Rating: 
Summary: want an enjoyable read?
Review: I really enjoyed reading this book. Well written and interesting. This reads as a military novel with the struggle of the The Empress's Own trying to save their prince. A worthy read. I recommend it highly.
Rating: 
Summary: A decent, romping read!
Review: I'll say I enjoyed this book as David Weber is a wonderful writer, but I didn't love this book. Why? While the plot which continues on for 2 more books and isn't yet finished, is a great plot, goal of the main characters is to get to a space port to get off a planet. And it takes them 2.75 books to get to said space port!!!! There are a LOT of battle scenes and while Weber writes great battle scenes, there are TOO many battle scenes which just stretches the whole series out over a great many pages!!!! On whole this book is a decent read, and worth the time if you are a David Weber Fan.
Rating: 
Summary: was i supposed to think rorke's drift?
Review: i'm a fan of weber's honor harrington and elizabeth moon's sf series. that fact, and the reviews for this book, convinced me to try it. i did , mostly, like it.while there are quite a few elements straight out of the 'honorverse' (like the empire and the hexapedal natives--and did that idea start with edgar rice burroughs?), by the time we get to the primitive planet on which Our Hero grows up, they've pretty much disappeared, probably because we are on a primitive planet. there are a few nits i'd like to pick with the authors. in reference to the saints' bathing habits-- they have space craft but no functional water purification/recycling system???? in a thousand years, nobody has improved on chemical deodorants? and is this what the authors really think about ecology? of course, i could forgive them all that for the surprise near the end of the book. that was a very funny scene. as other reviewers have written, the character development is wonderful. the dialogue and descriptions are excellent. if you know some history, the book is even better. (greek city states, right?). i enjoyed it enough to want to read the rest of the series.
Rating:
Summary: was i supposed to think rorke's drift?
Review: i'm a fan of weber's honor harrington and elizabeth moon's sf series. that fact, and the reviews for this book, convinced me to try it. i did , mostly, like it. while there are quite a few elements straight out of the 'honorverse' (like the empire and the hexapedal natives--and did that idea start with edgar rice burroughs?), by the time we get to the primitive planet on which Our Hero grows up, they've pretty much disappeared, probably because we are on a primitive planet. there are a few nits i'd like to pick with the authors. in reference to the saints' bathing habits-- they have space craft but no functional water purification/recycling system???? in a thousand years, nobody has improved on chemical deodorants? and is this what the authors really think about ecology? of course, i could forgive them all that for the surprise near the end of the book. that was a very funny scene. as other reviewers have written, the character development is wonderful. the dialogue and descriptions are excellent. if you know some history, the book is even better. (greek city states, right?). i enjoyed it enough to want to read the rest of the series.
Rating:
Summary: Not deep thought, just a good read
Review: If you're looking for deep thoughts on the future of warfare or somesuch, go elsewhere. If you want a space opera that keeps going, this is the place. The prince is shown to be a royal pain in the butt, but then, that's what royalty tends towards, until someone takes a shot at them. The Marines are shown as true to life. Someone made a comment about the constant swearing by the Marines. Well I'm here to tell you, in a combat situation, proper language and etiquette are the first things out the window. And these Marines seem real to me. The problems shown with procurement of weapons is realistic. One only has to look back at the problems of the M-16 rifles during the Viet Nam war to see that every problem is not ironed out before a weapon system goes to the troops. As far as the romance, or lack thereof, hey, it's a combat novel. If you want romance, go to the bodice ripper aisle. I like the characters. I am starting to like Prince Roger more and more, as I suspect the authors planned. The rest of the cast is shown to be human, even the aliens. They are us, and we are all in the fight. Buy this one, I don't think you'll regret it.
Rating:
Summary: My oh My!!
Review: Let's just be blunt, this book rocks. David Weber is my favorite living sci-fi author (read his Honor Harrington novels to find out why,) so I ordered this without a thought. Turns out to have been a good thing, because I discovered another author's works to enjoy as well. John Ringo, the other author is new to the writing scene, with two other books to his name. Reading MARCH UPCOUNTRY prompted me to go out and buy them as well. The two authors together produce a pleasant vintage science fiction read, which like a fine wine will only get better as the collaberation ages. I won't disclose the plot, as other reviews have done this so well, but let me just say, "Wow! Good read!" I stayed up till 6AM to finish it, it's that good. The characters are well crafted, with depth. They grow as the story progresses, and they do so in interesting and believable ways. And the plots, sub-plots and side plots keep you engrossed and reading on and on, long into the night. I'd give the book two thumbs up, but then I'd have no way to flip the pages. Go buy it. Now. Click on that little 1-Click button and read this story. You won't be sorry.
Rating:
Summary: honor & growing up!
Review: MARCH UPCOUNTRY is just exciting story telling! Of course, the one thing David Weber always brings to anything he writes is that thread of honor. He expects the characters who populate his worlds to recognize treachery & deceit, & in the face of overwhelming odds, display an almost mythical, stereotypical sense of honor. Here is a haughty, privileged prince who has to grow up fast or die, while he also has to watch those sworn to protect him die. It's a good read & Moms & Dads, whatever you feel about war & those who wage it, if you have teenage boys to whom you want to show what honor & growing up is all about, buy them copies of MARCH UPCOUNTRY & its sequels MARCH TO THE SEA & MARCH TO THE STARS. This is a worthy read, the authors have not lost their touch, if anything they've gotten better!
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Summary: A Stroll Through the Countryside, Not
Review: March Upcountry is the first book in a trilogy or possibly longer series. In several ways this series resembles C. S. Forester's Flying Colours, a tale of fighting men stranded on foreign soil who are trying to evade the enemy and capture transportation home. Prince Roger, the Empress of Man's third son, is making a goodwill tour to Leviathan aboard the assault transport Charles DeGlopper. Unfortunately, the transport is sabotaged and has to land on Murduk, the closest suitable planet with a spaceport. The Imperials discover, however, that it has been occupied by the enemy and two enemy cruisers are in orbit. Roger and his marine bodyguards cram into four assualt shuttles with as much materiel as they can carry and set course for the planet while the navy takes on the cruisers. The DeGlopper manages to kill one cruiser and lures the other to close range, then self-destructs, taking that cruiser with it. The shuttles land without being detected. Now they only have to travel thousands of kilometers across the continent to a seaport, take ship to an island, and then assault the spaceport, hopefully capturing a ship without being detected. Moreover, the planet is inhabited by rather bellicose sentients, so they will likely have to fight their way to the coast. As they march out from the landing site, Roger kills a large, scaly herbivore after Captain Pahner calls hold fire and gets reamed out by the Captain. Shortly thereafter, Cord, a native, shows up to meet the person who killed the flar beast that was chasing him. When told that Roger had done it, Cord declares that he owes a life debt to Roger and is now his slave. After bivouacing among vampires and marching through a jungle filled with their flesh dissolving larva, the surviving marines reach Cord's village and are made welcome. Cord's tribe, The People, have a problem with the local city-state, Q'Nkok; the city folk are stealing their wood and giving them inferior trade goods. They could attack the city, but would then be vulnerable to other tribes. The marines accompany them to the city, where Roger meets the King of Q'Nkok and explains the problems. Since the King seems to be friendly, the marines bug the various noble Houses and discover that three of them have conspired to stir up the villagers, creating confusion so they can overthrow the king. The marines help the King to thwart the plot and in return receive supplies and support for their journey. The book continues in the same vein as the marines travel toward Far Voitan and beyond, living off the land and saving their munitions as best they can. One of the larger problems is a flaw in some plasma rifles, similar to problems in Viet Nam with the M-16 rifle and in World War II with the Sterling rifle; somehow low cost bidders frequently get away with shoddy methods. In the case of the Luger pistol, the German army never was able to get the design fixed or replaced; instead, many Army officers bought P-38 pistols for a personal weapon while the Gestapo preferred PPKs. This series is a high adventure tale somewhat like the story of The Ten Thousand, but with a company-size unit using high-tech weapons. It is also a coming of age story, for Roger begins this journey as a somewhat spoiled and naive nobleman whom his mother doesn't fully trust. Each new situation provides Roger with more insight into his strengths and weakness and allows him to grow as a man, a leader, and a lover. The romance between Roger and Sergeant Despreaux is barely noticeable in this volume, but is surely destinied to grow. The cover is nice, but not much like the book. What would anyone want with a mirrored camosuit; maybe laser reflective? Have you noticed how often the cover doesn't quite match the story! Recommended for Weber and Ringo fans and anyone else who likes military adventures with a touch of political intrigue.
Rating: 
Summary: Definately a low point for David Weber
Review: March upcountry, the story of a spoiled prince stranded on an alien planet with a group of marines sworn to protect him is probably the worst of all the books David Weber has written (or helped to write in this case). It's supposed to be a tale of coming of age, but to be honest, it sort of fell flat on it's face. The book started out favorably, introducing the main players in a relatively dynamic way. Unfortunately, as soon as they touched the ground, it was almost non-stop action, and the potential chances for character development were missed. The reader is left with 2 dimentional cookie cutter cutouts of all the characters. I barely cared when someone died, because they were little more than red-shirted ensigns. Most annoying was the poor use of the character Cord. The book spends 40 pages introducing him and from there, he's barely mentioned till near the end of the book. Here he's the first alien we meet and he's bloodsworn to the Prince, and we barely see him, what motivates him and why he's even important to the story. I think the main problem is that it tried to go too far too quickly and it drowned the characters while it was doing it. My advice, don't bother unless you're a Weber (or Ringo) fan. And if you do bother, at least wait till it's out in paperback.
Rating:
Summary: Spoiled brat meets reality
Review: Prince Roger McClintock is a embarrassment. Everyone in his regal family is either too busy to deal with him, or has a bigoted reaction to his close resemblance to his disloyal father. Not even his mother, the Empress Regnant, can break through her instinctive emotional response to engage her son as a human being, treating him as a potential traitor and security risk before she treats him as her child. Instead, she shuffles her responsibilities in regard to Roger off onto flunkies and servants. Predictably enough, Roger grows up spoiled, self-indulgent, and reckless. Factions at Court try to manipulate the young prince, with varied success, further fueling suspicions as to his loyalty and stability. Fortunately for the Empire, while the Empress has a dangerous blind spot bordering on gross dereliction of her Imperial Duty when it comes to her youngest child, she has the sense to employ top-flight servants and flunkies, and to keep her military bodyguards free of court politics. This fact will become critically important not only to herself and her son, but her empire as a whole. Roger is sent packing, over his immature objections, on a state visit to participate in a boring and unpleasant, but politically necessary ceremony on an unpleasant and distant world. Along with him are bundled his immediate staff, and a contingent of his long-suffering and generally contemptuous bodyguard. Along the way, the military transport in which the prince is traveling is sabotaged and critically damaged by a pre-programmed 'zombie' traitor, and the ship is left limping towards the only star system within reach. Things go from bad to worse as they stumble upon a force of hostile warships sneaking about in Imperial territory and clearly up to no good. Convinced that the only habitable planet, Marduk, has been compromised, and determined to prevent the capture of a member of the Family Royal by the fanatical and generally unprincipled foe, Prince Roger is bundled off in a shuttle force with as many of his bodyguard as will fit, again over his immature objections. Meanwhile, as the shuttle force makes its way to a covert planet-fall, the crippled transport makes a stand against the opposing force, managing to destroy the last of them by a suicidal ruse. Landing on the far side of a large planet from the only human base, facing a hostile terrain and climate, Prince Roger's force must figure a way to march clear around the globe and assault the enemy troops holding that base, with only a long company of 'lightly' equipped Marine-bodyguards. Further worsening matters is the facts that they must make their way on foot, and they have roughly six months in which to make this epic journey, because the flora and fauna of Marduk are markedly lacking in certain critical human dietary requirements, and there are only enough nutritional supplements to last the assembled force half a year. It's "Get to the base, or starve trying." Soon after the March Upcountry begins, the prince begins to show some signs of unsuspected depth. His self-indulgent field trips and risk-taking pleasures have been dismissed as the pursuits of a spoiled playboy, but they have left the prince a talented athlete, and a skilled hunter along the lines of the adventurous European aristocracy of the eighteenth century. Prince Roger is as crack a shot as any "great white hunter" of that era, and as physically competent as any extreme athlete. In addition, he's benefitted from the genetic and cybernetic tinkering that all Imperial family members receive, making him surprisingly competent in the primitive conditions he finds himself. His bodyguard are bemused to find their contemptible object of duty displaying advanced skills they never knew he possessed. The bodyguard company is a surprise to it's own members, too, as they begin to discover that while each member was selected for military competence, they were also selected for diversity of other skills, too. The jungle is full of seriously dangerous life, the hostile climate causes breaks-down in their gear, native politics and cultures complicate their planning, and raiding natives displaced by larger, more aggressive tribes threaten their lives. Never-the-less, the assembled company move off through the lethal jungles of Marduk, on their mission to Get The Prince Home, even as they learn startling things about each other and their prince. Death and blood will follow their trail, but they've got a mission, and they're not about to fail. The technology of March Upcountry is interesting, fully developed, and well thought-through. Technical aspects are glossed over, where the workings of the equipment is too close to 'magical', and this is a good thing. While the technology is required to make the story work, Weber avoids trying to explain things he can't explain, and doesn't tempt us to inquire by adding too much detail. Instead, he supplies a few essential tid-bits for verisimilitude, and then asks us to believe the rest. OK, fair enough: I'll believe it works. This is an area where other S-F writers would do very well to copy him. The politics of the court are also left vague, with just enough detail to show the court as a real snake pit, without creating plot holes with excess detail. Again, this is effective and I like it. In other books, I've observed authors sinking themselves into inescapable traps by trying to document parts of the story that do their skills no credit. Weber avoids this, and moves on with his story. Bravo! The characters are multi-facetted, and show personal development. This is too rare in military/adventure S-F, and for that alone, I would recommend this book. I detect some elements of Xenophon and his Ten-Thousand in this story, which is a bit of history I would strongly recommend to any person interested in military S-F, as I would also recommend the exploits of the historical Belisarius. Overall, this is as good as it gets within the genre today, and I unreservedly recommend this book as a top-flight read.
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