(Larger Image)
|
The Armageddon Inheritance
by David Weber
Product Group: Book
Publisher: Baen (1993-12-01)
ISBN: 0671721976
EAN: 9780671721978
Dewy Decimal #: 813
Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
SKU: BX002-060809016
Condition: Used: Very Good
Comments: Clean and shiny. Very minor wear, near new. Spine uncreased, flat, pgs crisp, clean, tight, unmarked. No remainder mark.
|
Customer Reviews
|
Riveting, Complex, Deep and Compelling Story
Rating  (5)
Date: 2008-04-26
1 out of 3 customers found this reveiw helpful
David Weber is my favorite Sci Fi author, and after having read nearly all of his books, especially my all time favorites the Honor Harrington series, I have longed for a new character to emerge and Merlin is definitely a new favorite. I hope that Nimue/Merlin appear in new stories soon, and even more I hope she/he appears again and resolves the religious war started in this book with the corrupt Church that has crippled the world of Safehold. Whew! What a ride. Emotionally, it left me wrung out and furious over the crimes of religion against innocent people. These crimes have been recorded all throughout the history of Earth, and are still prevalent in what we see today in this society as well as worldwide.
Think jihads, crusades, Israel-Palestine conflicts, Bosnia/Serbs, and the list is endless. All of this murder, mayhem and genocide has been fostered by religion and cloaked in the name of God. All the way back in recorded history to the Avatar Jesus and his conflict with the Temple Priests in his own Jewish culture which resulted in his death to enforce the Priests' own designs and absolute control over humankind and their free will.
Henceforth, this absolute control of humanity is mirrored in the dogma of various religions throughout the world. History is chock full of documentation including the Dead Sea Scrolls, etc. This explosive topic unfolds in "Off Armageddon Reef", a book that reveals the horrendous reflection of the religous history of mankind on Earth. This story, more than any of his other books, wherein the author infers the corruption of religion, clearly brought into focus for this reader the fact that religious wars persist even in the good ole USA today. We are constantly confronted with Christians who assume that the entire nation is of like mind and heart. These self same people condemn others of various ethnicities, geographic origins, belief systems and philosophies as evil, satanic, blah, blah while out of the other side of their mouths they preach "Christian tolerance". Such hypocrisy makes me so furious I feel suffocated by the topic. For myself, being an agnostic, the book reaffirmed my lifelong absolute hatred of organized religion.
So, is this book effective and superbly written? Oh, yeah! Does it stir up emotions and engage the mind in thoughtful contemplation of the deeper meaning of the story? Oh, yeah!. Do I recommend it for others? Oh, yeah, with this caveat: You must be open minded and willing to examine your own philosophical mindset because this book will definitely challenge you to do so. For me, it kicked out all the jams.
Regarding the story itself, others have reviewed it in fullness, and I must say that for myself the only thing missing was the ABSENCE of a nuclear strike on the "mother" church in Zion. Nimue/Merlin could have orchestrated the annihilating strike and blown that evil into atomic dust. I waited the entire story to see that event horizon. Alas, it didn't happen. Hopefully, it will come about in the follow up book if there will be one. Overall, Bravo David Weber. Absolutely Brilliant.
|
|
Good series.
Rating (5)
Date: 2008-02-24
I enjoyed this, the final book in the series, but it did leave me wanting a fourth book.
|
|
conceptual overlap with Off Armageddon Reef
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-02-22
2 out of 2 customers found this reveiw helpful
This book is the middle one in a trilogy, commencing with Mutineer's Moon and ending with Heirs of Empire. Weber wrote these in the early 90s and never extended these, as of 2007. He has certainly been busy writing much else in science fiction.
But it turns out that this year, 2007, he has recast this trilogy in a new series, that starts with "Off Armageddon Reef". The latter just came out, in hardcover, and is ubiquitous in many bookstores. A far more numerous presence than those earlier books, when they first came out.
The overlap in the basic premises between the trilogy and OAR is striking. Out there in space is a genocidal race, deploying immense fleets. A mortal threat to humans. The opening chapter in OAR talks about 24th century humans, being destroyed on its worlds by far more numerous fleets. In Armageddon Inheritance, we see in a different universe how this conflict might have gone otherwise. Here, the enemy fleets are millions strong. But Weber writes ingeniously, in the tradition of grand space opera, of an embattled human fleet, that takes them on and wins, at least for now. Readers of OAR who gritted their teeth at the human defeat can read a different conclusion.
I do wonder at the coincidence of "Armageddon" in this book's title and in OAR. The plots clearly overlap. Was this recurrent word an explicit hint to the reader?
If you have read OAR, but not this trilogy, and are waiting for Weber to write more in the new series, then you should check out these books.
|
|
Terrific continuation
Rating (5)
Date: 2007-01-27
1 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
Colin, now self-declared Governor of Earth, has defeated Anu's mutineers. However, now the true count-down begins, as the Achuultani are just over 2 years away and somehow he has to unite the entire world and prepare them to use the Imperial technology that will, hopefully, save Earth. He also decides to go and search for Imperial help - unfortunately he doesn't find any, but in an amusing twist he ends up the new Emperor.
This novel doesn't give much time to breath and the Achuultani keep coming; in total somewhere around 3 million ships are sent to break on the shoals of the Sol system. We also discover at least a tiny bit of their reasoning for their rampage through the galaxy and that they are technically called Aku'Ultan. This is a most entertaining series and indeed I am well to half-way through the final book already and am quite enjoying it at well. Give these most excellent books by Weber a try!
|
|
great sequel with awesome space battle scenes
Rating (5)
Date: 2006-02-24
0 out of 1 customers found this reveiw helpful
My title says it all. The story line is solid and the awesome battle scenes are just the icing on the cake. Plus, I really enjoy dual scene stories.
|
|
|