Essord's Endeavors

Thuvia, Maid Of Mars (1920) is the fourth novel in Edgar Rice Burroughs‘ John Carter series.  The novel is the first in a new cycle of stories taking place on Mars, or Barsoom as it is called in the series. The first three novels had their focus on the main protagonist of the series and formed a sort of trilogy. Thuvia, Maid Of Mars has the son of John Carter as the central character. Not that he is so much different, but Burroughs uses it to create a new romance on the titular maiden as John Carter is bound in married life. Although the romance is the center piece of the story, much that takes place is actually adventure and action. The romance only drives the tale. The outcome is clear from the start. The only questions which remain are which hurdles have to be taken.

The story is fast paced. There is hardly any time for contemplation. In the meanwhile Burroughs introduces new ideas and peoples. The only question that I personally had was to which extent those ideas were original and the first occurrence of them in a science fiction story. I don’t read that much very old science fiction although I do aim to read the classics, like the Barsoom novels by Burroughs. I also assume that these are considered classics because they introduced for the first time concepts and ideas that would define later mainstream science fiction novels. Thuvia, Maid Of Mars is a short novel so there is not much space to put in many new things. There is only one set of related ideas that felt very familiar although I hadn’t encountered them in this form. So in that sense it was new too. It is actually this component which makes the novel a more than interesting read.

Lacking time for contemplation, the characters remain are rather flat. The few personal thoughts that Burroughs spends time on are mainly focused on primary issues than providing some depth or insight into the characters. Of course Burroughs’ aim in writing these stories was more to entertain and play with alien races and cultures than to showcase a fantastic setting for a well constructed story as his predecessors Jules Verne and H.G. Wells were prone to do. One thing that does show is that Burroughs is well immersed into the Barsoom universe. It is unique and has a distinct atmosphere. It is alien while the aforementioned authors based themselves more on an earthly perspective. This is what makes this novel something more than just an average or even poor novel compared to today’s standards. One has to read it with the time it was written in in mind, which I tried to, and then there is much interesting to see, as Burroughs has a good writing style which will keep the reader going and that’s a quality that is always important in any novel.

One last note concerns the ending. It seemed somewhat abrupt to me and the story stopped suddenly while different matters were still unresolved. Perhaps it will conclude in a later novel although I had expected some storylines to be extended more. Now I am just not certain. At least it will push me to continue on. That said, I have not been reading this novel with great intent. I would not particularly recommend this novel. It is more for collectors like me who like to explore more of the classics in science fiction as one usually only reads the most successful books while the remaining ones are usually harder to find or get. As I have done so before I have discovered that it is often worthwhile to read the “other” books as well as they enrich the experience and the universe that has been created.

Flag In Exile (1995) is the fifth book in the Honor Harrington series, a military science fiction by David Weber.  While the novel continues the story in the previous novel Field Of Dishonor, it is readable as a standalone book. A main change within the plot is that the greater conflict, a.k.a. war, of the series has now commenced in full. At the same time the main character seems to be sidelined, both mentally as politically. Fortunately her chosen location provides her the means to return into the game.

Flag In Exile mixes planetary events with activities in outer space. In that sense it is more like the first novel of the series, On Basilisk Station. Differences are that there is not as much action and the pace is somewhat lower.  Much is focused on the grand finale so it takes some reading before the story goes all out.

The main character has undergone some heavy ordeals in the previous novel and still suffers from it in this one. To Weber the main character is his heroine so whatever still plagues her does not inflict as heavy troubles as it could have been. As usual he remains somewhat lenient on her. The drama isn’t taken as far as it could have been. Of course one can attribute it to the strong will and character of the main character to be able to overcome her hurdles so quickly. This prevents heavier drama to follow as the main character keeps it under control. Weber does show the vulnerability caused by earlier experiences is still there.  As said in previous reviews, the way Weber portrays the main character is not a flaw and that he doesn’t take the drama further isn’t either. I mainly mention them because they are obvious paths that could have been taken in the story. Weber limits the heavy drama to a few and keeps the others at bay. Describing these choices reflect how the story is set up so you know what you will get.

The story itself is engaging, although one some parts it remains rather mundane for a science fiction novel. Weber doesn’t cover much ground that is original or extending or crossing boundaries. He stays within the familiar limits of the genre. His only original contribution is on space travel and space ships which has been well developed. The main focus lies on space warfare so he chooses not to spend too much time on details that are not related to it. The question that remains with me is if he puts his focus where his strengths are or that he could have developed the non-space warfare elements in a better way. That would certainly have improved the overall standing of the series. Now it remains rather mainstream, however well written and structured the space warfare is.

With Flag In Exile Weber keeps a certain level of quality after the good Field Of Dishonor. Among the novels until now it is about average in quality which is a positive thing as the novels keep me reading on. Turning the pages comes easily and that is always a good thing.

The fourth novel in the Honor Harrington series by David Weber makes a big change compared to the previous novels which were more of a standalone nature. It is still military science fiction, but this time little time takes place in space and there are no space battles. Field Of Dishonor (1994) is actually a direct continuation of the third book in the series, The Short Victorious War, and combines continuations of the storylines from the first three novels and the effects they have on the new story.

Field Of Dishonor contains exactly what I was missing in the previous novels. The characters take center place as they are now outside the regular spaceship setting and are able to behave and act without the normal constraints within the military. There is much more personal drama and character development and this brings everything much more to the front.I really liked it and consider it a vast improvement.

The story is not all that perfect. There are some minor details that Weber glances over of which I had expected him to spend some time on if he was really trying to go all out. He also pulls out more rabbits out of the hat that seem a bit too convenient for the main character. There are more struggles but he still refrains from going all the way. He remains somewhat protective of his main character, making her a bit too skilled on too many fields. However, a writer is allowed to choose his own approach to how he wants to portray and present his characters and it is also a subjective thing as each reader is different. By and by I should also remind myself that this novel is from the early nineties in which the science fiction genre was still quite different from what we are used to nowadays in science fiction.

All in all I consider Field Of Dishonor the best of the series until now. The plot of the first novel was better, but it loses on some style issues which Weber managed to get rid of mostly afterwards.Field Of Dishonor is more dramatic while still being a pageturner despite the lesser action, and it made me very eager to read the next installment as with this novel Weber breaks the standalone pattern and makes it part of the greater story. This book is still readable as a standalone work although it would spoil much of the events from the first three books. This one’s recommended.

After two more or less introductory novels David Weber sets off for the central conflict of his Honor Harrington series. The Short Victorious War (1994) is very much a military science fiction novel. Very important in such a dominating themed series is keeping the stories in the novels distinct enough to prevent things becoming repetitive or formulaic.

The main differences in The Short Victorious War consist of two elements. The first is that the main character is not in the lead for a change. She is part of a team and answering to a superior now. This restricts her actions and behavior but it also lessens her responsibilities. This different setting lacks some tension compared to the earlier books. It is however how one would expect it to be. It mainly means that we get to experience some other sides of the main character.

The second difference with the previous books is the approach of the story. It takes much more time before the real action kicks in. In fact, Weber develops his story analogue to an elaborate chess game. A lot of strategy is involved from different sides. Weber adds in as many viewpoints next to his main character’s one as he deems necessary. Besides providing some variation it also fills in some gaps and heightens the anticipation to what is going to happen in the story. As the events take place in space and both antagonists are unaware of what the other is doing it takes a lot of time before one can act once the proper information is available to make choices from. The main downside of all of this is that you pretty much already will know to some extent what will probably happen, even if you don’t know all the details.

I already mentioned this weakness in David Weber’s story in the previous novel, which also suffered a bit from this. The first novel contained far more events that could not be predicted. That story contained far more layers and complexity. The scale however was much smaller. The scale of the second novel was somewhat larger and the scale in this novel is even much larger than before. As events develop much more slowly there is less room for a fast pace and surprises. Weber at least doesn’t take his time to do so. He spends most of his time setting up and playing his wargame. He clearly enjoys it and he works it out well so there is not much to complain on that part. The story lacks serious drama or conflicts. Weber adds a bit to give his character at least some personal development, but it all does not impress that much. It seems to be there for the variation and do some more than spending all the time on the wargame.

One minor personal annoyance that has crept up after reading three books of the series is Weber’s habit of nicknaming characters with common names using the familiar versions. Of course nicknaming is not that uncommon, it is just that he only uses those that are common and leaves others unaffected. In a way it provides some slack in the mandatory behavior required in the military environment, but Weber makes it sounding often a bit too easygoing. A bit more formality would have been nicer, although that is just a matter of preference.

Overall The Short Victorious War plays out a little bit better than the previous novel. It still falls short to the complexity, drama and fast pace of the first novel. Nevertheless, despite the lower pace, Weber keeps writing an engaging story in which the pages keep turning with ease. After three books I am far from impressed by the series. It feels rather mainstream and it helps a lot that Weber writes in a very convincing way. His universe is not very complicated and he stays close to familiar environments. It does not stand out, although I have to admit it’s a fairly fun read. I had expected longer breaks in between books that get some breath and on this I turned out to be wrong, so that is a good thing.

I continue my journey into military science fiction with The Honor Of The Queen (1993) by David Weber, the second novel of his Honor Harrington series. Like it’s predecessor the novel contains a fairly standalone story, taking place a few years after the events in On Basilisk Station. As the characters are part of a space navy they get reassigned frequently, which means few characters remain. Obviously the main character, Honor Harrington, is the one we do follow throughout the series.

A new setting and many new characters allow an author to show certain skill in defining and portraying them. Unfortunately Weber does a half-hearted job and only some characters get some deepening. Unlike the previous novel, this story quickly goes into action mode and a lot of space is taken up by space battles, allowing little room for characterization.

It doesn’t help that Weber stays on familiar ground. The new setting that provides the conflicts is nothing peculiar or original. It is one of the general weaknesses of the series until now that most of the planets and cultures, for as far as Weber spends time on them, are based on western culture. On Basilisk Station still had a primitive alien race that provided some weirdness. None of such are to be found in this novel.

The story itself, mainly focused on the space conflicts, is done well. Weber provides sufficient variation so that not everything takes place aboard a space ship in a military environment. He gives the main character some setbacks to overcome, although he provides a twist that make things easier for her, while the greater challenge would have been more interesting. Even so, doing so might have endangered the desired outcome of the story, so one could call it acceptable.

Weber writes an easily accessible story. There are some technical naval details which show efforts on developing these elements of the story, making it a bit harder SF. Luckily he doesn’t spend too much time on it. The story moves at a good pace and is engaging enough to make the novel a page turner. In the end, however, the novel lacks some originality and characterization, making it a lesser novel than the first on several accounts. Nevertheless he shows the willingness to make some tough choices. This inclines me to expect he will be able to do more and improve later in the series. I’m not really hooked yet, but there is a clear sign the larger plot will start coming into play eventually, making the first novels more of an introductory kind. Thus I’m giving him the benefit of the doubt.

I’ve started with the first novel of the Honor Harrington series by David Weber. The first installment, On Basilisk Station (1993), introduces the titular character in the early stages of her career in the space navy in this military science fiction series. Where many other series usually begin at the school or academy which is always an easy and familiar entry, Weber chose to skip that part as he (apparently) wants military action, not simulation.

Weber uses a fairly traditional space opera setting while using the British Empire as a rough template for the base of the space navy. The background is only lightly explored, mostly in the political sense, as the main protagonist spends all her time on her missions. The military theme dominates as there is very little time spent outside it. We only see the characters in there functional capacity and not much light shines on their personal backgrounds. The reader has to do with the main character.

The novel starts of a little awkward. Instead of providing interesting confrontations the main character is moved to the required position to tell the story. It is at that moment that the story really begins to move and Weber gets into the rhythm he has been looking for as the plot develops rapidly. Although he manages to add a few good twists most of the plot is rather predictable. The cause of this is that Weber seems to let the confrontations of the main character and the side characters go by to easily. Only in the finale he manages to do it better. I haven’t really read pure military science fiction before so I don’t know if it is somewhat part of subgenre. The formality, strict rules and position of the military provides it with constraints that can either be followed or broken. Weber decided to follow them which does support the way the different developments are handled.

One thing that is different from many other novels is that the main character is capable and skilled. There is no stumbling or growing curve. The reader is presented with a character who knows how it works. During the series the reader will (that’s what I expect) see the main character undergo experiences and challenges in which she utilizes her abilities to the extreme. For me it was a nice change to have such a main character. Of course things don’t go that easy and I hope she will counter heavier experiences in the later books.

Due to the military setting and the main character it is the story which drives the novel for the most part and there is plenty of it. Weber keeps up a brisk pace and although the main focus is on the central character he regularly switches scenes to an enemy or certain side characters to give a wide perspective.

Weber’s prose is easy to read and although there is much usage of military terms they are fairly common so that those who have read science fiction before will have a familiar feeling. As he quickly goes from one dramatic scene to the next, it is hard to put the book down as you want to know what happens next even though you can sometimes predict how it will go. Weber weaves several minor themes in the book, and although they are rather common science fiction themes, they are part of the story and give some extra depth to it as he develops them well.

There were a few minor things that could use some improvement. There were a few scenes which were almost copies of each other, where Weber used the same elements in a confrontation although the situation was different. Weber also has the tendency to put his main character in a shining light, either by her colleagues or her enemies. A few times is okay, but he did it just a bit too frequently. Another, very minor, thing were some awkward info dumpings, where Weber presents it as a character reflecting while in fact it goes into too much detail than would be normal. Weber actually creates the problem himself as he needs to explain details that the reader would not understand, but the character would.

Either way, the minor things only happen a few times, so it’s only noticeable for someone like me who pays attention to such things. On Basilisk Station is on a whole an engaging pageturner and a fun read. I did enjoy it despite the predictability and the limiting military setup. I will certainly read more as I secretly hope Weber will head for the heavy confrontations and experiences and that this is a more friendly introduction, although I would not read too many after each other because I fear (and expect) that it would tire me out quickly and that would be a waste. This is a well written mainstream science fiction novel and as it is a subgenre which I haven’t dwelled in before I can safely explore more of this series. I do think that I won’t read other military science fiction novels soon as it is too constricted and just not something I want to read too much of. If you want to try military SF or like it already, this one I can recommend.