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29 of 31 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
As Good as Emerald Seas, February 11, 2005
I really think Ringo has matured as a writer. His last two solo books, Emerald Seas and Against the Tide, have been multi-dimensional, subtle, deep, and ... FUN!
The book's initial premise is that now the nano-tech modified strong-but-dumb forces of the tyrannical council faction headed by Paul Bowman have a real admiral, a real fleet, and real dragon-carriers. And now Duke Edmund and Herzer Herrick are in a bit of a tight spot, after the yacht-club-trained new aristocratic admiralty has lost most of the fleet, and all of the sea advantage, Edmund built up in Emerald Seas. Hmmm, there might be some parallels with certain current politico-military establishments in recent history *grin*.
Along the way of attempting to deal with this little crisis, we get to see what happens to Paul Bowman in his relationship with his beautiful "slave" Megan ... and meet silkies ... and fly with a "fallen angel" ... and meet true highlanders ... and so many other great and beautiful things that I must refrain from speaking so as to avoid spoiling things for the reader.
A new depth of political satire, particular of "political admirals and generals", a great and novel space-twisting invasion, more great characters, and Ringo's uniquely visceral battles, all combine to make this book what I predict will be one of the best novels of 2005.
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Best of Series...Until the Last Page, September 20, 2005
Not long into it, I decided that this book was my favorite of the series thus far. That is an impression I retained right up until the last page. Then I had second thoughts. I still like it immensely. It still probably my favorite of the series but I was let down by the cliffhanger ending.
The story picks up as the bad guys are planning for an invasion. If they manage to pull it off, its all over for the forces of freedom. What stands in the way of the New Destiny (bad guy) forces is Duke Edmund Talbot and his aide, Herzer Herrick. The duke is given command of the naval forces in an attempt to hold off what seems inevitable. As Wellington said, it was a near run thing.
Ringo again does a superb job of taking the fantastic and making it seem plausible. The background of his world is a highly advanced society that falls into chaos through a civil war. Before the anarchy, genetic manipulation could let people assume almost any form they wished. Teleportation was literally a wish away. Energy was a problem for no one. After the fall, energy is in short supply and people fall back to a pseudo-medieval state. A few people still have access to high tech but most are stuck with a low tech life. They make due brilliantly. I can almost believe carriers propelled by sails and launching dragons instead of F-14s. The elves and dwarves make sense in this tableau. It's a lot of fun.
The only letdown came after the climax. It is a cliffhanger and we are set up for another book. That would not ordinarily be a problem except that I don't want to have to wait for the next book to come out.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Third in an excellent series, July 31, 2006
This excellent book is the third in the Council Wars series. These books are best read in the correct sequence, which is
There will be Dragons
Emerald Sea
Against the Tide
East of the Sun, West of the Moon
Arthur C Clarke once wrote that any sufficiently advanced tecnhology is indistinguishable from magic. This story is set several thousand years from now in a world where that is literally true. Just about every creature or artifact ever imaged in human myths or legends, from Avatars to Wyverns, Elves to Orcs, and mermaids to winged humans has been created by technology. (I choose the word "creature" very precisely - the story does not include Gods but by definition Gods are not creatures.)
Unfortunately in an earthly paradise of almost perfect luxury most people could not be bothered with the hard work of raising children and so the human race was dying out. Arguments between members of the ruling council over what to do about this eventually resulted in the outbreak of war in the first book of the series, "There will be Dragons." Within moments millions of people were doomed and for most of the rest of humanity their safe and luxurious life was replaced by a cruel, exhausting struggle for existence straight out of the middle ages.
At the start of this book the war rages on between the neo fascist "New Destiny" faction based in "Ropasa" (Europe and Asia) and the the Freedom Coalition's main stronghold in the United Free States (America of course) and "New Destiny" is planning a transatlantic invasion which looks like a real threat. Following on from "Emerald Sea" both sides now deploy Dragon carriers, but it is not clear that the Freedom Coalition's admirals really know how to use them.
Meanwhile however, New Destiny's leader Paul Bowman has overlooked the fact that his actions have created a threat to his position which is much closer to home.
Ringo's recent books have varied from indifferent to excellent, but the Council Wars series is shaping up to be the best thing he has written.
Bottom line: if you liked any of the other books in this series, or any of Ringo's "Roger McLintock" books with Dave Weber ("March Upcountry" et seq.) then you will almost certainly like this one.
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