Joelle Presby

Wow, what an awesome book! It was so worth the wait. The Road to Hell is the third book in the Multiverse series, a series that began in 2006 by David Weber and Linda Evans. The next book was published in 2008, I believe, and stopped. Word got out that Weber’s collaborator’s health was poor, so the series was put on hold indefinitely. People lost hope for a new entry in the series, which would have been a disappointment because the first two books were so compelling. And now, as of March show more 1st of this year, Weber and a new collaborator, Joelle Presby, have finally put out the third book. Geez, it’s good. Just what I needed after how badly things had gone for the good guys in the first two books.

The war between magically-gifted Arcana, the “bad” guys, and psionically talented Sharona, the “good” guys, continues to rage. The dragon-borne Arcanan assault across five universes has been halted at Fort Salby by an extremely desperate defense, but at a horrible cost. Prince Janaki, heir to the Sharonian Empire, went knowingly to his death in defense of the empire. It was critical to stop the Arcanans because they were torturing and executing their Sharonian prisoners, especially the “Voices,” or telepath communicators used by the military and civilian commands to communicate from universe to universe. For weeks, no one had known there even WAS an invasion because no one had heard anything from any Voices. They were all dead. Fort Salby stopped that. And I, and probably all of the other readers, wanted vengeance. Demanded it. And we started getting it in this book. ‘Bout damn time too! While the defenders held the pass at Fort Salby, the newly mechanized Sharonian advanced strike force, went through other universes traveling thousands of miles over the course of three months to take back all but one of the universes and their forts, all without alerting the Arcanan army. Sweet.

We also see the sacrifice, it seems, of Janaki’s younger sister, Princess Andrin, now heir of Sharona, to be wed to a Uromathian prince in order to establish the new Sharonian Empire. But no one wants that except for the Uromathian emperor and his sons. Wait until you find out how Andrin and her advisers solve this puzzle!

Another major part of the story line in this book is the trial of the “good” Arcanan, Jasak, a court martial, where he is defended by his new fiancé and his two Sharonian prisoners he has taken in as family members. I was worried about this court martial for three straight books. It’s finally here.

Of course, since it’s part of an ongoing series (I hope it’s ongoing again), the authors had to stop at a critical point where I had to know what happens next, just so I’ll buy the next book that comes out, damn them, but I can’t wait until the next one and it’ll be a long time. I’ll probably reread the series a couple of times before it arrives on the shelves.

I loved this book. It had mystery, intrigue, sci fi/fantasy elements, character development, action, passion, tactics, etc. In short, just what you want out of a book. Very recommended, particularly if you’re reading the series. Five stars. show less

The continuation of the Hell's Gate series begun in 2006 by Weber and Linda Evans. After two books, the series seemed to have been abandoned; now, nine years later, it continues with a different coauthor, Joelle Presby.

Multiple almost-identical universes are connected by a series of portals connecting disparate spots on the planets. Both the Sharonans and the Arcanans have been exploring their nearby universes for hundreds of years. When they meet, a bitter war breaks out, fueled by show more misunderstandings and malice on both sides. Many Sharonans have psychic Talents, including a kind of telepathy that can broadcast news very quickly across the multiverses; they have reached a roughly Victorian tech level, with steam trains and rifles and cannon. Arcana, on the other hand, relies heavily on magic and uses dragons and spells in warcraft. The collision of the two is horrific to both sides.

This is very much a middle book. When "The Road to Hell" begins, the war has paused in the aftermath of a major battle. Both sides are being whipped to a fever pitch by their losses and by inflammatory reports from the front. There is very little actual fighting in this book, but a lot of maneuvering both military and political. The Sharonans and the Arcanans both have deep divisions in their societies that affect their responses to the war and may yet rip their empires apart.

Recommended for those who enjoyed the first two books--and the series as a whole is recommended for those who like military fantasy in general and/or Weber in particular--but this is not the place to start. Hopefully the series will continue--without another nine-year hiatus--and hopefully it will come to a conclusion at some point. show less

Good entry in a complex series. The provoked confrontation that concluded the previous book continues to reverberate between the two parallel but quite different societies. Tentative and difficult cooperation seems to making headway when a terror attack seriously threatens the royals as this installment concludes.

This being the third entry in the Hell's Gate series, the story is in full swing though Weber has been forced to find a new cowriter which has changed the feeling of the story. Baen seems to have allowed him a greater deal of exposition than was present in the previous two books and, to be fair, in his later Honorverse books.

Although the inside cover promises a great deal the result of all the exposition is a lot of troops in motion with the truly cataclysmic battles yet to happen though show more the hints of deep laid plans kept the interest up, and to be truthful it was a difficult book to put down. show less