I thought this one was on par with the others in this series. To sum it up, I would say 'more of the same'. If you liked the other titles in this series you should like this one. If, on the other hand, you are looking for a more "High Tech" Weber than this isn't the book for you. Mr. Weber is clearly quite interested in the Age of Sail warfare and it shows. The detailed sea battles and (quite) lengthy passages on the operation and maintenance of a wind powered vessel are very well researched. A few other folks have commented on the necessity of including them and I can see their point. From a storytelling POV they aren't strictly necessary but I feel that they add great depth to the story overall. Having spent at least 6 large books in this time period, I'm wondering how Mr. Weber is going to end this series. I'm hoping he doesn't go for a Deus Ex easy out sort of ending to the series. I've been reading David Weber's Safehold series for at least half a decade now. I'm a big fan of David Weber, I've also enjoyed his Mutineer's Moon and Honor Harrington books, but Safehold is the series that I think I've enjoyed the most. Well, I picked up How Firm a Foundation a few weeks ago, in celebration of having finished some editing, and read it over about six days. This is a hefty book and that should tell you how much I enjoyed it.If you haven't read any of the Safehold series, don't start with this one. This is the fifth book in the series and the story has expanded a good deal, touching on a large number of characters across the world of Safehold in the ongoing war between the Empire of Charis and the Church of God Awakening. One of my only complaints about this book is that we are hearing less and less about the main character, Nimue Alban, and her alter-ego of Merlin, and more about the other characters that Weber uses to tell this story. That's fine, I suppose, in that Weber's supporting cast is quite strong, and one of the things Weber does very well is hop between a variety of characters to tell a big story. Another thing he'd done very well in this book is naval technology, he must have done a staggering amount of research to be able to write as fluently as he does.My biggest complaint about this book is that, by this point in a series, I'm having trouble connecting with the large number of characters and locations that Weber has touched on. That may be a feature of it having been a year and a half since I read the last book in the series, and it may just be a feature of needing to visit characters who we then don't hear from again, in order to tell the story. Still, it means that at the start of the scene, I often have to pause and think back and see if I remember the character, and if there's something important going on with them that I should know. Sometimes, I have no idea. My other complaint is that naval scenes can sometimes make my eyes gloss over, even during high tension scenes, because my patience for memorizing the difference between the spinnaker, the yardarm and the poop deck is limited.All that said, I enjoyed this book a lot, and I do recommend the series for anyone interested in ongoing science fiction. This book touches on issues that Weber first explored in his book Heirs of Empire, mostly in debates of religion as a force of good or evil. If you've read a lot of Weber's books, this isn't exactly a new theme, but they are a key element of the Safehold books. I look forward to the next book and seeing just how far Weber takes this series.
Do You like book Fundamenty Wiary (2013)?
I find this series fascinating. I enjoy the mix of war and politics that the stories involve.
—Blood_Alone
I'm glad this book improved over the last couple in the series. I dreaded another bomb.
—bob
Good read....just waiting for the next book!!!
—Kelly
Good enough to keep me coming back for more.
—abbycadaby
