Rating: 
Summary: Nerdy, Guilty Pleasure
Review: "In Death Ground," like the rest Weber's and White's Starfire series, is one of those science fiction novels and can and probably should be intellectually rejected. However, when I started reading it I had a hard time putting it down. The story is really quite simple: in the twenty-fourth century Humankind has stumbled upon a particularily nasty breed of aliens bent on systemically injesting (literally) every known being in the entire galaxy. Essentially these beings are ants in space, and they have little regard for their own life in pursuit of ultimate victory and, henceforth, the survival of their species. There are other aliens, but as a whole the aliens are slightly and uniformly [weak]. It seems as if the author simply thought of various earth animals and made them aliens, from the cat-like (and therefore predatorial) Khanate of Orion to the bird-like (and therefore fragile and agile) Ophiuchi Association. But the aliens are not really the focus of the novel, and neither are the relatively wooden characters. Instead the battles, strategies, and tactics of the opposing navies are really the most interesting part of this story. The reason is that this is novel based on a wargame, called Starfire, that includes a lot of novel ideas about space combat, namely warp points (points in space that allow for instantaneous travel between star systems) and reactionless drives (engines that allow spacecraft to behave like naval vessels.) In fact David Weber, the primary author, is the principal designer of the game, so undoubtedly all of these campaigns were actually playtested, and as a result are incredibly consistent. In short, if you are looking for a story with compelling drama and complex characters, look elsewhere. On the other hand, if you want a pleasantly forgettable, yet strangely addicting military science fiction novel, then look no further. For military history and science fiction buffs (such as myself), this book is pure fun. For anyone else, it is probably a bore. ***/**** stars -- Nick Schrock
Rating: 
Summary: Poorly written, repetitive, and with terrible book binding
Review: I was really let down by this book. Contrary to what others have said I do NOT believe it was anywhere near as good as starship troopers and armor. The story felt repetitive and did not flow well. Not to mention the quality of the book itself was terrible. Each page fell out as I read it. I would NOT suggest this book. Instead read Starship Troopers, Armor, Dune, or Enders game.
Rating: 
Summary: Hold at All Cost
Review: In Death Ground is the third novel by Weber & White in the Starfire series. However, it is the second in internal chronological sequence following Crusade and is the first in a duology with The Shiva Option. Insurrection is actually last in the series by internal chronology. This story takes place 60-odd years after the Theban War. The enemy ambushes Survey Flotilla 27, destroying or severely damaging the survey cruisers and their escorts. The enemy then pursues the survivors through warp point after warp point. The Terran Federation Navy diverts two nearby task forces to reinforce the survivors of SF27 and sends all available freighters and transports to evacuate the colony planets. TF58, under Admiral Anthony Villiers, is the first task force to reach the SF27 survivors in the Golan system. He holds the warp point for a while, bleeding the enemy and evacuating part of the population, until forced to withdraw to Erebor. TF58 has a month to prepare, receive reinforcements, and to start evacuations, but the enemy then attacks through the warp point with devastating tactics, mass, and a new weapon. Villiers is forced to commit his battleline to slow the advance, losing his battleships, and leaving Admiral Jackson Teller in command of the withdrawal into the K-45 system. This novel describes the desperate battles to stop the enemy advance. Since the warp points are bottle necks, the fighting is more separated than surface naval combat. Each warp point is defended and the TFN makes the Bugs pay dearly despite overwhelming odds against them, but more Bugs ships keep coming through. TFN reinforcements are still arriving, but will they be enough to stop the Bugs? This novel describes a campaign similar in many ways to the Pacific theater of World War II. The attack on Pearl Harbor destroyed or severely damaged every US battleship in the Pacific, forcing the US navy to rely on aircraft carriers and escort ships. Therefore, the strategy was to harass the enemy with destroyers, PT boats, and submarines, while the carrier task forces struck at enemy concentrations and tried to destroy the Japanese carriers. At the Coral Sea, aerial attacks by US carrier planes severely damaged three Japanese carriers and destroyed several escorts. Then, at Midway, the US carriers destroyed four of the remaining Japanese carriers. These two battles effectively stopped the Japanese advance. This novel is recommended to all Weber & White fans and anyone who enjoys stories of spatial battles with a touch of political intrigue.
Rating: 
Summary: Too much science
Review: While this is a fun adventure story and I really liked it, it does fall short when compared to Weber's Honor series. I know i'm being a jerk when comparing these two however at least with the "Honor" books you had characters that you could become attached too, not just paper thin constructs that are put in to add dialog between the space battles. The characters come and go so fast that you can never get attached to them. Also there are many terms and new weapons which while they are explained fairly well they are explained only once. I have a tendency to forget the differences between a HAWK, SBHAWK, ARHAWK and SSBHAWK. I would just like my memory refreshed from time to time is that too much to ask? Overall-3 and 1/2 stars
Rating:
Summary: I suppose you have to be a Starfire fan...
Review: I was (mostly) disappointed in this novel, as I was (mostly) disappointed in INSURRECTION and CRUSADE, but that did not stop me from reading them, and having trouble putting them down when it came time to go to bed! All of these books are pretty formulaic: Prelude, battle, interlude, battle, interlude, battle,... interlude, concluding battle, postlude. You can really tell they are based on a game in which the entire raison d'etre is to build up fleets and go out and fight. So, if you like descriptions of space battles, strategic and tactical maneuvers and combat chatter, you'll have no problem devouring this book and its predecessors. If, however, you're looking for more than a vestige of character development, or intrigue, or descriptions of aliens, alien worlds and alien cultures which are more than just throw-aways meant to move you forward to the next conflagration, you are likely barking up the wrong tree. If you are looking for "hard" sci-fi, you are definitely in the wrong place, as well. Not that the writing isn't exciting, it is. This particular book is somewhat more episodic than the first two in the series, but not altogether incoherent, as has been intimated in other reviews. But "space opera"? Well, "mindless violent space opera" maybe, but I wouldn't call it that, either. If you want space opera, try the Honor Harrington books or even E. E. "Doc" Smith's LENSMAN series for a rollicking read. (It's somewhat outdated, but still lots of fun.) All that being said, I await the next edition with some eagerness. What WILL the TFN and its allies do to finally destroy the Bug menace? and exactly how many battles will it take?
Rating:
Summary: Simply grand!
Review: People have critisized David Weber in the past for his tendency of killing off the 'big' characters in his stories and for not having enough charactor development. To them I say this...His books are set in periods of interstellar WAR, theres not a whole lot of time for character development, and the Starfire series concerns the character's PROFESSIONAL development, not their personal lives (as it should be) People who read these books expecting to find touchy-feeley emotional dialouge will, and should be, disappointed. Starfire is all about action and violence, and theres plenty to be found here thank goodness. I'm glad Weber's books don't read like Star Trek (or is it Star Drek?) in that all the 'main' characters are well and fine by episode's end. The Starfire series is a far more realistic portrayal of cosmic warfare and fragile peace. Kudos to Weber and White.
Rating:
Summary: The penultimate space opera
Review: This is the space adventure that puts all others to shame. I have waited decades for a decent space movie in vain and finally found the perfect science fiction adventure in a book. This book rocks!
Rating:
Summary: In Death Ground
Review: An outstanding story that needs a more conclusive conclusion. The best science fiction military novel I have ever read about total war. Perhaps Mr.Weber and Mr.White intended on leaving us in the doldrums of a never ending total war...I hope not.
Rating: 
Summary: Too over the top
Review: If you like over blown, over exagerated, disjointed vignetts, then this is the book. On the other hand, if you're a fan of serious space opera like the Honor Harrington series, don't expect it here. Each battle gets bigger than the last one. Characters come and go like they're all bit players. There are whole chapters that could have been stories in themselves but then disappear. All in all the book reads like a version of those basic computer games that have no end -- those where you shoot down 10 missiles and 20 twenty more keep coming faster and so on. After a while you simply get tired of the game and do something else. Judging from the ending, that's what the author did here -- got tired of the book and did something else.
Rating:
Summary: space battle on the grandest scale
Review: I've read this one twice and each time I have been unable to put it down. One of Webers best. Excellent us of weaponry terminology and battle tactics. Albeit humans as a food scource has been somewhat overused by sci-fi writers as has the conflict between humans and bugs. Naturally a sequel is required to end this war. The reader is left wanting more. Overall a good yarn where the reader doesn't have to concern themselves with the strengths and weaknesses of the characters or be bogged down by science.
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