Customer Reviews

The Excalibur Alternative

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(10)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

I do not agree with any of the reviewers who bombed this book. It is a wonderfully subtle and thoughtful story that stretches the imagination of a reader inventive enough to look at the many levels and shadings of the tale. The premise is that of a primitive english lord caught up, literally, in an alternative universe and forced to serve as a slave for hundreds of years in an environment that is beyond his wildest nightmares. How he holds his sanity and his fellow survivors together is a subtext that teaches heroism at its highest level as well as the gift of incredible adaptability of human intelligence to grow beyond predictable boundaries arbitrarily set by culture, time and old expectations. The theme is very inspiring for it shows how one can "push the envelope" of imagination and accept the impossible. For me the tale was a metaphor for humanity's greatness.

David Weber, among his many gifts as a writer creates excellent dialog and his worlds are peopled with both intellectually and emotionally stirring characters. Sir George represents the strength of humanity, its honor, courage, bravery and integrity. Weber offers these qualities as reminders of the costs to the soul when challenged to overcome xenophobia. Imagine accepting a 3 eyed, dual mouth, purple furred entity as one's boss, or a scaled, reptilian creature as one's ally and best friend. Just as H. G. Wells challenged us to imagine a future world that has long since come to pass, so too, David challenges us to stretch beyond our own limitations and perceptions and imagine the "what if" that could some day become the "as is".

I particularly liked his gradual bringing about the shift in consciousness and learning for Sir George and his evolution from primitive to techno geek, a metaphor for our present world where countless people in other countries have never heard of or used a computer. Sir George's perception of "computer" as a sentient being whom he calls "he" is also a harbinger for AI technology that will be part of our everyday use reality soon enough. What a trip that will be.

For this reader, the reverence of british culture and traditions held by Sir George who names his empire Avalon, his flag ship Excaliber and uses hereditary titles for his subjects adds a sense of timelessness that also serves as an anchor that unites real time to space/time. Concepts of nanotech for medical and longevity purposes and human cloning to populate other worlds really challenge one to think of these potentialities and prejudices. This book is engaging, deep and worth the effort to read it carefully rather than gulp it down. There are many levels of insight and foresight that are worth being explored and I am intrigued by the notion of where this story could go from here as a new and strong heroine, Admiral Her Imperial Highness Princess Evelynn Wincaster, the commander of Third Fleet has appeared in the story. I would love to see her evolve as Honor Harrington has in that wonderful series.

An oft recurring theme in science fiction is that of aliens kidnapping or recruiting humans to act as their slaves or mercenaries. Several well received stories spring to mind. "Janissaries" by Jerry Pournelle, which depicted contemporary American mercenaries, spawned two sequels. "The High Crusade" by Poul Anderson showed English knights in the Middle Ages ready to march on Jerusalem. Instead aliens abduct them. "Ranks of Bronze" by David Drake was a short story of a Roman legion sold to aliens to fight endless wars against enemies of comparable (non-)technology. This book is an authorised sequel to the latter. Think of it as an alternative starting scenario for "The High Crusade".

The book ends with the English knights overthrowing their masters and setting up a pocket empire that is ready to confront the aliens in a Galactic War!! As others have noted, the end of this book is slightly at askance. Weber is positioning probably many sequels. He has just released "War of Honor" (2002), which is clearly the start of a new Honor Harrington series. (See my review on that for more details.) Plus he also published "The Shiva Option" which ends that series. He has built up an expertise in writing interplanetary battle scenes, and in doing so has attracted a devoted fan base. From a marketing standpoint, he is reinforcing success by introducing different but related brands, like Coke and Diet Coke. Also, if he experiences a temporary writer's block in one series, he can switch to the other, to maintain productivity.

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Here is an aside, and something that does not seem to have been noted by others. The stories mentioned above about humans being kidnapped or recruited have all had humans as the heroes. Are there any where the humans are bad blokes? Not as far as I know. But if you relax the restriction that they be human, then you get Kzin! Yes, that's right. The Man-Kzin wars by Larry Niven. The Kzin were pretechnological tribals who overthrew and enslaved their spacefaring masters. So if you want a different take on this theme, check out that series.

A good book that is light but still engaging and thought-provoking. It made for an EXCELLENT way to pass a Saturday afternoon! The basic storyline is fairly simple, a crew of English infantry, knights & bowmen on their way to France in 1346 get abducted by aliens, along with a few wives, children, and seamen. They are to be unpaid mercenaries, forced to fight alien races on alien worlds for the alien being that has kidnapped them.

Fairly pedestrian . . . EXCEPT for the main characters and the politics of who has kidnapped them and why. I initially thought that Weber had created human characters that were not very real in their ability to grasp new concepts, think beyond their initial prejudices and still be that stubborn and hate their captors that much. But then I remembered the people in real history who dared to dream dreams that no one else did and were there at the right time and place to try for those dreams, sometimes in the face of overwhelming odds. I also remembered that human beings ARE capable of surviving just about anywhere and, while they're at it, being individualistic, rebellious, stubborn pig-headed sneaks with very long memories. And I thought that maybe, while Sir George was definitely a rare and extraordinary human being, maybe he wasn't an impossible human being.

The story does move a bit slowly in some places in the first half of the book, but it's still an interesting read. After Sir George and the rest of the humans get their big chance, things move much more quickly. The last section of the book that starts with the Solarian Union negotiating with the Galactic Federation is wonderful, both in the story and in the story-telling.

The book has a rather eclectic blend of medieval military tactics, knightly accoutrements, the psychology of how to inspire men on the battlefield (and how to discourage them as well), Machiavellan plotting in a science-fiction setting, sudden plot twists and a theme of "what happens when someone asks the questions everyone thought they already knew the answers to?", so there are probably a lot of readers who will not like it as much as a straight fantasy book or straight sci-fi book. But for readers who don't mind genres being mixed around a bit, it's an excellent read.

I've got to admit that I eagerly awaited this book, as I do all of David Weber's books. He is the ONLY fiction
author that I automatically buy the Hard Back editions as soon as they are published. Or at least I used to.

This book is both new and interesting. Unfortunately, what is new is not interesting and what is interesting is not new. Boring characters, plodding and predictable plot.

I am predisposed to like anything Mr. Weber writes and (as a snow storm is expected in the area) I was looking forward to a good read during a snow bound weekend.

I couldn't make it as far as the third chapter before I gave up and returned the book. The characters were entirely uninteresting and unsympathetic. The plot was cliched, basically a much watered down "High Crusade" and there was as much dynamic tension as might be found in a broken rubber band.

I can only assume that his publishers at Baen are pushing him to churn out as many words as possible since he's their biggest money-maker. But quality is suffering, as his last two books "March Up Country/to the Sea" were, In My Opinion, so badly written and boring that I couldn't get past the first five chapters and returned both to the store for a refund.

And to compare this to Paul Anderson's "High Crusade" is like comparing "Man O' War" to a donkey. They've both got four legs and hooves, but that's the extent of it.

If you're a David Weber fanatic (which I am) you'll want this book. But wait for it to be reduced in price. I'd estimate that ($$$) is a fair price for the Hard Back edition. If you've never read David Weber, don't start with this book. Try "Path of the Fury" instead. I've worn out three copies and am working on a fourth. I've worn out two copies of "Crusade" and I've got 'reading' copies of all the Honor Harrington books (as opposed to collector editions which I keep sealed in plastic bags)

This is of course ONLY my opinion and there are quite
a lot of best selling authors that I can't stand. In My Opinion, David Weber at his best compares favorably with Robert A. Heinlein or H. Beam Piper. So, I am perhaps being unfair, since this is probably a quite readable story. But it suffers badly in comparison with David Weber's best efforts, ("In Death Ground" for example)which are superb.

If Mr. Weber was not such a wonderful writer I would not bother writing such a negative review.
However I am concerned that quality is being sacrificed for quantity. I would rather have fewer
but better books, than a glut of hastily written and inferior works.

Baen publishing should take better care of the best writer they have.

David Weber is normally one of the best military sf writers going. Unfortunately, this isn't one of his better books.

This novel was inspired by David Drake's excellent RANKS OF BRONZE. R.O.B. tells of a group of Roman legionaires captured in a war agains Persia, and sold as slaves to aliens who want to use them as mercenaries. I recommend it.

E.A. concerns a group of English soldiers the aliens acquire centuries later. Weber appears to feel constrained by the necessity of conforming to Drake's background. And the book doesn't really end -- it justs stops, with more to come in the next book.

I'll read anything by Weber, but this is one of his lesser works.

Any fan of David Weber's work will be on familiar ground with this one. The story follows the same idea of "local boy becomes Emperor" that you will find in Weber's Mutineer's Moon series.

Probably the biggest flaw in this book is the central character's uncanny savvy-ness. A medieval baron simply would not be able to cope with the situation in which Sir George and his wife find themselves in. It is all just too neat.

But if you suspend that bit of disbelief, the story is fun to follow and an easy read, and Weber's superb grasp and ability to explain military situations is delivered once again.

So go for it, but not with too high an expectation. A good way to spend a cross country flight.

The "Ranks of Bronze" meet "The High Crusade" and the outcome is one nice weekend read, but not up to those two. Unfortunately the book quite often gives the impression as if a lot of good story lines were not quite developed because of an impeding publishing deadline.

Especially the conclusion of the story leaves an empty feeling as if one was cheated out of a fantasy. So it's just a nice weekend read.

The story begins on Earth, with a ragged band of Englishmen sailing the high seas toward battle. Battered by storms, some of the ships were lost. Soon all of the ships were to be lost, along with the families of the soldiers onboard. Then they are plucked from the earth by hands in the heavens, toward a cause that was not their own.

Sir George Wincaster is a noble who deserves the title of his nobility. He is well educated, and upholds the integrity of those in leadership positions. His potential was great, he unlocked it during his voyage among the stars. Wincaster was thrown into servitude as a gladiator, except he didn't fight for the master's amusement, he fought to claim territory instead. The Galactic Federation had laws preventing the systematic strip mining of habitable planets except with the inhabitant's permission. There are loopholes in every law. Those who wanted the planet couldn't use technology to coerce the inhabitants, so they got their own "barbarians".

This is a story of how highly advanced civilizations have become dependent on their high technology, using it as a crutch. It tells the story of one George Wincaster, his family, and the people under his care.
Of how Wincaster overcame his rudimentary knowledge of technology to save himself and all those he valued.
Of the difference between stagnation and growth through hard work.
Of the injustices commited against Wincaster and how he righted them all.
Of how Earth is to be obliterated, not because humans are strong, but because they weren't strong enough.
It is, finally, a story of the tale of Excalibur. It will come to the aide of humanity in its darkest hour.

I logged on to Amazon expecting to see lots of reviews raving about this book. To be honest I was suprised at the mainly negative response to it.
I don't admit to being a great literary critic. Nor do I claim to be a learned historian. However, I haven't enjoyed a book like this for quite some time.
Yes, it's unbelievable - welcome to science fiction. However the premise of English Longbowmen being used to suppress native "barbarians" on foreign planets isn't too far removed from our own history. And due to the restrictions placed by The Council, firearms of any kind were unable to be used. Thus longbowmen were used - arguably the most lethal non-firearm hand weapon in history.
Yes, it's another story of "humanity overcoming impossible odds and beating up the nasty aliens". Damn, but I love those stories!!!

I have always enjoyed reading books by David Weber. They are rich in detail and accurate with regard to combat. That said, this book is unlike his other work.

I appears to be three books in one binding. Book one is about the abduction of a group of English solders by the alien crew of a space ship. This covers the adjustment of the solders to their new environment and the reasons behind the abduction. It reads like the short story it was originally written as.

Book two reads like a sequel to the first book. The first several pages go into detail about what took place during the first book. It reads as though written for readers who had not read the first book and needed the situation explained to them. There is a great deal of repetition of ideas and information. This book ends abruptly with no transition to book three.

The beginning of book three seems to be a new story. A sequel to the events in books one and two. It does roll up the loose ends from the previous books but the transition is vary abrupt.

I did enjoy the story. I did not enjoy the way it was written.