Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I'm a fan of David Weber's books, but not this one. Sometimes a book or movie starts with exceptional promise, but its sequels drift off course, and by the third or fourth you're wondering why you even bothered. That is, I'm sad to say, what has happened with the Safehold series. It's the Rocky VI of the Weberverse. "A Mighty Fortress" is tedious and rambling, with extensive dissection of religious nuance and military logistics but little action or intrigue. Most of the elements that made the series worth reading in the first place have vanished. Most of what is left is buried beneath the leaden weight of a cast of hundreds, meaning each makes relatively brief appearances. (This is no exaggeration -- the list of characters at the end is 21 pages of single-spaced names. What was Weber thinking?) If you like swordplay, look elsewhere. There is none. If you enjoy cannon-and-grappling-hook naval battles, don't bother. The first significant naval engagement happens, by my count, on page 509 of 690. By that time, your eyes have glazed over from 10-page disquisitions into the salient chemical properties of gunpowder. Or you've simply given up after reading word-for-word transcripts of Archbishop Maikel's sermons. It's no exaggeration to say I fell asleep at least twice reading what probably should be called "A Mighty Long-Winded Fortress." We know Weber can do better. His Honor Harrington series remained a good read all the way through the most recent installment. Weber's Mutineers' Moon was a delight, as was his collaboration with Eric Flint on the 1632 series. And the Safehold universe remains the most intriguing intersection between advanced science and high fantasy I've ever encountered. It's come to this: Weber badly needs an editor with the seniority to stand up to one of Tor's better-selling authors. This book would be excellent if it were cut by two-thirds and merged with its predecessor (By Heresies Distressed) and its sequel. As it is, with a few exceptions, the fourth Safehold book is about as entertaining as being forced at gunpoint to read John Galt's 70-page speech about Objectivist philosophy from Atlas Shrugged. Twice. The problem is, as Merlin Athrawes might say, one of too much love. Weber has created a fascinating premise and dropped his characters into a dangerous universe. But along the way, he's come to love Safehold so much that he began writing more about the world -- its politics and its theology and its gunpowder manufacturing processes -- and forgot his readers are buying his books because they simply want to read a good story.