this one, and fleshed out the details later. It's great space opera, and shows signs of Weber's political awareness, that come out with even greater impact in the last Honor Harrington adventure, War of Honor. The machinations of the Corporate Worlds in the Federation Assembly as they attempt to squeeze more and more profit out of "the Fringe" with total disregard for the consequences should be a warning to ALL politicians. In this book, the battles are classic Weber/White, the strategies planned by both sides are fascinating. While some of the characters may seem a little "flat" (which is typical of space opera), others (notably Admiral Han Li and Oskar Dieter) are not. And the influence of weapons development on the struggle is well-done.
If you're a Weber/White fan, buy this book; I believe you'll enjoy it. But be sure to read it in the proper order in the series.
I also enjoyed the "trivia" Weber and White bring to their books. How many readers are aware that Admiral Analiese Ashigara is named for a Japanese heavy cruiser from the World War II era?
Rating: 
Summary: Disappointing, I am afraid
Review: I will never understand why some American authors have this need of constantly harping on the... the mythology of the story of their own country, I guess. I was quite enjoying the political setup of the story, when the Declaration of Independence started. I then realized that I was reading a sci-fi reworking of American history. Something similar to Orson Scott Card Book of Mormon-Earth saga. I would have enjoyed it anyway, but -in case someone had missed it- the authors launched in a word by word reiteration, going from tasteful recreation to lamentable rip-off. I am not American. I am not a mormon. I think such reworkings show a deep lack of respect for true history, specially because they tend to turn into maniquean expositions of Good vs. Bad. I would ask Mr. Weber and Mr. White to please refrain from further indulging on this historical... parodization. Here's one for subtlety, if originality is not possible.
Rating:
Summary: Blends Science and fiction in a seamless line.
Review: If you like David Webers other works then you will like this book
Rating:
Summary: Alienation and Inalienable Rights
Review: Insurrection is the first novel written by Weber & White in the Starfire series. However, it is the last in internal chronological sequence and should be read after The Shiva Option. It begins several generations after the Fourth Interstellar War against the Bugs. The Legislative Assembly of the Terran Federation has long been dominated by the Corporate Worlds at the expense of the Fringe Worlds. Now the Corporate Worlds have devised a plan to reapportion the Assembly by merging with the Orion Khanate, thereby reducing the Fringe World power base. They are frustrated at the last moment by bad publicity generated when Oskar Dieter, a Corporate World leader, personally insults Fionna MacTaggart, leader of the Fringe Worlders. However, the leader of the Corporate World delegation, Simon Taliaferro, plots to assassinate Fionna in order to throw the Fringe Worlders into a fury so that they will resign from the Assembly. His plot works as planned, but the consequences are more that he reckoned with. Terran Federation Navy Task Force 17 moves against Beaufort, Fionna's home planet, as a show of force, but it moves too slowly and the insurrection has started before it arrives. Admiral Forsythe is advised to go slowly and negotiate with the rebels, but refuses and plans on firing on opposed ships if necessary. This triggers a mutiny, with the Fringe Worlders taking or destroying all TF17 ships. As the word is spread, other ships mutiny and flee to the Fringe Worlds. Tenth Cruiser Squadron is too far within the Federation to flee, so takes the desperate gamble of raiding Galloway's World to destroy the largest Federation shipyards. Overall, the Federation loses approximately half of Battle Fleet, about 80 percent of the Frontier Fleet, and most of their shipbuilding capability for at least 6 months. This bad news forces the fall of the current government and brings Oskar Dieter to power as prime minister. Dieter has been greatly changed by these events and feels much guilt over the assignation of Fionna. He takes the position of prime minister only to alleviate the damage done by the extremists. He continues to rearm while undermining the political power of the Corporate Worlds. He establishes clandestine communications with the rebels to keep them informed of the political situation. Admiral Ian Trevayne is cut off from the Inner Worlds by the mutineers and forced to flee through Khanate territory to the Zephrain system. With the resources of the Gehenna R&D base on Zephrain A-III, Trevayne has new ships and weapons built for his fleet. An initial attempt by the rebels to take Zephrain is repulsed. Trevayne gains a very tentative channel with the Inner Worlds through the Khanate, but cannot send the new weapons data through that conduit. The Federation consists of the Rump -- the Inner Worlds -- and the Rim under Governor-general Trevayne. The Federation has lost all the choke points between themselves and the Rump; only Admiral Trevayne's forces have been victorious over the rebels. Dieter is beginning to use the term Terran Republic, the rebels own name for themselves, in cabinet sessions. The situation is bleak. This story is based on the political and economic situation between the British Empire and its American colonies prior to the Revolution. As with that situation, the Fringe Worlds are being economically exploited by the Federation mercantile class with the assistance of the Legislative Assembly. While Simon Taliaferro is not a king, he is just as mad as King George and just as dangerous to his own long-term interests. The ensuing military actions in this story are naval rather than military, but otherwise the results are much the same. Since the Khanate basically remains neutral, this story is greatly simplified compared to the Revolution by the lack of other major powers. Of course, this plot has been used many times before -- i.e., the colonies breaking off from the mother world -- but a cliche is not necessarily a falsehood nor need it be trivial. For those that can't relate to the American Revolution, how many wars did England fight against France to establish its own sovereignty? After all, England was a colony of France after William the Conqueror, at least from the French monarch's point of view. Von Clausewitz's On War is quoted several times in this book. The story reminds me of another axiom: "War is an extension of politics by other means". Politicians should be careful what they ask for; they may get it -- and choke on it. Recommended for all Weber and White fans and anyone else interested in realpolitik, and warfare, as practiced in the far future.
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