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heikieesmaa's review against another edition
1.0
All in all I was pretty fed up with this. I had some fun with 15 or so Honor books but this series never delivered the same. I realize that the book only closes one major arc and there's still the Gbaba. Still, I declare that I have wasted enough of my time on this.
kathydavie's review against another edition
4.0
Ninth in the Safehold military-religious science fiction series revolving around the once-tiny country of Charis embattled against the entrenched Church of God Awaiting.
My Take
You'll be pleased to know the war comes to an end in this…and it's about time! However, Weber promises that this isn't the last we'll see of Merlin Athrawes. And now I'm curious as to where Weber plans to take Merlin. North Harchong or into space?? Wait for the return of the archangels?
The Allies are quite organized these days, and the story is mostly a waiting game while the enemy is adapting, learning from the heretics. There are bits and pieces that perked me right up, including the message and aid they get to Lady Karyl. Felt quite chuffed about what they did to the rebels, *snicker*
As for those broadsheets…*guffaw*… They were a long-term strategy and will pay off big time in this. I had hoped that Nahrmahn's porcelain idea would have come about, lol.
I do enjoy how mixed the population is with their combination of Hispanic, French, German, etc., first and last names, but it would have been so much more effective if Weber had simply left the names alone!! And I really hate how hard it is to tell which side I'm reading about. I keep having to hunt for clues and finally started marking an "E" for enemy and a "C" for Charis so I could keep track.
There are some interesting parallels between Safehold and the U.S. in how losing men to war is affecting how women function in society. Also in why politicians should not be in charge of directing battles, as those churchmen are too much like politicians who have no clue on how to fight a war.
The Charisians have incorporated so many innovations in both technology and how the military thinks. Soldiers will fantasize about how sweet it could be.
Truth will out, eventually. And the Temple soldiers are beginning to wonder, calling this "Clyntahn's War".
The Story
The mission for which Nimue Alban died, and for which Merlin Arthwaes was revived, is to overturn the Proscriptions and Eric Langhorne's shackles, proclaim the truth about the Archangels, and prepare the Safeholdians to defend against the Gbaba.
That means the Church of God Awaiting must be destroyed. Before the "Archangels" return.
The Characters
I have the hardest time keeping track of who's who and on which side sometimes, so this character list helps. And it is very, very, very long, and I don't guarantee the accuracy as to who belongs to which platoons, companies, brigades, etc. as it was simply too confusing. I tried… I also tried to figure out what their names were without all the silly extra letters Weber stuck in. I got to wondering afterwards if Weber used these awkward spellings to cover up that so many of them were the same.
So if this list would be useful, you'll have to check it out on my blog.
The Cover and Title
The cover is metallic from the black band at the top with the silver embossed author's name to the narrow gold bands framing the graphic in the middle band, and the copper at the bottom with its silver embossed title. The picture in the middle is a collage of events within the story with Merlin and Merch O Obaith standing on a ship's ramp watching a pitched battle.
The title could refer to several things — Clyntahn's revelation, the rioting, the messengers sent to the Allied armies, or... — for each event is occurring At the Sign of Triumph.
My Take
You'll be pleased to know the war comes to an end in this…and it's about time! However, Weber promises that this isn't the last we'll see of Merlin Athrawes. And now I'm curious as to where Weber plans to take Merlin. North Harchong or into space?? Wait for the return of the archangels?
The Allies are quite organized these days, and the story is mostly a waiting game while the enemy is adapting, learning from the heretics. There are bits and pieces that perked me right up, including the message and aid they get to Lady Karyl. Felt quite chuffed about what they did to the rebels, *snicker*
As for those broadsheets…*guffaw*… They were a long-term strategy and will pay off big time in this. I had hoped that Nahrmahn's porcelain idea would have come about, lol.
"It was almost worth having died to be able to play the Great Game at this level, he decided."Repression is never a good idea. And it's bad in Zion these days. All you have to do is know someone, and you must be guilty.
I do enjoy how mixed the population is with their combination of Hispanic, French, German, etc., first and last names, but it would have been so much more effective if Weber had simply left the names alone!! And I really hate how hard it is to tell which side I'm reading about. I keep having to hunt for clues and finally started marking an "E" for enemy and a "C" for Charis so I could keep track.
There are some interesting parallels between Safehold and the U.S. in how losing men to war is affecting how women function in society. Also in why politicians should not be in charge of directing battles, as those churchmen are too much like politicians who have no clue on how to fight a war.
"…that means fighting to the last drop of everyone else's blood."It is fun to watch the Dohlarans back in Gorath begin to see the light and how they challenge the Church.
"'I think we should by all means begin that discussion about how to defend this city.''And against whom.'"Weber makes this huge tome and the battles more personal with short paragraphs in which we get to know members of platoons…before they get killed off. Makes me think of John Scalzi's Redshirts.
The Charisians have incorporated so many innovations in both technology and how the military thinks. Soldiers will fantasize about how sweet it could be.
Truth will out, eventually. And the Temple soldiers are beginning to wonder, calling this "Clyntahn's War".
The Story
The mission for which Nimue Alban died, and for which Merlin Arthwaes was revived, is to overturn the Proscriptions and Eric Langhorne's shackles, proclaim the truth about the Archangels, and prepare the Safeholdians to defend against the Gbaba.
That means the Church of God Awaiting must be destroyed. Before the "Archangels" return.
The Characters
I have the hardest time keeping track of who's who and on which side sometimes, so this character list helps. And it is very, very, very long, and I don't guarantee the accuracy as to who belongs to which platoons, companies, brigades, etc. as it was simply too confusing. I tried… I also tried to figure out what their names were without all the silly extra letters Weber stuck in. I got to wondering afterwards if Weber used these awkward spellings to cover up that so many of them were the same.
So if this list would be useful, you'll have to check it out on my blog.
The Cover and Title
The cover is metallic from the black band at the top with the silver embossed author's name to the narrow gold bands framing the graphic in the middle band, and the copper at the bottom with its silver embossed title. The picture in the middle is a collage of events within the story with Merlin and Merch O Obaith standing on a ship's ramp watching a pitched battle.
The title could refer to several things — Clyntahn's revelation, the rioting, the messengers sent to the Allied armies, or... — for each event is occurring At the Sign of Triumph.
isaac_petherbridge's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
barkerjm's review against another edition
4.0
Somewhat inevitable conclusion to this phase of the series, not a whole lot in the way of surprises.
In previous books the land campaign has been somewhat hard to follow, and the included maps have helped a lot. In this book, there is only 1 included map, of all of Safehold. (The book directs you online for more maps, but when I'm reading. an 800 page hardback, I'm not likely to be simultaneously looking at maps online.
In previous books the land campaign has been somewhat hard to follow, and the included maps have helped a lot. In this book, there is only 1 included map, of all of Safehold. (The book directs you online for more maps, but when I'm reading. an 800 page hardback, I'm not likely to be simultaneously looking at maps online.
apryde6226's review against another edition
5.0
When this book came out, just recently, I had to read the series from the beginning. It was like rediscovering a great story all over again.
It left a number of pieces open, for example how was the Rakuri disarmed? By the end of the book, it wasn't, but the "Grand Fornicator" was killed far more mercifully than such a mass murderer deserved. As usual, Weber described naval fighting and land warfare as good, if not better than Clancey does. It's a great conclusion to the Safehold series.
According to the author's note, at the end, there are still a lot of stories to come, but the story of Nimue's quest to destroy the "Church of God Awaiting" has finally come to its conclusion. It's a great book series. David Weber is one of my favorite authors and Baen Publishing is also the best.
It left a number of pieces open, for example how was the Rakuri disarmed? By the end of the book, it wasn't, but the "Grand Fornicator" was killed far more mercifully than such a mass murderer deserved. As usual, Weber described naval fighting and land warfare as good, if not better than Clancey does. It's a great conclusion to the Safehold series.
According to the author's note, at the end, there are still a lot of stories to come, but the story of Nimue's quest to destroy the "Church of God Awaiting" has finally come to its conclusion. It's a great book series. David Weber is one of my favorite authors and Baen Publishing is also the best.
wetdryvac's review against another edition
5.0
A fitting conclusion/start. I'm fascinated to see if this gets run in a new direction now that the initial line of storytelling has played through. Seriously enjoyable series, and well concluded if this does turn out to be the last book.
brucehoward's review against another edition
4.0
I didn’t bother reviewing the others in this series; Goodreads really needs a mechanism for reviewing books in a series as a whole - reviewing individual books, particularly in a series as long (and unfortunately, at times, tedious ) as this is not practical.
The long and the short of it...great idea, very interesting first novel, occasionally clever but way to slowly developed over far to many novels.
By the time the 3rd or 4th book came out, I was spending more time waiting for the obvious oncoming plot twists to fully develop just so I could find out how the story ends.
I really loved the premise but feel quite certain the final 3-4 books could have been more usefully repurposed to developing what happens after the bad guys on Safehold are defeated and on how humanity take on what forced it to shelter on Safehold in the first place.
This kind of left me feeling cheated in the end, sigh.
Anyhoo, good first book, mostly reasonable closing of arcs on Safehold modular my aforementioned complaints above.
The long and the short of it...great idea, very interesting first novel, occasionally clever but way to slowly developed over far to many novels.
By the time the 3rd or 4th book came out, I was spending more time waiting for the obvious oncoming plot twists to fully develop just so I could find out how the story ends.
I really loved the premise but feel quite certain the final 3-4 books could have been more usefully repurposed to developing what happens after the bad guys on Safehold are defeated and on how humanity take on what forced it to shelter on Safehold in the first place.
This kind of left me feeling cheated in the end, sigh.
Anyhoo, good first book, mostly reasonable closing of arcs on Safehold modular my aforementioned complaints above.
jercox's review against another edition
3.0
As opposed to the last two books (two stars for being very slow and not really getting anywhere), this one is slightly more worthwhile, because some plot lines actually complete. If you have read the other books, that is not a spoiler, since they have been dragging up to this point quite predictably.
I was hoping that 9 books would be enough to get humanity back to the stars, and start telling the story of the war vs the Gbaba, or whatever the relevant aliens are called. Tighter writing could have finished this series comfortably in 6 books. But if you enjoyed the first 4-5 books of the series before getting frustrated, this one at least finishes the story you were drawn into at the beginning.
I was hoping that 9 books would be enough to get humanity back to the stars, and start telling the story of the war vs the Gbaba, or whatever the relevant aliens are called. Tighter writing could have finished this series comfortably in 6 books. But if you enjoyed the first 4-5 books of the series before getting frustrated, this one at least finishes the story you were drawn into at the beginning.
travelgirlut's review against another edition
2.0
Well, that was an ending...of sorts. I was only reading this series for the sci-fi aspect of the hidden and lost technology, and nothing about that was resolved at all. I'm disappointed I waded this far for no reason.
chutten's review against another edition
3.0
That this novel has many things happen, finally, is weighed down by how all of them are victories. Sure, there's a bit of a setback in the Gulf, but it's not a reversal.
A perfectly adequate end to the arc, with plenty left over for playing with at a later time.
A perfectly adequate end to the arc, with plenty left over for playing with at a later time.