We Few by David Weber and John Ringo
Jul. 3rd, 2008 07:11 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
snugglekittyThis book is the conclusion to the Prince Roger series. Roger and his men have slogged through the mountains and swamps of Marduk. They've beaten back many attacks and made friends with the natives, some of whom joined their party. They built their own boats and crossed an ocean full of monsters. They took over the planet's only spaceport and, in a climactic battle at the end of the last book, they captured a spaceship (at grave cost to themselves and their defenders). All this triumph, only to find that Roger's mother, the Empress of Man, is being held against her will. Roger himself is being blamed for the coup that killed his brother, sister, and nephews. He has been branded a traitor throughout the known universe.
This is where the book begins. Perhaps it's obvious now that you should start with the first book, March Upcountry, if you don't know the series? Okay, good. Let's move on.
So, now it's just a simple matter for Roger - and the TWELVE Marines who have survived the slaughter of his bodyguard detachment by a hostile planet - to take back the Empire, free his mother, and clear the charges against his name. Right, and to convince the lowborn military woman he loves to marry him. How he does this (the outcome was never really in doubt, was it?) is the subject of an entertaining 400 plus pages.
The observant reader will notice that the book has 500 plus pages, so what am I getting at?
Well, about a hundred pages from the end, a climactic scene occurs, and the plot seems to be concluding. "That's odd," I thought, "What are they going to do with the other hundred pages?" The answer was "Have a random and hard-to-follow space battle that involves no major characters." I actually skimmed this part. Yes, Weber is considered the genius of the space battle, so it was in keeping with his other books, but not with this series, which mostly took place planetside (and with people we had MET for more than a page).
There was one other part that I really didn't enjoy. Two male sci fi geeks with side points in mililtary history are never going to be good at writing girltalk. A scene in which Roger's love interest's female superiors try to convince her that it is her duty to become the Empress "because Roger NEEEEEEEDS you" made me want to throw up. Dude, she doesn't want to be the Empress but she's fine with marrying him. Am I the only one who remember the fine tradition of the Prince or Princess Consort? Marry her without making her the Empress! It happens all the time! Marriage is a covenant between people for mutual support and love. Becoming the Empress is a job - and one I think Nimashet would not be good at, since her only qualification for the position is, "Can make Prince Roger back down from a berserker rage." (In my version of what happens after the end of the book, Roger's mother suggests this.)
The girltalk then concludes with a pseudo-scientific discussion of why breasts evolved. The authors feel that it was "to give men a reason to stick around." Again, I sort of wanted to throw up. What I actually did was to launch into a rant (directed at the very patient![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
mrpet) about swollen breasts being a sign of heat, the transition from the estrus cycle to the menstrual cycle, non-reproductive coitus, and the way that face-to-face intercourse may have been a factor in the development of human society. Nooky available at any time is way more of an incentive to "stick around" than lumps on the chest! Come on, people. If you don't know what you're talking about, just let it rest.
With all that being said, the rest of the book was pretty good. The "authentic Mardukan restaurant" that Roger and his friends open as a cover for their operation is pretty great. The ending of the book is satisfying. And really, if you've already finished the previous three books (making your page total at least 1500, right?) what choice do you have but to finish?
Two and a half stars.
This is where the book begins. Perhaps it's obvious now that you should start with the first book, March Upcountry, if you don't know the series? Okay, good. Let's move on.
So, now it's just a simple matter for Roger - and the TWELVE Marines who have survived the slaughter of his bodyguard detachment by a hostile planet - to take back the Empire, free his mother, and clear the charges against his name. Right, and to convince the lowborn military woman he loves to marry him. How he does this (the outcome was never really in doubt, was it?) is the subject of an entertaining 400 plus pages.
The observant reader will notice that the book has 500 plus pages, so what am I getting at?
Well, about a hundred pages from the end, a climactic scene occurs, and the plot seems to be concluding. "That's odd," I thought, "What are they going to do with the other hundred pages?" The answer was "Have a random and hard-to-follow space battle that involves no major characters." I actually skimmed this part. Yes, Weber is considered the genius of the space battle, so it was in keeping with his other books, but not with this series, which mostly took place planetside (and with people we had MET for more than a page).
There was one other part that I really didn't enjoy. Two male sci fi geeks with side points in mililtary history are never going to be good at writing girltalk. A scene in which Roger's love interest's female superiors try to convince her that it is her duty to become the Empress "because Roger NEEEEEEEDS you" made me want to throw up. Dude, she doesn't want to be the Empress but she's fine with marrying him. Am I the only one who remember the fine tradition of the Prince or Princess Consort? Marry her without making her the Empress! It happens all the time! Marriage is a covenant between people for mutual support and love. Becoming the Empress is a job - and one I think Nimashet would not be good at, since her only qualification for the position is, "Can make Prince Roger back down from a berserker rage." (In my version of what happens after the end of the book, Roger's mother suggests this.)
The girltalk then concludes with a pseudo-scientific discussion of why breasts evolved. The authors feel that it was "to give men a reason to stick around." Again, I sort of wanted to throw up. What I actually did was to launch into a rant (directed at the very patient
mrpet) about swollen breasts being a sign of heat, the transition from the estrus cycle to the menstrual cycle, non-reproductive coitus, and the way that face-to-face intercourse may have been a factor in the development of human society. Nooky available at any time is way more of an incentive to "stick around" than lumps on the chest! Come on, people. If you don't know what you're talking about, just let it rest.With all that being said, the rest of the book was pretty good. The "authentic Mardukan restaurant" that Roger and his friends open as a cover for their operation is pretty great. The ending of the book is satisfying. And really, if you've already finished the previous three books (making your page total at least 1500, right?) what choice do you have but to finish?
Two and a half stars.
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no subject
Date: 2008-07-03 01:27 pm (UTC)It might give you a chuckle. I love his books, but he (and David Weber come to that) drives me crazy at times. They just don't Get It...
no subject
Date: 2008-07-03 01:41 pm (UTC)I like John Ringo more than I want to like him. His books make me feel dirty, and not in a sexy way.
I don't know if you saw my previous rant on his "Here There Be Dragons"? If not, it's here: http://lady-anemone.livejournal.com/433102.html