Rating: 
Summary: Overall worthwhile, interesting ideas yet immature delivery
Review: 3.5 stars rounded to 4. I greatly enjoyed the first 6 of David Weber's Honor Harrington series so I thought I'd check out this series of books by him. I must admit I was a little disappointed by this piece. There are some good ideas in it however Weber is still learning his craft here and the presentation comes off as immature. Not immature attitude wise, but he has not yet mastered his craft. The idea of long-lived aliens fighting a war on earth while their descendants, humanity, are unaware of it is intriguing enough. The enhanced soldier idea is old, but Weber handles it well enough so it doesn't appear terribly old and re-used. His battles as always are superb. However, there are somethings that are too predictable. Such as the fiery young woman who initially takes a dislike to our hero. We all know what will happen in that relationship. Cleverly though, he has her speak in Shakespearian English, the tongue she grew up in. Which is a nice touch giving us a reinforced reminder of her age and avoiding having all the long-lived ones come off as being able to easily master the language and societal changes that happen around them, particularly as many of them are sequestered. The plot is not perfectly smooth, it stutters and stops and starts which is a shame because a bit more polished presentation would have made this a much better book. Though I have been a bit negative up above, it is actually fairly decent. The battles of course are superb. The intrigue of the power-seeking villains looking out for themselves against one another is done well and though still an early effort he makes sure to have enough of his characters flesh out to be more than one dimensional. Perhaps not three dimensional, but not cardboard cutouts. As a story it is interesting enough. It is also a nice view into the early talent of one of the top selling authors of today.
Rating:
Summary: Overall worthwhile, interesting ideas yet immature delivery
Review: 3.5 stars rounded to 4. I greatly enjoyed the first 6 of David Weber's Honor Harrington series so I thought I'd check out this series of books by him. I must admit I was a little disappointed by this piece. There are some good ideas in it however Weber is still learning his craft here and the presentation comes off as immature. Not immature attitude wise, but he has not yet mastered his craft. The idea of long-lived aliens fighting a war on earth while their descendants, humanity, are unaware of it is intriguing enough. The enhanced soldier idea is old, but Weber handles it well enough so it doesn't appear terribly old and re-used. His battles as always are superb. However, there are somethings that are too predictable. Such as the fiery young woman who initially takes a dislike to our hero. We all know what will happen in that relationship. Cleverly though, he has her speak in Shakespearian English, the tongue she grew up in. Which is a nice touch giving us a reinforced reminder of her age and avoiding having all the long-lived ones come off as being able to easily master the language and societal changes that happen around them, particularly as many of them are sequestered. The plot is not perfectly smooth, it stutters and stops and starts which is a shame because a bit more polished presentation would have made this a much better book. Though I have been a bit negative up above, it is actually fairly decent. The battles of course are superb. The intrigue of the power-seeking villains looking out for themselves against one another is done well and though still an early effort he makes sure to have enough of his characters flesh out to be more than one dimensional. Perhaps not three dimensional, but not cardboard cutouts. As a story it is interesting enough. It is also a nice view into the early talent of one of the top selling authors of today.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent! A great start to a great series.
Review: The 'rock' that is Earth's moon is perhaps not exactly what you think it is...
When Colin MacIntyre (an astronaught for NASA) flies a solo mission orbiting the Moon to run some tests, his equipment shows him something strange. Strange enough for him to believe the 'sophisticated' equipment has malifunctioned. Colin lands up being picked up out of his life and thrown into a new life based around a 50 000 year old, long dead society . That has a dilema worthy of it's size and age.
There is something strange about our Moon... Join Senior Fleet Captain Colin MacIntyre and find out what threatens our very excistance.
Rating: 
Summary: First book of a trilogy, it stands alone.
Review: A fun 'space opera' where it turns out our moon is a giant space ship. Not the best of David Weber's books, but good. It does stand alone reasonably well, which is nice as the rest of the trilogy is not quite as good.
Rating:
Summary: Strong Ending
Review: After a somewhat complicated and confused beginning, the book ends on a very strong note, with an ultimate battle scene.
This book was originally published in 1991, and one can get a good insight into the end of the Cold War Reagan-BushI era mentality, with lots of spy intrigue woven into the storyline.
I probably would have given the book 3 stars, but I boosted it to 4, because the author has included it in the Baen Free Online Library. I had purchased this book as part of a 3-in-1 anthology Empire from the Ashes, but I ended up using the free online version at times, because it was more convenient.
Rating: 
Summary: David Weber did it again!
Review: All I wanted was something to keep me awake while waiting around in an airport. Like most of David Weber's books, this one also kept me awake till - you don't want to know hwen - to finnish it. And I don't even like military stories. Usually. But what would you do if a fifty-two thousand year old starship with no crew and a computer trapped by conflicting orders kidnapped you and asked you to save the world? When a NASA astronaut is unexpectedly diverted from a routine training flight, he is as unprepared for a galctic view of history as any reader. The stretching of his/our horizons is undeniably hilarious, but could any of this actually be true? It is unusual to find a work of Science fiction with so broad and original a basic premis. And it could almost be true. Almost, I hope!
Rating:
Summary: Plausible space opera
Review: Colin McIntyre goes through a whole lot of strife. That's about the best way to put it; of course, by doing that, I'm leaving a whole lot out. Anyway, McIntyre finds himself on the Moon, which (unbeknownst to all) is _not_ merely a satellite. Instead, it's a space ship/space station from a long-dead culture, and the price of boarding is this: all that McIntyre thought he knew must be given up, because at best it's inaccurate, and at worst, it's totally wrong. McIntyre doesn't have deep emotions, and in some senses is rather shallowly drawn. He takes to life as Commander, later Emperor of the reborn culture, far too easily; the series of painful implants he undergoes, in order to live longer and be able to do more things (including interfacing with the computer systems as the onboard computer, Dahak, wishes), is explained fully, but Colin's discomfort at these passes far, far too quickly. What could have been something for the ages becomes more standard space opera -- but that isn't bad. By doing so, Weber allows himself the opportunity to play out a script in which the good guys, who'd fled the interstellar culture long ago, finally win, with McIntyre's help. Of course, this is typical Weber; lots of people die, some for seemingly no reason at all. This is realistic, as a whole lot of people die in wartime -- lots of whom know next to nothing about _why_ they're dying -- yet I wish it weren't so prevalent, here. The best things about this book were the relationship between the older Horus and the younger McIntyre, and the budding relationship (that starts out abrasively, but moves somewhat quickly into acceptance, then love) between McIntyre and Horus's daughter, Jiltanith. Those two relationships redeem McIntyre, and transform him into a more sympathetic, believable character.
Rating:
Summary: Not the best Weber, but worth reading
Review: I am not truly sure why I liked this book. It lacks the flavor of the Harrington saga; the storyline is simplistic considering the political, cultural and social implications of a plot that gives enough ground for at least half a dozen novels; the caracters are cut from cardboard and the combat scenes, although fast and furious, did not grasp my attention as usual. Nevertheless, the basic ingredients are here, and David Weber is a writer talented enough to concoct a palatable dish without changing them a bit. The pity is that with a hundred more pages this would a much better novel.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent!
Review: I puchased the book, not being a big fan of Webber's Honor Series but this book was great. It pulls you in and refuses to let you put it down. I would recommend this and others of this series to those who love adventure, intrigue, and good old fashioned space opera.
Rating:
Summary: not bad but inconsequential
Review: I read not only very little SF, but very little fiction: since the world is so full of facts and I'm curious about everything, I tend to prefer non-fiction, including history. This book was lent and recommended to me by a friend, and I'm not sure why. After a slow start, in which the sentient starship Dahak explains to shanghaied astronaut Colin MacIntire the torturously contrived set of rules by which the rest of the story will be played out, we jump right into the action, a combination of behind-the-scenes intrigues and large-scale battles. From then on until the end, which sets the stage for the subsequent entries in the series, the pace never flags. Weber evidently has military service in his background, to judge from his seeming familiarity with military procedure and terminology and his evident respect for men and women in uniform; in these particulars, the book brings Starship Troopers to mind. (If Weber is NOT a veteran, his level of research is impressive.) This book is well-written of its kind, BUT... so what? I agree with something I read the other day, that there are too many books in the world (and no, I'm not advocating getting rid of any of them!), in the sense that even good books, like this one, distract serious and dedicated readers from the GREAT books. Much as I enjoyed reading this one, my enjoyment was diminished by the realization that every minute I spent reading it was a minute I wasn't reading, say, Democracy in America or The Wealth of Nations or The Prince. So, OK read, but not my cup o' tea, so I won't be moving on to the rest of the series. If fast-paced, humanity-based, well-researched SF is your preference, though, I'd recommend this one.
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