Rating: 
Summary: Wait for this one to end on the ($$$) Bargin table
Review: I've got to admit that I eagerly awaited this book, as I do all of David Weber's books. He is the ONLY fiction
author that I automatically buy the Hard Back editions as soon as they are published. Or at least I used to.This book is both new and interesting. Unfortunately, what is new is not interesting and what is interesting is not new. Boring characters, plodding and predictable plot. I am predisposed to like anything Mr. Weber writes and (as a snow storm is expected in the area) I was looking forward to a good read during a snow bound weekend. I couldn't make it as far as the third chapter before I gave up and returned the book. The characters were entirely uninteresting and unsympathetic. The plot was cliched, basically a much watered down "High Crusade" and there was as much dynamic tension as might be found in a broken rubber band. I can only assume that his publishers at Baen are pushing him to churn out as many words as possible since he's their biggest money-maker. But quality is suffering, as his last two books "March Up Country/to the Sea" were, In My Opinion, so badly written and boring that I couldn't get past the first five chapters and returned both to the store for a refund. And to compare this to Paul Anderson's "High Crusade" is like comparing "Man O' War" to a donkey. They've both got four legs and hooves, but that's the extent of it. If you're a David Weber fanatic (which I am) you'll want this book. But wait for it to be reduced in price. I'd estimate that ($$$) is a fair price for the Hard Back edition. If you've never read David Weber, don't start with this book. Try "Path of the Fury" instead. I've worn out three copies and am working on a fourth. I've worn out two copies of "Crusade" and I've got 'reading' copies of all the Honor Harrington books (as opposed to collector editions which I keep sealed in plastic bags) This is of course ONLY my opinion and there are quite
a lot of best selling authors that I can't stand. In My Opinion, David Weber at his best compares favorably with Robert A. Heinlein or H. Beam Piper. So, I am perhaps being unfair, since this is probably a quite readable story. But it suffers badly in comparison with David Weber's best efforts, ("In Death Ground" for example)which are superb. If Mr. Weber was not such a wonderful writer I would not bother writing such a negative review.
However I am concerned that quality is being sacrificed for quantity. I would rather have fewer
but better books, than a glut of hastily written and inferior works. Baen publishing should take better care of the best writer they have.
Rating: 
Summary: Well, It's not an Honor Harrington
Review: If you can't have an Honor Harrington novel, the next best thing is another one by David Weber (That's why only four stars). The only real problem with it is that you'll have to stay up until 1 or 2 o'clock to get through it quickly. The theme is not new, but the treatment is quite interesting. And the surprise ending left me waiting for the sequel. I want to see how the struggle continues as the much, much smaller newcomers set up to battle with the long standing federation.
Rating:
Summary: A nice light read
Review: It may not be great literature, but I read books to be entertained. And this book entertained me. Okay, yes, it was a bit choppy at times, and this theme, Human warriors carried off into the stars to act as surrogate soldiers isn't exactly new. But he does make the aliens nicely "human" in a nasty sort of way. I found it thoroughly entertaining. And you gotta admit it had one hell of an ending. In fact, I've re-read that ending several times. I wish Weber would write a sequel.
Rating: 
Summary: A half-baked book
Review: It must have seemed like a good idea at the time. In all honesty, it still does. Giving David Weber, one of the best in the speculative genre at writing combat scenes (be they fantasy or science fiction) the opportunity to write a book that brings out the best elements of both medieval soldiery and space combat would seem like the recipe for a surefire winner. And if Weber had not written a book two or three times as short as it needs to be, it would have been. The Exacalibur Alternative is not a novel. It is an outline of a novel, with only four or five fully fleshed-out scenes. Practically all plot development and character growth is handled through narration, rather than exposition (a gross abuse of the old "show vs. tell" rule). Transitions are uneven and disorienting, consisting primarily of two abrupt jumps in time (of eleven and five hundred years, respectively). Neither jump is immediately apparent to the reader, and the latter introduces in the last two chapters an entirely new and unfamiliar cast of characters, noteworthy only for what appear to be a couple of Easter Eggs for readers of the Honor Harrington series. Make no mistake about it. David Weber is still a very, very good writer. His characters and dialogue are, as always, top notch, and his long-earned mastery of the "military innovator" story model shines through the parts of this book that were actually a story. It is for these reasons that I give the book three stars, rather than one. The idea behind The Excalibur Alternative is an attractive one, and had Weber put his usual depth of thought into this book, it could have been a spectacular 500-page work, or even a duology or trilogy. That he did not is, sadly, all too apparent.
Rating:
Summary: Totally ignored the other books in this series
Review: Not only did David Weber's "sequel" to Carthago Delenda Est ignore everything ever stated in Foreign Legions (Besides St. George and the Dragon), he totally threw out the good cheer of humanity at the end of Carthago, and puts them in the position of being ruined and destroyed. This, in my mind ruined this book. Instead of carrying David Drake's stellar work forward, he basically stated "David was wrong, humanity was screwed, but my guys can fix it." I'm sorry Mr. Weber, but without real details of how exactly we went from secret alliances, pirate destruction, and a crusade to free the enslaved from the Doge to mankind's final hour, this book receives a 1.
Rating:
Summary: Totally ignored the other books in this series
Review: Not only did David Weber's "sequel" to Carthago Delenda Est ignore everything ever stated in Foreign Legions (Besides St. George and the Dragon), he totally threw out the good cheer of humanity at the end of Carthago, and puts them in the position of being ruined and destroyed. This, in my mind ruined this book. Instead of carrying David Drake's stellar work forward, he basically stated "David was wrong, humanity was screwed, but my guys can fix it." I'm sorry Mr. Weber, but without real details of how exactly we went from secret alliances, pirate destruction, and a crusade to free the enslaved from the Doge to mankind's final hour, this book receives a 1.
Rating:
Summary: A short story sadly expanded
Review: Rather than buy this book, find a copy of the short story "Sir George and the Dragon" by Weber; last seen in a Drake anthology "Foreign Legions". "Excalibur Alternative" is a modest fleshing out of that short. While adding a few more details, it is essentially unchanged from the short story and sadly proves the point that some stories work best as shorts. The only "new" concept here is in the final segment of the book, in which our hero and his lovely lady wife become Rulers of an Interstellar Kingdom. Can anyone say "proto-Manticore?" In my opinion, this Harrington background/mythology creation is interesting but not interesting enough to justify an entire book. However, if you haven't read the most excellent short story and keep in mind that this tale was never supposed to be a novel, then your money would not be wasted. If, on the other hand, like me you already have "Sir George and the Dragon", then there's little sense in buying it twice.
Rating:
Summary: A short story sadly expanded
Review: Rather than buy this book, find a copy of the short story "Sir George and the Dragon" by Weber; last seen in a Drake anthology "Foreign Legions". "Excalibur Alternative" is a modest fleshing out of that short. While adding a few more details, it is essentially unchanged from the short story and sadly proves the point that some stories work best as shorts. The only "new" concept here is in the final segment of the book, in which our hero and his lovely lady wife become Rulers of an Interstellar Kingdom. Can anyone say "proto-Manticore?" In my opinion, this Harrington background/mythology creation is interesting but not interesting enough to justify an entire book. However, if you haven't read the most excellent short story and keep in mind that this tale was never supposed to be a novel, then your money would not be wasted. If, on the other hand, like me you already have "Sir George and the Dragon", then there's little sense in buying it twice.
Rating: 
Summary: A tale of justice and honor
Review: The story begins on Earth, with a ragged band of Englishmen sailing the high seas toward battle. Battered by storms, some of the ships were lost. Soon all of the ships were to be lost, along with the families of the soldiers onboard. Then they are plucked from the earth by hands in the heavens, toward a cause that was not their own. Sir George Wincaster is a noble who deserves the title of his nobility. He is well educated, and upholds the integrity of those in leadership positions. His potential was great, he unlocked it during his voyage among the stars. Wincaster was thrown into servitude as a gladiator, except he didn't fight for the master's amusement, he fought to claim territory instead. The Galactic Federation had laws preventing the systematic strip mining of habitable planets except with the inhabitant's permission. There are loopholes in every law. Those who wanted the planet couldn't use technology to coerce the inhabitants, so they got their own "barbarians". This is a story of how highly advanced civilizations have become dependent on their high technology, using it as a crutch. It tells the story of one George Wincaster, his family, and the people under his care.
Of how Wincaster overcame his rudimentary knowledge of technology to save himself and all those he valued.
Of the difference between stagnation and growth through hard work.
Of the injustices commited against Wincaster and how he righted them all.
Of how Earth is to be obliterated, not because humans are strong, but because they weren't strong enough.
It is, finally, a story of the tale of Excalibur. It will come to the aide of humanity in its darkest hour.
Rating:
Summary: Everyone makes mistakes
Review: This not a bad book. it is basically divided into 2 parts and as I understand t the scound part is the one that is upsetting everyone including me. This 2nd part deals with exactly what the English did after they had overthrown their alien captives. I think the secound part is worthless and Weber should have saved it for the sequel when he would have had time to elbatorate. The premise is something you would read in a David Drake book(only better) and I wonder how Weber managed to sneak by copyright infringment laws. Overall-Read it in an airport
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