The Weave was on the verge of winning a decisive victory after a milennia of war, thanks to their new allies from earth. But then the birdlike Wais scholar Lalelang found evidence that Humans might not adapt well to peace. Researching further, she uncovered a secret group of telepathic Humans called the Core, who were on the verge of starting another war, and then eliminating Lalelang. At the last moment, she was saved by a lone Core commander. He took a chance on her intelligence and compassion, and gambled the fate of Humanity on the possibility that together, they could find an alternative to a galaxy-wide bloodbath....
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Publishers Weekly
Concluding the story begun in A Call to Arms and The False Mirror , Foster chronicles a centuries-long war among alien races: the Weave versus the Amplitur and its allies. The latter wish to subsume intelligent species to the Purpose, an arguably despotic regime under Amplitur rule; the Weave, a collection of alien races, opposes this notion. The tide turns when the Weave discover the planet Earth and the savage, martially skilled human race. The humans' savagery becomes the deciding factor, and the war eventually ends with the Amplitur's surrender. Of main interest here is the way humans are perceived by aliens, as seen through the eyes of Lalelelang, a Wais scholar, who is unique among her people in displaying an interest in, and later a tolerance for being in the presence of humans. Lalelelang's scholarly intensity leads her to some remarkable discoveries of secrets held by several species, including humans. As usual, Foster's aliens are either B-movie monster types or variations on Earth animals (the Wais are in essence large birds). The novel does a good job of breaking down stereotypes about how races behave--though Foster tends to maintain a view of humans as savages. While unevenly paced, this is generally a worthwhile read.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
From Library Journal
As the galactic war between the Weave and the Amplitur reaches its final stage, a young scholar fascinated with the study of the war-loving human race overcomes her own species' aversion to violence in order to acquire first-hand knowledge of her subject--and finds herself inextricably involved with the creatures who both repel and attract her. Although this conclusion to Foster's epic series of galactic war and intrigue seems both arbitrary and abrupt, it features an engaging and unlikely protagonist whose dedication and charm transcend the almost perfunctory plot. Recommended for libraries needing to fill out the series.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to the Hardcover edition.
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More About the Author
Alan Dean Foster's work to date includes excursions into hard science-fiction, fantasy, horror, detective, western, historical, and contemporary fiction. He has also written numerous non-fiction articles on film, science, and scuba diving, as well as having produced the novel versions of many films, including such well-known productions as "Star Wars", the first three "Alien" films, "Alien Nation", and "The Chronicles of Riddick". Other works include scripts for talking records, radio, computer games, and the story for the first "Star Trek" movie. His novel "Shadowkeep" was the first ever book adapation of an original computer game. In addition to publication in English his work has been translated into more than fifty languages and has won awards in Spain and Russia. His novel "Cyber Way" won the Southwest Book Award for Fiction in 1990, the first work of science-fiction ever to do so.
Foster's sometimes humorous, occasionally poignant, but always entertaining short fiction has appeared in all the major SF magazines as well as in original anthologies and several "Best of the Year" compendiums. His published oeuvre includes more than 100 books.
Foster's sometimes humorous, occasionally poignant, but always entertaining short fiction has appeared in all the major SF magazines as well as in original anthologies and several "Best of the Year" compendiums. His published oeuvre includes more than 100 books.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Finally found this book,
By SouthernFried "southernfried" (San Antonio, Tx) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Spoils of War (The Damned, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)
I had finished the other 2 books several yrs back...never finished the trilogy. I have been searching for this book in used book stores for awhile, finally found it...finally finished the series.It was a very interesting series. Yes, the basic premise is sorta silly. A thousand yr war has been going on...basically by 'civilized' species that abhore war. Then, Earth is discovered, and humans, being insanely warlike and aggressive...are enlisted into this war and we turn the tide. If you can get over the silly notion that thousands of yrs of war has been perpetuated by species too civilized for it...and that humans are really the uncontrollable aggressive species in the universe...it's a very enjoyable read. The way FOSTER delivers the series, you can suspend your beleif's about the obvious inconsistency in my first paragraph...and just enjoy the story and great characters. Each book can basically be a stand alone story. Tho, I really wanted to get to the next one in the series...each book has a unique storeyline. If I remember correctly, even the first 2 books portrayed differing timelines. The first book was all about the initial encounter between humans and the "Weave". The weave being a consortium of races bound together to battle the "Amplitur" and their all encompassing expansion of a religious type of doctrine called "The Purpose". The Second book had different characters and was further along the timeline of this war. This last book, the war (since first contact with humans) had been going on for hundreds of yrs...so again, you have a different cast of characters and a different storyline. The basic premise of the "Weave vs Amplitur" war is still going on...but, now, the war is coming to a conclusion. This book is all about how the war ends, and...more importantly to this book...what to do about the overtly aggressive humans once the war is over. Yes, humans are portrayed as primatively aggressive. But, we realize it, we understand this in ourselves. At the same time we are trying to come to grips with our aggressiveness, we are a little dismayed that the "weave" consortium is both afraid of us, and unwilling to accept us into their little club at the end of the war. After all the sacrifices we made to end it. We are portrayed as both thinking and intelligent...but also aggressive and primative. We scare the hell out of our allies, they want no part of us at the end of the war. A unique "Wais" scholar...small, fragile and birdlike species...has been studying humans. She puts herself in battle situations with humans (completely unheard of from any other wais)... to study how we interract with other species. She forms a bond with a colonel, Nevan...and they both try to come to grips with who humans are, and how we can deal with life after the war. She is both an admirer of humans, and a critic... Book has some unique twists...you really care about the characters and what happens to them. This is what saved me from putting the book down. I was able to overcome the implausabilty of the storeyline, by just enjoying the story and the people. I still think the first 2 books were much better. Both of them being very good. This book tended to want to make a statement and talk more about social and evolutionary changes in human nature. Much of it I couldn't really agree with...but some of it I couldn't disagree with. Being the book it was...it just wasn't as fun as the first 2. Still, I enjoyed it...had a good time reading it (2 days)...and it concluded the series in good fashion. I would recommend it for those who want to finish the series. SF
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Strong, Focused Conclusion,
By Judah (New York) - See all my reviews
This review is from: The Spoils of War (The Damned, Book 3) (Mass Market Paperback)
After the disappointment I had with the 2nd book in this series, I found the conclusion through inter-library loan. The third book is the strongest, which surprised me. Normally a bad second novel means a fragmented third.Lalelelang, a Wais who studies humanity, is the main character, and human Colonel Staait-ien (also of the telepathic Core) is the secondary character. Unlike the other books, Foster stays magnificently focused on the story with about 90% of the book directly involving scenes with the main characters that advance the plot. This is a huge improvement. Foster can write well, provided he doesn't go off on zillions of tangents (a case with his work in general). This novel gave me exactly what I wanted: a philosophical novel which concluded the Weave/Amplitur war and wasn't rosy afterwards. It explores the potential for violence in humanity within the confines of Foster's idealized alien universe. If you like either of the previous books in this series, you'll love this one because it's better than both of them.
4.0 out of 5 stars
A peaceful universe?,
By
Amazon Verified Purchase(What's this?)
This review is from: THE SPOILS OF WAR (Paperback)
The Damned trilogy was quite an entertaining romp despite the ludicrous premise of humans being the only intellligent being up for some violence. But as long as you accept that the books are quite good. I particularly liked how the dumbest of the alien races actually understood what was at stake and tried to do something about it in this final installment, which is by the way the best of the three. Overall the trilogy wanders a bit, though. Alan Dean Foster is an excellent author and one of my absolute favourites but he does occasionally end his books with a puff rather than a bang. This one was somewhere in between the two extremes. Still, The Damned trilogy is well worth a read. Most of Foster's novels are quite entertaining despite occasional weaknesses in plot and endings. For some more traditional Foster I highly recomend "Midworld", "Sentenced to Prism" and The Icerigger trilogy. Bon appetit!
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