Customer Reviews

Better to Beg Forgiveness . . .

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(6)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Mad Mike tells a fast paced good story that entertains without using the cardboard cut-out characters so common in action stories. No firm jawed jocks, the team members here have issues, scratch when they itch and even worry each other from time to time. The projection of what we see in the UN as a swill pit of special interests is dead on sad to say. The fact the good guys are mercenaries says a lot about how bad the bad guys can be. I mean mercenary usually has such a negative connotation, right? Don't be scared to buy it. A good vacation book, but if you read it midweek you may be yawning a lot at work one day. You won't want to lay it aside to finish.

A well written, fast paced book. Extrapolates what happens when the UN gets involved in space. If it can be screwed up, get the UN involved with lots of money confiscated from people who don't have a choice. Mix in the greed and corruption the UN is famous for now, and you have something Mr. Williamson describes in this book.

Excellent detail on the problems encountered by protection details that care about their principal and doing the job well. It also does a good job describing the friction involved when operating with the military. Good soldiers are not always good bodyguards. They can do the job, but never as good as people who do it for a living. They're also subject to mutiple task masters. When one of the task masters is the UN, it can tear a military unit up with conflicting priorities/orders.

Mr. Williamson also takes into account the fatigue factor that many characters don't seem to have in other books. Food and rest have a large impact on performance. Mr. Williamson gets it.

... New Caledon is a mess. This book is set around 250 years from now. The setting for MadMike's first couple of books, Grainne, is still Grainne Colony, and not yet the Freehold. The UN is out among the stars, in all its festering putridity. The diplomats and bureaucrats are worthy of Keith Laumer's (Retief!) bitterest mockery. The military forces guarding the mission are encumbered by political correctness, stifling rules of engagement, and "smart" guns. So, who can handle the job of keeping the incoming president alive? Contractors, of course.

When reading MadMike's material, I have a checklist. I expect any of his books to contain certain items, and here I've found them. Food for thought? Check. Humor? Check. A gorgeous lady or two? Check. Explosions? Check. Satire? Check. In-jokes? Tons. Suspense? You got it.

Favorite quote? "Oh -- there's no friendlies left in the palace, then..."

Persons who have had the dubious pleasure of spending part of their lives in various hell-holes around the world, will thoroughly enjoy parts of this book. Specifically, there's lots of noxious people getting shot, and lots of nasty real estate getting blown up. If you liked Freehold and The Weapon, You'll like this one.

"Better to Beg Forgiveness" isn't a bad book, but with a few minor changes it could have been released as a conventional action-adventure story back in the 60's.

Tell me if this sounds familiar: a small team of crack mercenaries is hired to protect the UN-backed puppet president of a poor African nation wracked by tribal warfare. Every level of the government, from township mayors right up to the UN representatives, is filled with corrupt, opportunistic politicians more concerned with their own agendas than creating a functioning nation. The tight-knit, upright members of the mercenary team do their best to protect their assigned subject, but they're experts in tactical warfare, not the political kind. So they're forced to rely on their wits and their guns when things fall apart and their very much alive client is declared dead by the powers that be.

That's pretty much the set-up for "Better to Beg Forgiveness", but with a poor, African-settled colony world standing in for the generic African nation that would have been used in the 60's. Oh, and instead of having to spirit the President across the Atlantic to New York City the mercs have to spirit him across the galaxy. On a tramp freighter. With a plucky crew that grudgingly comes to respect the heavily armed professional killers that have hijacked their ship.

Yeah, I'm being snarky, but the overall plot of the book really is that generic.

On the other hand, Mr. Williamson is obviously well acquainted with the ins and outs of executive protection and has embraced the adage to write what you know. His depictions of small scale fights and running gun battles are extremely entertaining and well-written. That's a good thing, since about half the book consists of fight scenes, but after a while the small unit actions started to blur together. Things zip along so quickly that it's impossible for even the most ADD afflicted reader to get bored, but I was left wishing the author had given both the characters and me a bit more downtime.

If you like military fiction with an emphasis on non-stop action you're going to love this book, but if you're looking for a fix of sci-fi I think you're going to be disappointed. The science-fictional concepts and worldbuilding are just a thin veneer over a story that concentrates on delivering a "non-stop thrill ride". In that respect it delivers in spades.

This is a pretty awesome action/adventure story and I think Elke in particular is a wicked cool character. No doubt some people are going to draw parallels to the War on Iraq and either love or hate it based on those, but I enjoy the story for itself.

I am a big military sci-fi fan, so I am used to mediocrity being lauded as fine work. This book actually achieves the status of moving beyond ho-hum. Great action (as Mr. Williamson always delivers) is combined with good background work on executive protection/bodyguarding. Well researched, fun to read.

Reccommend.

I would like to offer that if you know MZW books you know that his characters are well developed to bring about the experience of a the Total Universe. If you think in these terms you will get the look and feel for Action, Science Fiction, and some amazing and interesting plot characters.

I believe he does write in the realms of what he knows. I know that he is an active writer so if you look at the books as continuous work you will come to appreciate the work.

Even though this book is great alone, to enhance the aspects of this book I would read The Weapon and Freehold first.

Great Work Mike!!!!
Keep it up!!!!

Have read several other books by Williamson, and have enjoyed them. When I ordered this new book, I expected more of the same. Well - there is a difference between grilled porterhouse steak and grilled sirloin tip steak, and all that one has to do is to experience it - that is, in this case, read them. It had a lot of the elements that I enjoy about science fiction - but it seemed to lack that illuminating spark that sets really good books apart from the crowd. In my life - retired and over 65 - I have read thousands of books - and a lot of them science fiction. This is a good book, and as such it deserves to be read - but the situation Michael postulated here could have had some very more interesting and intriguingly thought provoking ideas. I gave it 4 stars, since I could not rate it 3 stars in deference to many other books that I've read - or started to read, anyway. Michael, lets hope your forthcoming books regain their former piquancy.

Good action, well paced, and soooooo not politically correct!!! I relly liked it. Here is a emerging writter that i am waiting for his next book to come out. If you like military science fiction adventure coupled with political intrigue this is a great book.

This is the first book by this author I have read and I was impressed by the level of characters and compelling story. Its also nice to see an author with an appreciation of the UN's attitude towards LDCs.

Its about an EP (Executive Protection) team of contractors brought in to protect the new president of Celadon on the planet Salin. The country has suffered a bad case or moral, economic and political dysfunction. The UN has a peace keeping force in place (usual screw up) with rivalries between the State, Military and Commerce functions. The presence of the EP team puts their noises out of joint as the team makes it difficult to pressure the president (Bishwanath) into being a puppet. Well written combat and a very good plot. Some humor as when Aramis meats the ginmar (genetically moded ostrich: dumber, more vicious, more territorial, stinks worse and when upset or angry tends to spin and spray feces--was supposed to be an improved source of meat). Aramis is a well drawn character and one of the EP team. Another piece of humor is why Salin's sun is called BOB.

Now to the two problems:
1. UN/Earth is in the muddle of things but there are: UN Nations, UN Protectorates, Affiliates, and Colonies (who have gone their own way and don't particularly care about Earth). The others are mysteries.
2. While the motivation of the various tribes and warlords is clear there is no convincing motivation for sudden off planet interest given their lack of resources and that they have been ignored for years.