Off Armageddon Reef: Safehold Series, Book 1

This is a series I looked at several times in the bookstore and the library because I am familiar with Weber’s work and thoroughly enjoy his Honor Harrington books. However, the fact that the Church is the bad guy kind of turned me away from it. I finally decided to read it based on the recommendation of a person in one of my Goodreads groups, who said it really is a good series and honors God. Now it’s my turn to reassure other people: despite the Church of God Awaiting being a dictator’s dream of controlling people through religion, there is a lot of good content in these books, which describe the fight to break the power of the Church and allow people of faith more freedom.In a nutshell, humanity has been all but destroyed by an alien species that not only doesn’t want to coexist peacefully, they never even communicate with the human spaceships they encounter. The Gbaba, as they’re called, simply destroy every ship and every colony they find. In desperation, the last human spaceship fleet pulls a bit of misdirection to save one last terraforming and colonization fleet, which has orders to fly at faster-than-light speeds for at least ten years in a random direction before even starting to look for a suitable planet, which they are then going to colonize. The theory is that the long sustained flight will take the last humans far out of the alien sphere of influence.The original idea is to hide with no detectable technology for a few centuries, then start developing the technology to defeat the aliens once and for all, to ensure the safety of humanity and also of any other peaceful intelligent species that might develop. Unfortunately, the leadership of the project falls to someone who believes that it’s better to just dig as deep a hole as possible and never come out, so he designs the Church of God Awaiting and its holy scriptures to keep advanced technology from ever arising again. He also institutes the Inquisition to enforce these religious laws.There are, however, people among the leadership that know that an encounter with the Gbaba is pretty much inevitable, largely because the human spirit of innovation and discovery can’t be bred or controlled out of us. So they try several things to preserve the knowledge of the Gbaba and advanced technology, all of which are destroyed by the people that want a stagnant society. All except one, that is. That last gasp is in the form of a powered-down human-appearing android that is implanted with the memories and personality of a crewmember before the colony fleet leaves on its long flight. Secreted on the planet by conspirators with a timer to awaken her after several centuries, with whatever helpful tech they can stash, the android is to serve as mentor and guide to the colonists as they relearn all the things they’ve been forced to forget.What follows is essentially the Safeholdians going through the Protestant Reformation and the Industrial Revolution at the same time. The android, who takes the name Merlin despite the fact that the person whose personality was used was female, gives the Charisians the initial push towards real scientific investigation but then lets them take things in their own direction because he wants to create a culture of innovation, not just hand them all the answers on a silver platter. Of course, the Church doesn’t like that idea and tries to stop them, and that’s when the fun begins. However, I should point out that the only time the Gbaba actually appear is at the very beginning where the stage is being set. The story is about the fight on Safehold against the Church of God Awakening, not about the war with the Gbaba.Weber is not shy about killing off characters, even those we’ve come to know and love, but he always uses it to push the story forward, as a good author should. And the story is nothing short of magnificent. We get to see scientists rediscovering a lot of the science that we take for granted, but with a twist. Some ideas that never took off on our Earth actually get traction on Safehold and take things in a unique direction. In that sense, this could be considered an alternate history, even though it takes place on a completely different planet.One thing that seems to bug some people, at least from reading the Amazon reviews, is Weber’s way of changing names. He begins from the truth that language tends to change over time and that in turn changes the spelling of names. Just read your old King James Bible and then read a more modern translation to see the way the English language has changed in just about 4 centuries. The Safeholdians have had about 9 centuries, so there have been quite a few changes. For example, Harold becomes Haarahld, Caleb becomes Cayleb, Benjamin becomes Bynzhamyn. While it has a logical foundation, it also allows Weber to sneak in some names that, once you unscramble them, are likely to be familiar. Baseball fans will recognize Zhan Smolth (John Smoltz) and Rafayl Furkal (Rafael Furcal), and just about everyone should be able to figure out Nahrmahn Baytz. Personally, I find it interesting to see how many names I can recognize.Another thing that some readers might find objectionable is Weber’s pacing. He’s fond of information dumps and dialogue, though he does very well at describing both the operation of sailing ships and the intricacies of things like early firearms. If you want an action-packed romp, I’m sorry, this isn’t going to be your cup of tea, despite some large and detailed fight scenes and naval battles. On the other hand, if you’re looking for a fictional story that will make you think, and maybe question some of your own assumptions, you would be hard-pressed to do better than just about anything David Weber writes.

This was my first Weber book and it was great premise sci-fi blended with pseudo swashbuckling. The premise earth got its butt whooped by aliens and had to send it’s last fleet as far away as they could.To avoid detection they had to create a society without electricity. Well not to spoil it but Weber used the church to keep down MAns normal instinct for advancement down. With no electricity the evil aliens can’t find man and gone species won’t go the way of the dinosaur.Well 800 years in the future after all this happens an Android with all the knowledge wakes up to challenge the church and take nan back to the stars but slowly.The book races around a ton of characters who barely appear for pages to “ tell the how did they do that” perspective from the other side.All the while focusing on the gender switching android and her awkward android boner. Let’s just say that chapter was awkward as Zheng-weis hell. Don’t worry you’ll understand after you read it.This is an exercise in describing naval fire power mixed in with how would you bring a corrupt church down sci fi that takes 400 pages to get to the plot. It’s detailed and a bit dry in places where author takes 5 pages to describe the rifling if cannons.Over all it’s interesting, and has a solid last 50 pages. It’s characters need work, as does the pacing but the concepts are top notch. He leaves the romance out besides some awkward moments and it’s for the best.I’m strongly debating continuing the series, but there was enough good in the book and the plot to see what happens next.

Don't waste your time starting the series. The initial premiss is interesting but then the author uses ghost writers paid by the page to continue the series, and probably for his 5 star reviews too! At book 8 you get barely ten years into a story line that is supposed to last over 100 years! Absolutely no reason to write books like this unless you are abusing your readers and squeezing them for every penny you can get.David Weber. Have some respect for your readers; stop ghost writing your books and reviews.

I purchased the Audio formatThe Author tends to get marred down in tedious and pointless details all his books are that way, here the difference is Religion is already a boring topic add religious politics and Zzzzzz.I found this book difficult to get into at least for the first 2.5 chapters, that was all the further I got. Part of that reason is the Reader "Oliver Wyman" his voice also puts me to sleep.

I'm on my third reading of this series. It's a gripping, thrilling, page-turning work of science fiction. I thoroughly enjoy/enjoyed it. This is not just science fiction, it's a theological treatise on the existence and possible power of God as well as the influence belief may have on individuals.It plays the world's key religious leaders as powerful, evil, hypocritical, megalomaniacal tyrants out to destroy the real God fearing people of the middle age kingdom Charis.The world's current rulers are spiritual successors of a cabal of diabolical megalomaniac, cowards who committed the heinous crimes of (1) replacing the memories of the colonists hiding on the world from the menace of the Gbaba with false memories, (2) removing all their technology after the middle ages, and (3) making it a sin to invent any technology beyond. While of course allowing themselves access to all the forbidden tech and providing minor use of that technology to their successors.

I came to this, the first in one of Weber's series, having read all of Honor Harrington and associated series and some of the smaller space fiction series, all by Weber. This book has long slow passages which are difficult to read. Also difficult is the unusual spelling of the names of the dozens of characters - phonetically something familiar but spelled in a very unfamiliar way. If this was the first book from Weber that I read, I wouldn't have continued. I'll try one or two more from this series but, if similar to this the first book, then I will abandon this series.

Really engaging. I admit that I had trouble getting into this book as the first hundred pages are a bit dry - but once you do it gets into some fairly serious and exciting naval battles. The main character has a lot to be desired - in terms of how engaging he is but the dialogue is good. The occasional joke had me cracking up. The plot was flawless and I loved some of the candid moments when the main character was honest about what the archangels actually did. I guess if you are the kind of person who maybe doesn't like reading about battles this might not be for you. Otherwise its an exciting read and I am eager to start the next book which arrived today. For those who might or did enjoy this book - definitely read the Honor Harington series starting with Basilisk Station - by the same author. Fantastic. There's also Peter F Hamilton who is a true sci-fi master who has about 3-4 mind blowing trilogies and a dozen good/ok books from his early days. Jack Cambells lost fleet for an easier - less intense read(is JAG stuff and moon stuff is satisfactory but not quite as good). Dan Simmons' Hyperion was fairly mind blowing. And some of Neil Ashers stuff is good. Altered Carbon was great. David Brin's uplift series was great.

I don't often give 5 stars but this is one of those books that deserves it. I am now on to the 3rd book in the series and they are not getting any less wonderful. There are so many parts that make it a 5 star where do I start. The story line is magnificent in scope, starting off with disaster of an epic scale and a safe refuge created for humanity thousands of light years away. Then the hijacking of humanity by some of those charged with the protection and the creation of a technophobic society to ensure invisibility from the Gbaba. The weaving of religious strands into the whole mix with fanaticism and bigotry rising to the surface. The creation of a "protector" lying in wait for a thousand years, the avatar of a long dead young girl and the change of her gender into a man in that avatar. A fascinating exploration of that gender change and how it impacts on an artifical intelligence. Good v Evil in boat loads. A well trodden plot of scientific up scaling from the perspective of knowledge. But and here is one of the best parts, the twisting of the naming and spelling protocols which if you are smart you can detect some real characters from other literature behind. Nahraman Batz (Norman Bates from Psycho?) and one that is seriously subtle (Zhaspahr Maysahn for Zaspar Makann from H Beam Piper's Space Viking). There are others I am sure - have fun finding them. Seriously a great read with epic space opera scale and grandeur. Charters whose interaction brings a tear to your eye. Realpolitik shown in the decisions of many of the senior players in the story. Loved it, loved the second and loving the 3rd.

As seems to be the case with everything David Weber writes, some people will love this book while others hate it. It is the first in a series which currently stretches to three books but looks likely to have a lot more, and I found all three completely impossible to put down.The three books published to date are:1) "Off Armageddon Reef"2) " By Schism Rent Asunder "3) " By Heresies Distressed "The fourth, " A Mighty Fortress " is due for publication in April 2010.The story is an interesting re-working of a number of the ideas in some of Weber's earlier books, particularly the Dahak trilogy which begins with " Mutineer's Moon " continues with "The  Armageddon Inheritance " and concludes with " Heirs of Empire (Dahak Series) ." (The whole trilogy has also been published as " Empire from the Ashes ".) But IMHO Weber deploys the experience he has gained in the meantime to re-use the same basic ideas much more effectively and with some original twists.For example, the alien attackers who are at war against humanity at the start of the book will remind many Weber fans of the Kangas from " The Apocalypse Troll " and even more of the Achuultani from the "Dahak" trilogy. The anti-technological church which dominates the planet on which "Off Armageddon Reef" is mainly set bears a striking resemblance to the church on Pardal in "Heirs of Empire," the third book in that trilogy. But in both cases the presentation of those ideas is even better done.The basic idea for the series is that, in the 25th century, humanity finds evidence that other intelligent races have recently existed on nearby stars - but that a xenophobic alien race is exterminating them. The Terran Federation has just enough warning to be able to make a fight of it when that enemy finds us and attacks ten years later. The war lasts fifty years - but at the end of that time it is obvious that humanity is losing.Operation Ark, a final desperate attempt to plant a colony outside the area patrolled by the enemy, is launched. If they succeed, the colonists will face a choice: try to build a civilisation powerful enough to defeat the attackers, or abandon any technology which might attract their attention and simply hide.The main action of the book begins eight hundred years after that choice was made, as a cyborg is activated containing the mind and memories of Lieutenant-Commander Nimue Alban, one of the people who had fought a sacrificial action to get the colony fleet through ...David Weber proves in this book that he can write as well or better about wet-navy battles involving galleys, galleons and technology at about the level of the historical 15th century as he does about those involving far future spaceships. While the technology and capabilities of the ships and weapons involved will remind most students of naval history of the Battle of Lepanto, Weber borrows even more than in the Honor Harrington series from the battles of Horatio Nelson (particularly the Nile and Trafalgar) for the tactics and stories. And large parts of the plot relating to the religious arguments in these books will remind many readers of the story of the Reformation. But the fact that much of the plot is lifted from history doesn't spoil the book, and I highly recommend it. By Schism Rent AsunderBy Heresies DistressedA Mighty FortressMutineer's MoonArmageddon InheritanceHeirs of Empire (Dahak Series)Empire from the AshesThe Apocalypse Troll

A series I now love. This book is the only non 5 star for me. I got too irritated with the buracrats with god complexes taking over the survivors.. Not that it wasnt well written.. just irritated me. so 4 not 5 star like every other book in this series... where's the rest?