(SPOILER) HFQ Review

I guess this is from a pre-publication reviewer...

Big time spoiler in the review. I won't put it here, but you can see it for yourself.

[url]https://lizbourke.wordpress.com/2015/07/14/books-in-brief-hells-foundations-quiver-by-david-weber/
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It's dated back in July, and it was only on a whim that I Googled HFQ to see if there was anything worth browsing.

It's short, and a bash. Dunno how major of a real spoiler it is; we've seen the build-up to a point where the good guys can simply take no more, so....

It's an interesting comment. It has me wondering if we'll agree with the comment after we read the context in the book. I see the aforementioned theme as a minor one which when tied into context has the potential for significant impact...

IIRC, she also reviewed LAMA with similar criticisms about character development as she has for HFQ. I've sort of lost patience with her critic of info dumps. If MWW were to be pleasing Ms Rourke, he'd probably be publishing romance novels for Harleqin (sp).

Don

n7axw wrote:It's an interesting comment. It has me wondering if we'll agree with the comment after we read the context in the book. I see the aforementioned theme as a minor one which when tied into context has the potential for significant impact...

IIRC, she also reviewed LAMA with similar criticisms about character development as she has for HFQ. I've sort of lost patience with her critic of info dumps. If MWW were to be pleasing Ms Rourke, he'd probably be publishing romance novels for Harleqin (sp).

Don

Hi Don.
Don't care about the comments at all. But what caught my attention was the spoiler in the review. It was buried amongst all the nattering negativism.
I

One has to wonder if the lady has read all of the portions of Safehold where RFC has gotten into more than sufficient detail on man's inhumanity to man. As far as character development.... I find my self very comfortable with the main characters, which my wife, active member of 5 or 6 local private and library book clubs, assures me is an indication the author has done a good job of "developing" the characters.
Personally, I love the data dumps. I love the way RFC builds whole worlds with great context and depth that indicate the significance of events and an understanding of why other things can't happen.
Oh well, one man's opinion.

WeberFan wrote:I guess this is from a pre-publication reviewer...

Big time spoiler in the review. I won't put it here, but you can see it for yourself.

[url]https://lizbourke.wordpress.com/2015/07/14/books-in-brief-hells-foundations-quiver-by-david-weber/
[/url]

It's dated back in July, and it was only on a whim that I Googled HFQ to see if there was anything worth browsing.

Not everyone "gets it". Personally, I love the detail explanations, but it isn't for everybody. I do see the point about turning the Church in an evil caricature though. They are greedy and selfish bastards, for sure, but I think it’s getting to the point where CoAG is Hitler, Stalin, The worst Slave masters, etc. all rolled into one. Maybe Merlin could just drop a kinetic warhead on the Central Temple.

I have to agree Hiruu, not everyone likes the long detailed descriptions of how guns work and other things. I on the other hand love them, they are part of why I like RFC's writing, he actually takes into account what is required to do things, nobody just, magically gets a new gun that can fire faster, without explanation, no army gets to be raised without a population base to support it, no one gets to win a victory without an explanation. It's called realism, I just wish RFC would publish a collection of all his notes maps and designs, as well as thoughts on the industrial capacity of Charis and other nations in a book, not right now necessarily, he has to reserve the right to deliver evil and nasty surprises to us. But maybe after 'this' war is over.


On the subject CoGA, I have to disagree. They are really all too human and while they are a mix of both Hitler and Stalin's regimes they are still below the level of evil involved with both of them. Clyhntahn is very Hitler in his characteristics, but the actions of the Church aren't the compilation of all evil, for example, they aren't just exterminating everyone, there is an attempt to only kill the 'guilty'. They are failing, because they aren't being very careful about the evidence, but they aren't just killing everyone in a region, they require some sort of accusation. The CoGA is human and not inhuman evil.


However, I do agree with the reviewer on one point. RFC does flinch, more like run away in the opposite direction actually, from actually letting horrible things happen and calling the people who do them evil. He lets many morally good characters die, and some die horribly. However, he then tries to make excuses for Thirsk not standing up to the inquisition over his prisoners and refuse to give his officers and sailors and example, even at a cost to himself, was his familly really worth more than all of the prisoners. Check the numbers, they weren't. But the biggest frustration I have with RFC is his refusal to allow the inner circle to realize, that "Yes, they really are evil and even the people who support them out of fear, habit, or a desire to reform them later are countenancing something completely evil and they know it, so killing any of the enemy at this point is a good thing, because they are killing people who aren't doing evil things or supporting those who are do the evil things).

Is the worker who makes a musket he/she knows is going to be used to fight the war any less guilty then the soldier?

Is the crowd who stands by while someone is beaten to death innocent, despite the risk to themselves?

Note Supporting my opinion on RFC flinching from hard choices:
He saved Harrington, yes I know I'm switching universes here but, he was going to kill her and then he didn't. Why? Because he liked her to much.








Personal irritation:
I think Duchairn is the worst person in the entire series, morally that is, because he could have destroyed the Chruch's armies, by hamstringing their supply lines. He could do immense damage to the supply lines just by dying right now and he doesn't. Instead their is sympathy for him. To me it's like calling an arsonist good because he helped put out the fire, I don't care that there was another arsonist who didn't and is also trying to start more fires, your still a bloody arsonist.

Highjohn wrote: SNIP
However, he then tries to make excuses for Thirsk not standing up to the inquisition over his prisoners and refuse to give his officers and sailors and example, even at a cost to himself, was his familly really worth more than all of the prisoners. Check the numbers, they weren't.
Snip

For cryin' out loud can we stop with this crap about Thirsk not trying to save the prisoners!
The man did try to improve their conditions at considerable risk to himself and his family. Why is it so hard to see that if he'd done more, he would have been replaced, most likely killed by being put to the Question. And since heresy is a genetic trait his wife, children and grandchildren would have been killed the same way. OK, maybe the women and grandkids would have been strangled.

Highjohn wrote:Personal irritation:
I think Duchairn is the worst person in the entire series, morally that is, because he could have destroyed the Chruch's armies, by hamstringing their supply lines. He could do immense damage to the supply lines just by dying right now and he doesn't. Instead their is sympathy for him. To me it's like calling an arsonist good because he helped put out the fire, I don't care that there was another arsonist who didn't and is also trying to start more fires, your still a bloody arsonist.

True, he could have performed his job poorly, hamstrung the Church's logistics... that is until Clyntahn decided that he'd outlived his usefulness and had him purged. Yet then what? No man is truly irreplaceable and therefore someone would have had to take his place. And it would have to be someone who could do a better job than Duchairn to justify such a high profile purge.

No... Duchairn is probably playing the long game. He probably realizes, if only dimly, that the church is losing and that at some point in the future, Clyntahn will go down. When that happens, someone with a modicum of common sense, who has the faith of the common people of Zion will have to negotiate with Charis. And guess what Duchairn's been doing all this time - Buying the love and support of the poor in Zion. He will use that as leverage in any internal power struggle within Church, as the old power structure collapses and the Church can no longer command the wealthy and the powerful in any realm on the planet.

The reviewer lives up to the crankiness promised in her header.