Topic Actions

Topic Search

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 4 guests

The last $15 I'll spend on a David Weber book

Aliens? Invading aliens? What will Earth do? Well...we may have a few more resources than we first thought. Come join a friendly discussion about David Weber's newest Tor series - "Out of the Dark."
Re: The last $15 I'll spend on a David Weber book
Post by Donnachaidh   » Wed Jan 05, 2011 2:08 am

Donnachaidh
Rear Admiral

Posts: 1018
Joined: Sun Oct 04, 2009 3:11 pm

You might want to check out the Bhazell books. They're very different from both the Honorverse and the Safehold books but still the same -if not higher- quality. I lost a few night's sleep because of them.

jockmama wrote:As the man once said, "Opinions are like a*sholes: everybody has one." I can't say I have all Weber's books: only all the Honor Harrington, all the Safehold - and this. I just wish I could get them for $15... Yes, this story ended with a huge deus ex machina, but it was one I'll bet NO one saw coming! Until the end, I was convinced that the Shongairi would be stopped by a super-race that was keeping watch over the Hegemony. Y'know, "bigger fleas"... But I did NOT, repeat, NOT, feel cheated about the way it did end. As a matter of fact, I was quite delighted. What a wonderful cross of genres! The plot owed a major homage to Harry Turtledove's "Invasion Earth" series, and even the surprise ending owed much to the way Harry ended his saga. The bottom line for the universe to learn is, don't screw with the Earthlings.

Weber isn't (yet) a Master Storyteller of the caliber of Heinlein, Asimov or Anderson. He turns me off sometimes in getting hung-up with long, laborous descriptions of technical details (especially weapons systems), and although I've read each of the "Safehold" books more than 20 times, I gave up quite early on making a list of the holes in his plots. But Weber writes nice stories I enjoy reading over and over and over. I enjoy them so much that on more than one occasion I've read the same novel twice in the same WEEK! I wish he wrote them faster, but the quality might suffer. (Bad example of this: James Patterson.) But I still wait with bated breath for the next installment.
_____________________________________________________
"Sometimes I wonder if the world is run by smart people who are putting us on or by imbeciles who really mean it." - Mark Twain
Top
Re: The last $15 I'll spend on a David Weber book
Post by jthoma8318   » Tue Jan 25, 2011 11:17 pm

jthoma8318
Captain (Junior Grade)

Posts: 335
Joined: Mon Dec 07, 2009 8:03 pm

William Elder wrote:I've loved everything up until this point. Maybe that's why the astonishingly-bad deus ex machina in the last twenty pages of this book felt like such a kick in the crotch. I'm gobsmacked that David Weber would let such an astonishingly bad ending go to print.

Screw it. I've spent hundreds of dollars on Weber books in the past, but no more.



Good God what a crybaby. Even Shakespeare wrote something bad occasionally. It is not the worst book ever written. I didn't completely like it either.
Top
Re: The last $15 I'll spend on a David Weber book
Post by Michael Everett   » Wed Jan 26, 2011 4:09 am

Michael Everett
Admiral

Posts: 2612
Joined: Tue Nov 03, 2009 3:54 am
Location: Bristol, England

If you want to read a bad sci-fi book, I must specifically NOT recommend Battlefield Earth by Ron Hubbard. For those of you silly enough to seek it out, I must warn you that you are unlikely to get even half way through it before giving up in disgust. The very few of you who do finish it, well... I guess you have at least some masochistic tendancies. Or are Scientologists.

That book is the WORST sci-fi book I have come across. And I include the Glove Of Darth Vader in that category, just to show you the depths that Battlefield Earth has so effortlessly plumbed.

Has anyone come across a worse book? Just curious.

Awaiting comments.
~~~~~~

I can't write anywhere near as well as Weber
But I try nonetheless, And even do my own artwork.

(Now on Twitter)and mentioned by RFC!
ACNH Dreams at DA-6594-0940-7995
Top
Re: The last $15 I'll spend on a David Weber book
Post by Daryl   » Thu Jan 27, 2011 6:30 am

Daryl
Fleet Admiral

Posts: 3488
Joined: Sat Apr 24, 2010 1:57 am
Location: Queensland Australia

Michael Everett wrote:If you want to read a bad sci-fi book, I must specifically NOT recommend Battlefield Earth by Ron Hubbard. For those of you silly enough to seek it out, I must warn you that you are unlikely to get even half way through it before giving up in disgust. The very few of you who do finish it, well... I guess you have at least some masochistic tendancies. Or are Scientologists.

That book is the WORST sci-fi book I have come across. And I include the Glove Of Darth Vader in that category, just to show you the depths that Battlefield Earth has so effortlessly plumbed.

Has anyone come across a worse book? Just curious.

Awaiting comments.


Actually his Mission Earth 10 part series was actually worse because it was longer.
There have been many shockers over the years, but I agree that probably none were worse than these.
Top
Re: The last $15 I'll spend on a David Weber book
Post by Thirdbase   » Thu Jan 27, 2011 10:09 am

Thirdbase
Admiral

Posts: 2186
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2010 8:27 pm

Michael Everett wrote:If you want to read a bad sci-fi book, I must specifically NOT recommend Battlefield Earth by Ron Hubbard. For those of you silly enough to seek it out, I must warn you that you are unlikely to get even half way through it before giving up in disgust. The very few of you who do finish it, well... I guess you have at least some masochistic tendancies. Or are Scientologists.

That book is the WORST sci-fi book I have come across. And I include the Glove Of Darth Vader in that category, just to show you the depths that Battlefield Earth has so effortlessly plumbed.

Has anyone come across a worse book? Just curious.

Awaiting comments.


I read that a long time ago. I was sick and it was the only thing I had that I hadn't already read. I kept waiting for the science fiction to show up.
------------
runsforcelery wrote:
Thirdbase wrote:I think that was the next novel.



Allow me to demonstrate my concision, brevity, and economy of phrase:

"Smart alec!" ;p
Top
Re: The last $15 I'll spend on a David Weber book
Post by Sheriff Yoda   » Thu Jan 27, 2011 11:44 am

Sheriff Yoda
Captain of the List

Posts: 484
Joined: Sun Oct 17, 2010 4:42 pm

Thirdbase wrote:
Michael Everett wrote:If you want to read a bad sci-fi book, I must specifically NOT recommend Battlefield Earth by Ron Hubbard. For those of you silly enough to seek it out, I must warn you that you are unlikely to get even half way through it before giving up in disgust. The very few of you who do finish it, well... I guess you have at least some masochistic tendancies. Or are Scientologists.

That book is the WORST sci-fi book I have come across. And I include the Glove Of Darth Vader in that category, just to show you the depths that Battlefield Earth has so effortlessly plumbed.

Has anyone come across a worse book? Just curious.

Awaiting comments.


I read that a long time ago. I was sick and it was the only thing I had that I hadn't already read. I kept waiting for the science fiction to show up.
Top
Re: The last $15 I'll spend on a David Weber book
Post by ldatakiller   » Fri Feb 25, 2011 12:28 pm

ldatakiller
Midshipman

Posts: 2
Joined: Fri Feb 25, 2011 12:23 pm

I don't get it ?. Maybe I'm stupid or something but I think it's a really good book.
Forget all this stuff about Duex Ex Machina, or any other comparisons etc,etc,etc. At the end of the day, DID YOU ENJOY THE BOOK, & in my humble opinion, I did.

I have loads of David's books, one of which "A Mighty Fortress", I was lucky enough for David & Sharon to sign for me in London & before you start thorwing back at me, Yes, I enjoyed that one too.

He may, for some of you, get in too deep with the details etc, but I think the details help the story along.

So there, now I'm ready for a broadside right back at me.
Top
Re: The last $15 I'll spend on a David Weber book
Post by Capnslag   » Thu May 19, 2011 10:11 am

Capnslag
Midshipman

Posts: 1
Joined: Thu May 19, 2011 10:00 am

Well, this book got me to sign up on the forum . I am halfway through the novel. I only have one burning question. Why did David Weber put his name on a John Ringo story ?

I am a fan of both writers and have read most of thier works. But I can't shake the feeling that this is a Ringo novel.
Top
Re: The last $15 I'll spend on a David Weber book
Post by Duckk   » Thu May 19, 2011 10:30 am

Duckk
Site Admin

Posts: 4200
Joined: Sat Aug 08, 2009 5:29 pm

This is an expansion of a short story that David wrote for a Tor anthology. Since it was never intended to be a series, David decided to have fun with it.
-------------------------
Shields at 50%, taunting at 100%! - Tom Pope
Top
Re: The last $15 I'll spend on a David Weber book
Post by Elisabeth   » Sat Jul 16, 2011 5:13 am

Elisabeth
Ensign

Posts: 20
Joined: Sat Jun 18, 2011 7:39 am
Location: Norwich, United Kingdom

I loved it as well. And I also loved all the little jokes and references. After the first few, I was looking out for them, and got real pleasure when I picked up on one, though I probably missed a lot more than I spotted.

I thought I could see what was coming at the end, but was actually quite shocked when I realised I had guessed correctly. I thought it was excellent and so different from all the other DW I have read.
Top

Return to Out of the Dark