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![Off Armageddon Reef by David Weber](https://pics.cdn.librarything.com/picsizes/01/3c/013c25369be097b597745414141433041414141_v5.jpg)
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Loading... Off Armageddon Reef (original 2007; edition 2007)by David Weber
Work InformationOff Armageddon Reef by David Weber (2007)
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No current Talk conversations about this book. ![]() ![]() Off Armageddon Reef has a fascinating premise. From an outside perspective, the story is science fiction. It takes place centuries in the future after humanity has nearly been wiped out by an advanced alien threat. To preserve what's left, a human colony is set up at a much lower tech level (roughly 15th century?) and left to its own devices. A global religion reminiscent of the Catholic Church is set up to encourage control and keep this colony from advancing too far. Unbeknownst to some, an android¹--who goes by Merlin²--was also left with the colony and wakes up hundreds of years later and takes it in their mind to overthrow the aforementioned Church. Sounds really cool, yes? Unfortunately, after the prologue (which is set before the colony--Safehold--is set up), the book doesn't actually feel much like science fiction or even fantasy. Rather it feels like an alternate history set in the early Age of Sail. Some of the things Merlin does hint at the underlying SciFi roots, but other than that, it's a completely different sort of book. If you want to read that sort of book, perhaps you'll like this one. Not what I was looking for though. On top of that, the middle half of the book is very slow. Honestly, you could probably cut 80% of it and have what could have been a much stronger book. The prologue and the battles in the last 25% are intense. The rest... takes a while. Overall, cool idea; not the best book I've ever read. So it goes. ¹ It's more complicated than that, but that's good enough for a review. ² Not even kidding. And Merlin's original mind comes from Nimune. King Authur much?
This series is closer to fantasy than the overtly science fictional Honor Harrington series, but they are both Napoleonic in their different ways. Those for whom this is a plus will find a great deal to enjoy here. It’s a lot of fun—and seeing the mechanics of how the universe has been wound up is part of what makes it fun, even if it does have me muttering that some people really will do anything to justify writing a Napoleonic sea-battle Belongs to SeriesSafehold (1) Awards
Fiction.
Science Fiction.
HTML: Humanity pushed its way to the starsâ??and encountered the Gbaba, a ruthless alien race that nearly wiped us out. Earth and her colonies are now smoldering ruins, and the few survivors have fled to distant, Earth-like Safehold, to try to rebuild. But the Gbaba can detect the emissions of an industrial civilization, so the human rulers of Safehold have taken extraordinary measures: with mind control and hidden high technology, they've built a religion in which every Safeholdian believes, a religion designed to keep Safehold society medieval forever. No library descriptions found. |
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![]() GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)813.54Literature English (North America) American fiction 20th Century 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:![]()
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