Unsure if this first post is appropriate or not but the reason I endured the registration process is to get this off my heaving chest.
Uh, gonna copy/past this from Word, let's see how that works. Is there a length limit? Let's find out:
One of the advantages of becoming elderly is memory loss, thereby enabling one to reread books, or even whole series of books, with naught but the occasional hint of “Déjà Vu”. Such was the case with the Safehold series, I read the first few books, thinking I’d come to the end with the last book, such was not the case, however, as whilst I was reading one book Mr. Weber was busy writing more.
So I parked the series in my Kindle and went on to other stuff.
A few years later I assumed the series was complete, and unwilling to pick up where the author left off I began reading “Off Armageddon Reef” and slogged right through until the end of “At the Sign Of Triumph” whereupon I discovered that alas, we were not done yet. So now I’ve another month or so until “Through Fiery Trials” hits my Kindle.
Writers should never allow readers time between books of a series as then they, the readers, will come up either with a bunch of stuff the writer should have done or, worse yet, come up with a bunch of stuff the writer should do with the rest of the series.
I would never do that, no way.
My favorite scene/passage was Yairley’s and Destiny’s battle with the massive hurricane that nearly trapped him on the shoals. Brilliant writing, and yeah, I was right there with the Captain as he filled the quarterdeck with his presence. His commands were right on, the same commands any experienced square rigged captain would order in those perilous times.
Or, would they?
Is there anyone alive who could attest to the authenticity of Captain Yairley’s orders? In my younger days I spent eight years at sea in the United States Navy as a Bosun’s mate. One of my duties as an underway Bosun’s mate of the watch was passing the Word over the ships 1MC. I never, ever piped “Hands To Braces”, “Brace Up the Forecourse”, “Back Topsail And Course”, “Sheet Home” or even “Clew Up”.
Either Mr. Weber spent a few weeks in serious research or availed himself of some high-end technical advice. While both of us hail from South Carolina he’s from the Upstate while I’m from down below Charleston, and I doubt there are any square rigged clippers paddling around the ponds near Greenville.
Bottom line, though: I loved it, hung on every word, authentic or not I eagerly bought the whole package.
I have my doubts that number ten (“Through Fiery Trials”) will be the end of the series. There is too much left to do. For one thing, we have two immortal PICA’s running around so it would seem at some point Caleb and that lot should die off and the next generations go gunning for the Gbaba. Weber being Weber we will most likely be introduced to individual Gbabians and it is to be fervently hoped that their names do not all begin with the letter “Z”.
Even though there may well be portions of this body of work that drag a bit, or maybe go into exquisite, boring technical detail on how this or that goes boom, thing to remember is that all of it makes the whole so much more awesome.
So maybe I’ll leave this parked for the next few years awaiting the installments that must come, then read it all again.
