Customer Reviews

March to the Sea

5 star:		(31)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

This was great. Buy it, it's definitely worth the hard-bound price.

Why do I say so?

David Weber is very good at plot and action. He keeps me on the edge of my seat in all of his books, even the ones I'm not crazy about. OK, there are more elegant writers and his characterization isn't all that great. Since I'm not inclined to favor characters who spend all their time navel-gazing, I don't mind.

John Ringo has my interest piqued. I picked up A Hymn Before Battle on one of my desperation bookstore crawls, partly because anyone who quotes Kipling can't be all bad, and partly because the premise looked interesting. The sight of humanity getting pasted but still keeping on always fills me with delight. I enjoyed it thoroughly. Gust Front was great fun, too. There is some concern that maybe Ringo's getting too much attention too fast, but I'm not going to worry until his books get sloppy.

March Upcountry was good; this is better. I'm not able to say who wrote what, but I do feel that Ringo filled in some of Weber's holes, in much the same way that Pournelle and Niven help each other. The characters felt more solid, and the dialogue less wooden, than happens all too often with David Weber.

In terms of plotting, I can't say any of it was unexpected, no. Somebody once pointed out that only a limited number of themes and plots exist, and all you can really do is ring some changes on them. The changes rung, in this case, were entertaining, and my interest never faltered. I was deeply relieved when they didn't have the Prince back-sliding into his old ways, which I half-expected. Neither author, though, seems to feel obliged to cover the same territory twice, and I'm relieved.

I love the alien allies. I recognize them, especially the cavalry types, and (since I adored Rafael Sabatini) the whole swashbuckling crew is welcome to hang 'round. Buckle that swash, guys!

There is a nice, nice little bit (speaking as a female, and I hope I'm not giving too much away) about how a man ought to treat a woman, if he's in the public view. After the idiocy we have endured in the past few years, a gentle reminder about dalliance and honor was welcome.

If I have a real caveat, it's this: we have got to stop killing so many trees. Now, granted, paper is made from "trash pine" and not the redwoods, but there has to be a line. We encourage our authors (because we love them) to write long books with sequels, or, if you prefer, one very long book broken into volumes. This is partly the fault of the word-processor which has made editing so much easier - in the days when you had to cut and paste, you thought a long time about re-writes. You also, if you couldn't afford the services of the ten-fingered (I'm quoting Tolkien), had to type the silly thing yourself. While the computer keyboard encourages carpal tunnel syndrome because there is so little resistance to the keys, the same ease and spell-checker make it much, much easier to keep writing.

So the books keep getting longer.

This does worry me, just a little. It lets authors throw in the kitchen sink, indeed almost obliges them to. This isn't always a great idea.

Over the years of reading Weber, I've noted that he produces clean copy; either he proof-reads with some attention, or he types well. Ringo's two were also fairly clean. I didn't get annoyed enough to draw my red pencil. Better yet, in March to the Sea, I was so entertained that I didn't note any errors.

So go get it, and let the guys get their royalties so they can keep writing.

Let's be up front about this, I'm a David Weber cheerleader. I can say much the same about John Ringo. When the two combine, the seasoned veteran and the new gun in town, watch out!

MARCH TO THE SEA is book two in the ongoing series of one Prince Roger, Heir Tertiary to the throne of the Empire of Man. He begins the first book; MARCH UPCOUNTRY, as a spoiled brat who has great potential. By the end of MARCH TO THE SEA he has matured in every way to become the classical hero of Epic proportions.

I won't ruin the plot for you; it is a retelling of an ancient tale, with a few twists of its own. History buffs will see it right away; especially with hints other reviewers will surely give. I will say that buying the first book in the series, MARCH UPCOUNTRY, simply because I needed a Weber fix, opened my eyes to a rising star in the Science Fiction World, one John Ringo. For that alone, the price was worth it; never mind the great story inside the cover.

If you are (im)patiently waiting the next Honor Harrington book by Weber, might I humbly suggest two things:

1) Don't hold your breath, he has other projects and it probably won't be out till early next year if we are lucky.

2) Buy the two books in this series to tide you over until then. You won't be disappointed.

In case I wasn't clear enough:

BUY THIS BOOK!! BUY IT NOW!! BUY _MARCH UPCOUNTRY_ TOO!

I loved MARCH UPCOUNTRY because it combined action with a coming of age story. Prince Roger grows from spoiled brat to a complex character with compassion, strength, and understanding of others. MARCH TO THE SEA takes the story forward but, Prince Roger is now all grown up and there isn't anything to take the place from the human perspective.

Authors Weber and Ringo do a fine job writing battle scenes. In fact, the frequent joke within the novel--one city, one battle--seems to be the basic plot device in this book.

Roger and the small remnant of human bodyguard marines are trying to get across an entire planet with a fast-ticking clock as their vitamin supplements start to get low. To survive, though, they need to get natives to help them build the ships they need to cross an ocean and the natives that have the technology skills to help them are about to be buried under an angry flood of barbarians. Roger and company set out to save civilization and themselves as well.

The fighting is bloody as Roger and company commit genocide to ensure that the barbarians won't be back. Although we get occasional point-of-view scenes in the barbarian's heads, we never get the idea that they are anything but dumb cannon-fodder which is just as well because that's what they are.

MARCH TO THE SEA keeps you reading, but it isn't nearly the tour de force that MARCH UPCOUNTRY was. Come on, guys, let's have some characters with our battles.

David Weber and John Ringo have done it again. They have produced a nice, tightly (and seamlessly) plotted book that makes one read it from cover to cover in the shortest time one can. I read it in one glup and all I can say is: Thank you, gentlemen. Bravo!

These gentlemen have a way with battles. Not being a militairy history buff like the writers and, it appears, most of the readers, some of the references are a little obscure, but the story is wonderfully represented and the decisions made understandable even to a non-militairy mind. Most important, to me, is that the characters are alive, real people who make mistakes and have to live with the consequences.

Mr. Weber's personal demon - bogging down in technical details - appears to have been successfully reigned in for this tale. Both writers' unfortunate tendency to relate every scene from the viewpoint of several different characters actually manages to enhance this particular story.

This second installment in the series - the first begin 'March Upcountry' - brings more battles, and ups the romance and social development, as well as adding new worries. I won't tell you what happens - the idea is to read the book, after all, and there are others who have highlighted the more salient points - but for those who like Weber's and Ringo's other books, or just like militairy science fiction, this is a definite must-have. Personally, I can't wait for book 3....

Both authors are dovetailing seamlessly to produce another pageturner. The characterisations are solid and the tale is always exciting. Technical details have improved my knowledge of divers facts from shipbuilding to metallurgy, yet one is never lost in detail. This is an entirely plausable adventuure tale with a hero, exotic allies in a perilous journey through primitive lands of warring natives to bring them eventually to reach their interstellar zealot foes and a final battle to get off this planet and return an Imperial Prince to his Empress Mother. The societies met with are described with skill so that the picture takes life and the aliens' personalities are developed in parallel with those of the shrinking ranks of the Elite Bronze Company of Marines tasked with the safety of a Prince with great potential, and lethal skills. If you enjoy an adventure tale with spectacular action where the bad guys are really evil and the survival of the good by no means certain, buy this book. If you enjoy a good military tale with historical background, buy this book. Most of all if you enjoy eloquent prose painting a strange yet believable world wherein real things happen, then buy this book. I enjoyed it emmensely and would give SIX STARS if possible.

David Weber and John Ringo continue their outstanding re-telling of the story of Xenophon and the 10000...well, not exactly. Now it is the Prince, the captain, the Satanist, Nimashet, a platoon of troopers and an entire planet full of "scummies."

As begun in March Upcountry, Roger and his bodyguards are crashlanded on the planet Marduk, which is a death-planet, and controlled by the enemy besides. And they crash landed all the way around the planet...

Will Prince Roger grow up fast enough to live through this? Will Captain Pahner kill him before he grows up? Will His Evilness be thwarted?

The only way you'll find out the answers to these questions is to buy the book.

The style is reminiscent of Heinlein and Poul Anderson. The pacing is a headlong stampede from the first page to the last.

Along the way, we are treated to some rather deep discussion of philosophy and politics, feminism and cultural imperialism, coated with a veneer of action and adventure.

We have real characters, like Nimashet Despreaux, Sergeant, killer, beautiful woman...and Roger himself, with surprising depth. Even the vignette characters are impressively well drawn.

Weber proves once again that he can write something other than Honor Harrington, while John Ringo showcases his versatility and his continuing growth as a writer.

Eye candy. That's what it is.

Another winner for the big pusher of eye candy, Jim Baen.

The worst part of it is that the story isn't finished, and now I have to wait for the third installment.

I don't wait well.

Guess I'll just have to go re-read March Upcountry and March to the Sea.

Eye candy.

I found this book utterly riveting. It held me glued to the computer screen when it first came out in e-form webscriptions from Baen. I read it straight through, pausing only when I had to take care of super urgent unavoidable tasks, and was quite anxious to return to the story to find out what happened next. I know that I will read and reread my paper copies of this series often. It's a wonderful fast paced adventure, with many characters I loved getting to know and want to know better. It ends in a good place for reader satisfaction yet leaves us hungering for more. I look forward to reading the upcoming book thus answering the age old question of WHAT happens NEXT?!! The universe is rich and diverse with many tales yet to be told. Thanks to Ringo and Weber for bringing us another wonderful playground in which to play, imagine, and romp.

I loved the first book in this series "March Upcountry". I waited a long time for this sequel to come out and have read the third book in the series "March to the Stars".

Of the 3, I found this middle book to be very unoriginal (it seams to repeat the first book over and over); no one seems to grow or change; new elements do not add overwhelmingly to the book.

To say I was disapointed was saying it nicely, however the first and third book was excellent and worth collecting the series!!!!!!! So I will re-read this one and see if maybe I was just "off" when I read it the first time.

If you are reading the book alone, you might enjoy it. But if you are just getting in the series and skip the first book, you probably won't go farther. I suggest you start with the first and don't stop at this one but go on to the "March to the Stars"

Both my Current favorite authors in one book. While some may think this book is derviative of other oddessy type stories, the fresh and imaginative way in which the story is told graps hold and doesn't let go though heartstopping highs and crushing emotional lows. Now if these two were to just write faster...... These 2 books are near the top of the 1000 or so books laying around here.