43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Yay! Another enjoyable Lt. Leary book!, May 20, 2005
The latest Lt. Leary book is a solid addition to the series - and it's also a lot of fun to read! The book opens with riots in the streets of Xenos (Cinnabar's capital) over the acquittal of a Navy captain, Slidell, who accused three members of his crew of mutiny and then executed them, instead of taking them back to Xenos for a regular military trial.
In an effort to keep unrest down and show support for the officer (who up until then had been a reliable captain and had a good record), the Navy assigns the now-famous Daniel Leary to the ship as a first Lieutenant. Along with Leary comes his friend Adele Mundy, their respective servants Hogg and Tovera, and most of the crew of Leary's previous ship.
The Navy's good intentions aside, Captain Slidell is as paranoid as they come, not to mention deeply jealous and suspicious about Leary's motives. And Leary's methods, any crew that served under Leary previously, Mundy, anyone associated with Leary or Mundy, and in general everything and anything that Daniel Leary might say, do or think that wasn't originally Slidell's idea.
Other secondary characters such as Adele Mundy's secret boss Bernice Sands, and the bosun Woetjans, are also present. We even get a closer look at Admiral Anston, the head of the Navy! (Who turns out to be a pretty decent person.)
While they are out in remote sections of the Republic, Daniel and company encounter philandering Navy officers, Alliance spies, byzantine planetary politics, and the usual array of odd characters. It's somewhat quiet in parts as Drake introduces the readers to new characters and situations, but there is quite a bit of action too. All in all, a good book.
I do have to disagree with one reviewer who said the Daniel Leary and Adele Mundy were wooden. To me, one of the most interesting parts of this book was watching the slow evolution of Daniel's and Adele's friendship.
At the start of the series, Daniel was definitely the dominant personality. But as Adele finds more confidence in herself and realizes that she now has real FRIENDS, meaning people in her life who don't just find her useful but actually CARE about her, she is developing more assertiveness. Daniel, on the other hand, has always been a very outgoing, cheerful and optimistic personality. But as his notoriety grows and he acquires more followers (who are technically only regular Navy personnel but who have served with Daniel for years and would gladly die for him) AND more notice from the movers and shakers of the Republic, he starts to build up more responsibilities and worries. Daniel and Adele are also still finding out just how important their friendship is to each other and how strong of a team they make together, with Daniel in the forefront and Adele in the background, but both equally important.
As one example: There is a scene where Daniel worries about the repercussions of a very spontaneous decision he made. Daniel wondes aloud if things might have turned out better if he'd taken his concern to the proper authorities instead of trying to ambush someone in the middle of the night. Adele quietly tells him that while she doesn't mention her OTHER employer that often, in this case Adele WAS "the proper authorities", Daniel DID inform her of his concerns, and if anyone questions Daniel's decision she'll see to it that the people really in charge know EXACTLY what happened and why. While Adele would have also defended Daniel in earlier books, I don't think she previously would have exhibited that much quiet confidence in herself or in the judgment of the Navy brass.
_The Way to Glory_ is definitely a good book. I liked it.
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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
rousing space navy adventure... intelligent intriguing characters..., August 6, 2005
This book is excellent in so many ways, as is the series. It's space navy adventure with TWO strong lead characters, one male one female, who are intelligent, intriguing, complex, and capable and who work together well.
David Drake's Daniel Leary and Adele Mundy series stands on its own excellent merits. But I DO enjoy the nuances of other character series so skillfully woven in. For example: Patrick O'Brian's Aubrey and Maturin series, David Weber's Honor Harrington series, and C.S. Forester's Horatio Hornblower series.
I recommend this book and this series for anyone interested in rousing intelligent adventure with strong lead characters. With spaceships, imperialists, colonialists, and enemy space nations galore, it's a creative, well-crafted treat.
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