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The world has changed. The mercantile kingdom of Charis has prevailed over the alliance designed to exterminate it. Armed with better sailing vessels, better guns and better devices of all sorts, Charis faced the combined navies of the rest of the world at Darcos Sound and Armageddon Reef, and broke them. Despite the implacable hostility of the Church of God Awaiting, Charis still stands, still free, still tolerant, still an island of innovation in a world in which the Church has worked for centuries to keep humanity locked at a medieval level of existence.
But the powerful men who run the Church aren’t going to take their defeat lying down. Charis may control the world’s seas, but it barely has an army worthy of the name. And as King Cayleb knows, far too much of the kingdom’s recent good fortune is due to the secret manipulations of the being that calls himself Merlin—a being that, the world must not find out too soon, is more than human. A being on whose shoulders rests the last chance for humanity’s freedom.
Now, as Charis and its archbishop make the rift with Mother Church explicit, the storm gathers. Schism has come to the world of Safehold. Nothing will ever be the same.
The Sekrit Sequel to Heirs of Empire
| Customer Rating:   | This was a Weber book. His personal story thumbprints were all over it. And it was totally hypnotic and I lost a ton of sleep to it, because the story just zips along. The characterization is about par. The story, well... I think if it occurrs on a planet far far away, we could maybe FILE THE DAMN SERIAL NUMBER OFF. Earlier in the book I said it was O HAI REFORMATION? Yeah, it is, and the Big Bad Evil church is not even disguised. They have priests and bishops and mass and all the things a person expects from the actual historical Holy Mother Church. Which was irritating, because although there were bones thrown to the good guys in the church, there weren't a lot, and it ended up feeling like an anti-Catholic polemic, even if it wasn't meant as such.
If you liked the empire-building in the Belisaurius books, you may enjoy this (different authors, similar feel). If you are interested in war-by-trade, it's not bad. If you wanted more Heirs of Empire, this is the series for you.
Avoid if you are allergic to anything that looks like religion, if you are bored by empire-building, or if you are vulnerable to losing sleep to books that are gripping but not great.
Will be buy the next one? Yup. But I wish I found Tor as easy to buy ebooks from as Baen. I buy ebooks, I buy paper books, I buy the same book twice, and everyone wins. |
Great book, and a Great new series!
| Customer Rating: | | David Weber is my favorite writer, and while I don't read ALL of his stuff, I've read most of his works. The Honor Harrington series, The Dahak series, etc., and this series seems to have taken all of those and modeled this one. It starts off so much stronger and cleaner than others, and actually, the series seems to be a RECASTED continuation of the Dahak series, which ended with Heirs of the Empire. I really loved that book, as a great what-if, and I think this is where he re-imagined the tale. Humanity has a chance to do it all over again, but this time with a sentient guardian. The book has a right mixture of intrigue and action, and the characters are all "believable", which has been some problems I've had with previous Weber books on occasion. Overall, I'm REALLY looking forward to reading these books for years and years to come. This storyline has massive potential, since he's got to take humanity all the way back to the stars, and victory! |
The schism with no thunder
| Customer Rating: | Spoiler alerts. Read at your own risk.
This book feels incomplete, full of useless details the reader doesn't really need, and too neat for my tastes.
First, there is no romance to Merlin. If the man is as handsome and as commanding as he is, someone must be attracted, at some level, to the man. Nothing of the sort anywhere.
Second. The beauty of the character Merlin is the magic, the mystery, the burden of truth he carries, and the weight of secrets surrounding the character. In this novel, Merlin is stripped of the mystery surrounding him. His mechanical body is explained and discussed openly between significant characters, the amazing impossibility of his existence is accepted without a flinch, and the burden of secrecy Merlin bore alone, is now shared among many, to the -detriment- of the character. No longer is Merlin an object of hidden awe, he is now an impressive work of forbidden technology though not completely understood by those in the know.
I ... hated ... the revelation of a secret society dedicated to the truth of safehold and that such a society not only understood, in part, what Nimue was, but that it could so easily accept such a marvel without fear.
And that's the cusp of it. There is no fear from those who learn Merlin's truth. There is no reverence either. There is nothing except blind acceptance. The lack of wonder, the simple lack of anything resembling logical apprehension at the thought that across from them sat a marionette created by Forbidden Technology in the age of Angels and Demons, is not only unbelievable but downright unpalatable.
A prudent reaction would be fear; to wonder what the -real- agenda of this creature is and how far it could be trusted. Its simple self-preservation and understanding that such doubts must exist not only in wording but in a manner that affects the characters actions.
The minutia of explanations drowns the overall story from an epic saga to the .. preamble.. of an epic saga. Nothing much of importance happens on this book (as so far as the overall picture) except marriage (something easily seen coming from the first book and no surprise), the acquisition of an unexpected a reluctant ally (probably best char in the book) and a tightening of sanctions by the church (expected as well). Even the remarkable revelations of Merlin have no real impact in the story. They're made irrelevant by inaction.
There is a huge lack in the characters.
Most of the main characters talk, act, and think the same way. Its like watching 10 different version of the same character fighting each other, talking to each other, hating, or respecting each other. That's it, the same char over and over and over in different "dresses" ... as if Nimue Alba had split into 100 different people and been reprogrammed with a different background for each.
The book is disappointing, yet, is a must read because it sets the stage for the next book. Hopefully with all the explanations in this novel, the next one will get to the point. |
I have really enjoyed this series so far
| Customer Rating: | Mr. Weber has taken a bit of a left turn in producing this series but I have really enjoyed it so far. He has moved away from the space opera format that served him well in the Honor Harrington and Bug Wars but I have really enjoyed his character development and plot twists that he has in this series. I sat down and read book two in about 1 1/2 days and came away convinced that it is one of the best books I have read this year. I am eagerly awaiting #3
For someone looking at this series to read it is a combination of revolt in 2100 meets the day after tomorrow by Heinlein in a lot more detail. I think if you come into this series without any preconceptions of what a Weber book is you will enjoy the series |
please tell me there's a story in our future
| Customer Rating: | i was introduced to the genre of science fiction by the master of all time, robert a. heinlein. unfortunately, in his later years, the dean got caught up in extolling endless, wrangling debates about nonsensical points of view or miniscule, scientific errata. a darned shame really, but i did develop the ability to skim through multiple pages of drivvle until the story was reintroduced.
this skill has stood me in good stead with a great deal of david weber's stuff. the man has a terrible case of heinlein's disease.
"by schism rent asunder" is an obvious expansion of the co-plot from "heirs of empire" right down to the substitution of the five-day for a week. by itself this is not a downcheck. "heirs" was great fun and could stand revisiting.
the sad part is that both volumes of this series to date, if written in the style of the earlier honor harrington yarns, could be distilled down to half a dozen chapters. this isn't helped by the cast of thousands weber's employed. (i had to create a chart of characters to keep them all straight.)
the tale, by and large, is still enticing. i just wish he'd get on with it and cease indulging himself in the endless committee meetings. i'll probably read the next one that comes along, but my expectations are no longer very high. |
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