Igniting the Reaches 2: Through the Breach (Paperback)

by David Drake (Author)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
This successor to Igniting the Reaches is not one of Drake's better works. Drake is usually adept at choreographing battle scenes, but here narrator Jeremy Moore's rendition of combat makes every adventure seem like Julien Sorel's walk through Waterloo in Stendhal's The Red and the Black. Moore travels with Piet Ricimer and Stephen Gregg, space pirates from Venus who, aboard the starship Oriflamme, are out to save civilization and interstellar free trade from an oppressive Earth-based government. Like most literary pirate crews, these men are as religious as they choose to be. As Ricimer says, "The real danger isn't race or religion, you know. It's the attitude that some men, some people... have to be controlled from above for their own good. One day I believe the Lord will help us defeat that idea." Yet for all the holiness of the cause, the action-far too often overshadowed by talk-is less than satisfying; among other problems. Moore, a womanizing nobleman, doesn't quite measure up to the more substantial Ricimer and Gregg, either. Drake credibly conjures up his world, but readers will be left thinking that Ricimer and Gregg-and even Moore-deserve better.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Description
The Venus Asteroid Expedition is en route to the ""Mirror,"" an impenetrable membrane to another universe that holds all the riches of the Federation, but the only point of entry is the point through which Landolph and his men traveled long ago--with most of the men never returning. Reprint.

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Ace (May 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0441003265
• ISBN-13: 978-0441003266
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #2,003,246 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 stars Elizabethan Privateers In Spaceships, June 8, 2009

By	W. Bentrim (Bucks County, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This is the second book in the Reaches series. This book deals with Piet Ricimer and Stephen Gregg's supposed mission to the asteroid belt that really is a pirate raid through the breach. The breach is a dangerous passage through the Mirror, a block between our universe and another. The other side holds the treasures of the defunct empire, automated factories churning out the chips that hold civilization together. Gentlemen and aristocracy are the linchpins of the society on Venus. Stagnate and intolerant they fund Ricimer and Gregg as privateers to bring home the riches (chips) so they can hold off the North American Federations attempts to pull them back under control.

Ricimer is venerated and protected by the hulking Gregg. Gregg a disposed minor noble is physically and mentally imposing and capable of any act of violence to protect his leader. Gregg is also plagued with doubt about his acts of violence. Jeremy Moore is a dilettante with cyber abilities who discovers to his dismay that he can be a cold blooded killer. The anguish the characters suffer in probing their psyches is well written and seems quite real. Willing to do anything for the cause, right or wrong, but questioning one's soul in the process provides a realistic look at both leaders and followers. A good book as a stand alone but I recommend you read "Igniting the Reaches" before reading this and "Fireships" after you read this. It isn't a monumental trilogy but it is still well worth reading.

5.0 out of 5 stars Good Adventure in Space, August 12, 2001

By A Customer

This is the second of Drake's Piet Ricimer series based loosely on the history of Sir Frances Drake's struggle against the Spainish Navy [i.e. Ignite the Stars, Thru the Breach, and Fireships]! Placed in the future and based on Venus this is a real swashbuckling type adventure written in Drake's spare and 'less is more' style. Lot's of space travel in a sort of practical 17th century manner & eye to the realities of physics. POV is that of a down on his luck "gentleman" of the times going out to meet fate. Good young adult book. I truly enjoyed the series and have read them more than several times.

3.0 out of 5 stars Best for fans of the series, March 21, 1997

By A Customer

Pretty much the same as its predecessor, "Igniting the Reaches". Drake fans will like it, but probably not many others