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BOOK REVIEWS:
by Jack Hillman
---------------
Welcome to the Book Reviews. The books are rated on a ten star
scale. Anythig in the seven to ten star range is a particularly
good suggestion for your reading list.
FLAG IN EXILE by David Weber,
Baen Books, Paperback 442 pages;
Science Fiction: $5.99; Nine Stars
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
The time is the far future. Mankind has leapt out into the
galaxy, using wormhole technology to span the light years. But
along with them, mankind has taken the same prejudice and lust
for power that made Earth such a difficult place to live. In the
Kingdom of Manticore, a naval officer has risen through the ranks
by sheer force of effort and skill. Placed in many dangerous
situations, often by other officers who would prefer to see her
fail, Honor Harrington has proven that a good officer fights with
and by her crew.
But now, just when Honor has received the praise of both the
Queen and the High Admirals of the Royal Manticoran Navy, her
career has been halted by the actions of a peer of the realm who
seeks the power of the throne. Honor defeats the noble in a duel
only to find herself stripped of her rank and cast out of the
Navy.
Honor still has many friends and supporters. On the planet
Grayson, Honor Harrington has been made a Steadholder, a
landholder responsible for the lives of hundreds of people, and
also Protector of Grayson, the champion of the people. Honor once
saved Grayson from the attack of the nearby Peoples Republic of
Haven, a socialist government that survives by conquering
neighboring planets and draining their resources to feed the
lower social class masses in their realm.
On Grayson, Honor will have time to heal her wounds: wounds of
the flesh from her battles in space and the final duel with the
peer of Manticore; wounds of the soul as she mourns for the
loss of her love, killed by an assassin trying to draw her into
the open; wounds of the spirit as Honor tries to find a purpose
worth living for, other than the Navy. Honor takes to her role as
Steadholder with all the grace and power she held as a Naval
Officer. Her people soon learn to stand behind her and fight for
her just as her crews have done over the years. And, Honor uses
her own personal fortune to try and better the plight of her
people since they live on a planet high in heavy metals that must
be processed from their food and water before consumption.
Even on Grayson, the fires of prejudice and hatred run hot.
For generations, Grayson has been a male dominated planet, ruled
by men and giving women there proper respect as homemakers and
childbearers. Now a new factor has entered the game. Honor has
not only been made a Steadholder, a hereditary title for men,
but also named Protector of the planet, a title once held by
the members of the house of Burdette. However, Burdette wants
the title back, as well as the power of the government to back
his plan to drive out this alien menace hiding in the halls of
their government. Honor must die, Burdette claims, the only way
to cleanse their planet.
Now Honor finds herself fighting not only the environment of
the planet, but the hatred of generations of men trying to stop
change before it destroys their power. And in the distance, the
People's Republic of Haven begins to build anew for another
attempt at takeover in the Kingdom of Manticore.
Here is the fifth book in a growing series by one of hard SF's
new masters. David Weber has built a strong female character,
Honor, who you can respect and follow -- blazing trails into space
encountering the carnage of interstellar war, as well as the
personal combat found in the Dueling Chamber. Known for other
science fiction and fantasy works, Weber is competing with the
likes of David Drake for the title of Master of Future Warfare.
And this work, FLAG IN EXILE, will soon be known as a masterpiece
of this genre. If you haven't read Weber, you're missing some of
the best SF on the market today.
Copyright 1995 Jack Hillman, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
------------------------------------------------------------------
Jack is an avid reader of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Sword and
Sorcery and Horror and has been for over thirty years. Raised on
tales of King Arthur and Buck Rogers, Jack has seen science fiction
go from the fantastic to part of everyday life. A writer in his own
right, Jack tries to follow the footsteps of Robert Heinlein, the
Dean of Science Fiction, as well as the trail of the Knights of The
Round Table, with a little Dean Koontz (in his science fiction era)
thrown in for spice. Email: jhillwtr@aol.com
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