Rating: 
Summary: Save YOur Money
Review: I always consider it a warning sign when the reviews on a volumes cover all refer to other works by the author. Such is the case with the Excalibur Alternative. Although David Weber has written many notable volumes, this is a piece of schlock that is best avoided. Weber describes in his forward how this book began life as a short story, and it would have been better if it had stayed one. The middle 60% of the novel is nothing but filler, where the main character endlessly lectures on things to convey little additional information. Unless you need something to read on an airline flight and then throw away, look for one of Weber's other works instead.
Rating: 
Summary: A Major Disappointment
Review: I am a big David Weber fan and was looking forward to this book. Unfortunately it is a severe disappointment. It is an expanded version of a short story. It should have stayed a short story. It is a disjointed puffed up overly long and frequently repetitious mess. I get the impression that Weber was going through the motions to meet a contract deadline. The author is capable of much better work which is why it is such a let down.If you are a David Weber fan save your money for his next book it has to be an improvement.
Rating: 
Summary: Subtle and Intriguing
Review: I do not agree with any of the reviewers who bombed this book. It is a wonderfully subtle and thoughtful story that stretches the imagination of a reader inventive enough to look at the many levels and shadings of the tale. The premise is that of a primitive english lord caught up, literally, in an alternative universe and forced to serve as a slave for hundreds of years in an environment that is beyond his wildest nightmares. How he holds his sanity and his fellow survivors together is a subtext that teaches heroism at its highest level as well as the gift of incredible adaptability of human intelligence to grow beyond predictable boundaries arbitrarily set by culture, time and old expectations. The theme is very inspiring for it shows how one can "push the envelope" of imagination and accept the impossible. For me the tale was a metaphor for humanity's greatness. David Weber, among his many gifts as a writer creates excellent dialog and his worlds are peopled with both intellectually and emotionally stirring characters. Sir George represents the strength of humanity, its honor, courage, bravery and integrity. Weber offers these qualities as reminders of the costs to the soul when challenged to overcome xenophobia. Imagine accepting a 3 eyed, dual mouth, purple furred entity as one's boss, or a scaled, reptilian creature as one's ally and best friend. Just as H. G. Wells challenged us to imagine a future world that has long since come to pass, so too, David challenges us to stretch beyond our own limitations and perceptions and imagine the "what if" that could some day become the "as is". I particularly liked his gradual bringing about the shift in consciousness and learning for Sir George and his evolution from primitive to techno geek, a metaphor for our present world where countless people in other countries have never heard of or used a computer. Sir George's perception of "computer" as a sentient being whom he calls "he" is also a harbinger for AI technology that will be part of our everyday use reality soon enough. What a trip that will be. For this reader, the reverence of british culture and traditions held by Sir George who names his empire Avalon, his flag ship Excaliber and uses hereditary titles for his subjects adds a sense of timelessness that also serves as an anchor that unites real time to space/time. Concepts of nanotech for medical and longevity purposes and human cloning to populate other worlds really challenge one to think of these potentialities and prejudices. This book is engaging, deep and worth the effort to read it carefully rather than gulp it down. There are many levels of insight and foresight that are worth being explored and I am intrigued by the notion of where this story could go from here as a new and strong heroine, Admiral Her Imperial Highness Princess Evelynn Wincaster, the commander of Third Fleet has appeared in the story. I would love to see her evolve as Honor Harrington has in that wonderful series.
Rating: 
Summary: Interesting ideas but reads like 2 or 3 stories in one.
Review: I found this story interesting in that it seems a Galactic Federation seems to exist with a Prime Directive of not dominating a primitive world with advanced technology, they enslave or destroy the more advanced worlds they encounter (those with or soon to have starflight capability). In order to evade the Directive some Federation, more like our Mafia than Star Trek,members acquire armies of primitives from other worlds. At this point it is 1346 on Earth and since there are no more Romans available (here's where I found it helps to have read earlier books in the series)the lead thug in the story captures an English fleet on it's way to war with France( his rationale being they were about to be lost in a storm and won't be missed). I thought the adaptability of the captured Englishmen to be somewhat implausible but I did like the way they learned to use new materials and tactics to improve their 'primitive'abilities in the battles they are required to fight. You get some details about early battles but this part, I call it book two,is quickly run through once the English are given their orders at the start of their enslavement. From the start their 'master' is harsh, not above killing or threatening to kill one or more of their number to make a point, and seemingly unable to see the resentment and anger his policies cause. Eventually after several years of forced battles, interspersed with years in stasis between new worlds,Sir George and his men find that they have allies among the other slaves on board their masters ship. They conceive a plan of revolt and during a demonstration of power, too expensive to fight each and every tribe on the planet, the two races turn on their master killing him. Soon after this (the races take his ship) the story jumps to the middle of what I call book three. I think its now mid 22nd century, Earth has crude star travel and has been deemed a threat by the Federation and is to be destroyed. Just as Earth fleet is about to engage the enemy in a suicide run an incredibly powerful and advanced fleet comes from out of nowhere to destroy the Federation fleet. Sir George & Co. have arrived just in the nick of time to save Earth. It seems over the last few centuries using ship technologies a few hundred Englishmen, and women, with their Ternaui allies have built up an empire of a few unnoticed worlds with the eventual paln to join with Earth to defeat the evil Federation forces.
Rating:
Summary: A short story that did not a book make
Review: I have always enjoyed reading books by David Weber. They are rich in detail and accurate with regard to combat. That said, this book is unlike his other work. I appears to be three books in one binding. Book one is about the abduction of a group of English solders by the alien crew of a space ship. This covers the adjustment of the solders to their new environment and the reasons behind the abduction. It reads like the short story it was originally written as. Book two reads like a sequel to the first book. The first several pages go into detail about what took place during the first book. It reads as though written for readers who had not read the first book and needed the situation explained to them. There is a great deal of repetition of ideas and information. This book ends abruptly with no transition to book three. The beginning of book three seems to be a new story. A sequel to the events in books one and two. It does roll up the loose ends from the previous books but the transition is vary abrupt. I did enjoy the story. I did not enjoy the way it was written.
Rating:
Summary: I actually rather enjoyed it
Review: I logged on to Amazon expecting to see lots of reviews raving about this book. To be honest I was suprised at the mainly negative response to it.
I don't admit to being a great literary critic. Nor do I claim to be a learned historian. However, I haven't enjoyed a book like this for quite some time.
Yes, it's unbelievable - welcome to science fiction. However the premise of English Longbowmen being used to suppress native "barbarians" on foreign planets isn't too far removed from our own history. And due to the restrictions placed by The Council, firearms of any kind were unable to be used. Thus longbowmen were used - arguably the most lethal non-firearm hand weapon in history.
Yes, it's another story of "humanity overcoming impossible odds and beating up the nasty aliens". Damn, but I love those stories!!!
Rating: 
Summary: An interstellar triumph over slavery
Review: I personally believe that there are civilizations with a high level of technology scattered throughout the universe. However, to explain the lack of evidence in favor, it is necessary to adopt one of many different rationalizations, none of which is logically unassailable. One of the most believable is that the Earth is under a galactic quarantine due to our inferior technology. That seems plausible, as is the possibility that the restrictions are not absolute. In this story, Weber adopts as the initial premise that people who were destined to die soon are saved and put in the service of a technologically advanced race.
The rules of quarantine in this story are that it is possible to invade and conquer a planet provided you use weapons no more advanced than those possessed by the natives. A collection of English soldiers on their way to fight in France are "rescued" from certain death at sea. Their new "commandeer" then orders them to fight and conquer worlds on "his" behalf or face extermination. While they are forced to fight and do so very well, they have a great deal of residual hatred and seek a way to break free from their servitude.
Finally, they are given a chance and take utmost advantage of it. What I liked about the story was that it was told from the perspective of a knight from the middle ages. His processing of the information and ability to adapt to the changed circumstances make the story interesting and his reactions are believable. In the modern world, we often consider those who came centuries before to be ignorant. Yet, the upper levels of ancient societies contained some very intelligent people. If they were suddenly transported to our time, they would experience some initial difficulty, but most likely would catch on very quickly. In fact, a plausible argument can be made for the premise that it would be easier to adapt to a forward movement in time than it would be to a backwards one.
This is a tale of people subjected to slavery who submit, but never yield. Despite hardships, they maintain their unity and in the end triumph over their enslavers. This is an old story, but told in the context of interstellar abduction, has an entertaining new aspect.
Rating:
Summary: Almost a copy
Review: I picked out this book becuase it sounded similar to another book I had read called Ranks of Bronze. Although I am only to the first battle, I feel like I am reading Ranks of Bronze again. The only difference is Ranks of Bronze was much more discriptive and used a Roman Legion instead of English Knights and Longbowmen. Everything in this book is just like ranks of bronze. The guild the english work for, the toad faced guards, the "commander", the post battle recovery. My reccomendation....Read Ranks of Bronze it is a much better book.
Rating:
Summary: Almost a copy
Review: I picked out this book becuase it sounded similar to another book I had read called Ranks of Bronze. Although I am only to the first battle, I feel like I am reading Ranks of Bronze again. The only difference is Ranks of Bronze was much more discriptive and used a Roman Legion instead of English Knights and Longbowmen. Everything in this book is just like ranks of bronze. The guild the english work for, the toad faced guards, the "commander", the post battle recovery. My reccomendation....Read Ranks of Bronze it is a much better book.
Rating:
Summary: Surprise Sequel
Review: I picked up this book because I like most of Weber's books. To my surprise, it was a sequel of sorts to "Ranks of Bronze" by David Drake, one of my all time favorites. You could read either one of them first, or not at all, but I would suggest reading "Bronze" first.
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