Neither side having proved capable of pressing their conflict to a successful conclusion, the Human-Orion war to end all interstellar wars has collapsed into an uneasy peace. But it is a peace filled with fear, hatred and mistrust on both sides. Then from out of a warp point notorious for devouring spaceships, appears a ship from the dim mists of half-forgotten history. It responds to hails from the patrolling Orion sentry using ancient human codes from a long lost colony. And it opens fire on the Orions, igniting the fires of interstellar war anew, in a quest to free Holy Mother Terra...
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61 of 62 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A good space opera, not a character study.,
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This review is from: Crusade (Mass Market Paperback)
"Crusade" is billed as the second book in the trilogy which also comprises "Insurrection" and "In Death Ground." However, chronologically, it goes before "Insurrection." "Crusade" is a space opera, with a handful of interesting characters, that are nonetheless one or two-dimensional at best. Fans of Weber's Honor Harrington series will see his hand at the orchestration and description of the space battles, as well as some of the personal clashes and resolutions (one in which a naval officer faces down the local government and industrial lobbyists by quoting case law comes to mind). However, the lack of compelling characters makes it overall a book inferior to the HH series. On the other hand, as pure space opera this is a remarkably good and entertaining read. After their Orion allies are attacked by mysterious ships, humanity (in the form of the Terran Federation) must meet the challenge and defend their honor, or risk a new war with the Orion Khanate. From then on, the book will spend most of its time either describing fleet actions or preparations and consequences thereof, with a few passages given over to character interaction (but, alas, never character developement). In the grand tradition of the Doc Smith space operas, in which characters are flat and almost secondary to the action, with one larger than life character orchestrating it all (in this case, two: a former president and a naval admiral), the book has no apologies to make and is an excellent specimen. If that is all you are looking for you will be happy with your purchase and entertained throughout. If you are looking for a bit more character, however, you will probably be disappointed.
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An Interstellar Jihad,
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This review is from: Crusade (Mass Market Paperback)
Crusade (1992) is the second novel written by Weber & White in the Starfire series. However, it is the earliest in internal chronological sequence and should be read first. It begins fifty years after the Third Interstellar War, in which the Terrans and Orions formed the Alliance and exterminated the Rigellians.
An Orion squadron in the Lorelei system is puzzled when an unknown fleet is discovered coming out of Charon's Ferry, the sixth warp point, since no ship had ever returned from there. Also, the bogies are using a very old Terran Federation Navy code in their transmissions. The squadron commander speculates that these ships could be remnants of TFN forces that had fled the Orions 90 years before during the Second Interstellar War. When the bogies identify themselves as TFN and refuse to believe that the Orions are allies, the TFN onboard liaison contacts them and explains the Treaty of Valkha. The bogies agree to parlay and, as the main party stands down, the vanguard comes to the Orions. Shortly thereafter, however, the bogies attack with missiles at minimum range and then with X-ray lasers. The Orions release their Omega drones and fight back, but three ships are soon lost. The Orion flagship is then boarded, but self-destructs before being captured. After studying the available information, the Khanate of Orion decides that the invaders are Terrans. The Strategy Board wants to attack the Federation, but the Khan agrees with the squadron commander's idea of lost TFN forces escaping through Charon's Ferry. He tells the Federation Ambassador that Orion will not attack the Federation or the unknowns, but that the Federation must exact suitable vengeance upon their errant fellows. The Federation agrees and the politicians send a Peace Fleet to Lorelei upon invitation by the unknowns. Under secret orders, the TFN is subordinated to the diplomatic corps with disastrous results as the bogies repeat their underhanded tactics. This story has many similarities to historical conflicts. The genocidial destruction of the Rigellian Protectorate in the Third Interstellar War parallels the actions of Rome in the Third Punic War. The actions of the Thebans reflect the fanatical behavior of both sides in the long conflict between Christianity and Islam, particularly in the Eastern Roman Empire and in Spain. This novel is recommended for all Weber & White fans and anyone who likes spatial warfare with a background of political intrigue.
9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Some amusing unintentional irony and plenty of action,
By
This review is from: Crusade (Mass Market Paperback)
The alliance between humans and their cat-like former opponents isn't perfect, but it seems to be working. Working, that is, until starships emerge from a warp point that has resulted in the destruction of every starship that ever entered it. The intruders claim to be human--descendants of a colony ship that fled through the warp point generations before. They fake a willingness to negotiate and destroy the Orion fleet guarding the system. From there, the 'Thebans' attack the humans who, thanks to an agreement reached to head off war against two enemies, become solely responsible for punishing the attackers. Punishing takes second place to surviving, however, as the Thebans trick the human 'Peace Fleet' and virtually destroy it.
Human politicians overrode military commanders and were responsible for the destrution of the peace fleet but now, their backs to the wall, they call on the military to save them. Led by former admiral and ex-president Anderson, the human spaceyards begin to churn out weapons with which to confront their enemies who, it turns out, turned their first contact with the human colony ship into the basis for their religion--and a need to purify 'Holy Terra.' At this point, the war takes a typical David Weber direction. The 'goodguys' (humans in this case), unfettered by milksop politicians, are able to gain secret weapons that virtually annilalate the Thebans when they face them. When the Thebans are able to gain an advantage, human superweapons and good luck mean that the badguys (Thebans) take almost as much damage as they deliver (compare any of a number of Haven victories in the Honor Harrington universe). Honor Harrington fans will also be familiar with the types of spacecraft, the missile throw weight statistics, and the evil represented by civilian politicians back home. CRUSADE definitely has its redeeming qualities. From a literary perspective, the straightforward writing style used by Weber and co-author Steve White is engaging. First Admiral Lantu of the Thebans is a much-welcomed multidimensional character as he struggles between everything he has been taught and what he has dedicated his life to, and the truth as he discovers it to be. I suspect Weber and White meant CRUSADE to contain a political message favorable to conservatives and scornful of liberals in America. If so, the decade since this book was written provide a welcome, if unintended irony. Politicians who lied to lead their country into war (although unintentionally in the case of CRUSADE, are singled out as the worst horrors of all. Hateful bigotry and a wish to simply genocide opposition is also argued against--an increasingly 'liberal' view. I prefer military fiction where strategy and tactics play a more important role than superweapons, and where multiple complex characters wrestle with the reality of war--and the difficult and painful decisions that must be made. CRUSADE shows some of these tough decisions (the final decisions of whether to invade the Theban world or simply bombard it to lifelessness had to bring parallels of the decision on bombing Japan, for example). I would have enjoyed it more if it had taken this direction more fully.
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