IT ALL STARTED AS A MISTAKE!
Both Arcana and Sharona had explored scores of universes, each a duplicate of its own, without ever encountering another human civilization.
Then that changed.
Two survey expeditions met in the cool shadows of an autumn forest. No one knows who shot first, but both sides have suffered heavy casualties, and each blames the other. Now both sides want possession of Hell's Gate, the cluster of inter-universal portals and their survey forces met in blood . . . and neither is prepared to let the other have it..
Arcana's wizards, dragons, and gryphons are about to meet Sharona's bolt-action rifles, machine guns, and mortars. Transport dragons are about to meet steam locomotives. And all that either side really knows is that neither of them has ever seen a war like the one about to begin.
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Product ReviewDavid Weber's most recent books have been predictable, boring and not up to snuff. This book is no different. The books bogs down several times with 'political intrigue'. Which is so poorly written and thoughtout it reminds me of Jordan. Not writing to write well. But writing to just write.
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Product ReviewDavid Weber does it again. An enjoyable read, good comparison of magic vs technology bolstered by psionics.
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Product ReviewFirst of all, to those who've commented before about it seeming short or a terrible stopping point, I'd like to point out that so far we've only been able to read the first half of this ARC. In another month we'll be able to read the rest of HHNF, and we'll see more of those subplots developed.
Other than that, I'd have to say that I'm still very impressed with David Weber's work. I've read the Honor Harrington novels and I can see some similarities between those and this one. One of the best points in favor of this 'Hell's Gate' series is the intertwining of magic and technology, and how they'd relate to one another. This just proves that David Weber is an author of note.Posted on
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Product ReviewI just finished the eARC, and I was not very enthusiastic about this novel. As one of the other reviewers stated the novel is too much like a splice between the excellent first novel and the, hopefully, exciting third installment. I know that a series needs the occasional background information side plot to keep the story arc going. But this novel felt like a a long prologue to a better novel I still enjoyed it though.
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Product ReviewI just finished the eARC for "Hell Hath No Fury" and I was blown away. I don't want to post any spoilers, but in my opinion this is the best Weber book since the early Honor Harrington stuff that first got me hooked. I had tears in my eyes on more than one occasion and was genuinely moved reading it.
The other reviews I've read so far are correct in that the plot isn't advanced terribly far in temporal terms -- not a lot of time passes. But the NARRATIVE moves tremendously, advancing the deeper themes and mental state of the protagonists significantly. In "Hell's Gate" I felt impatient fairly often, to be honest -- I felt the book was probably half again longer than it "needed" to be. I mean no disrespect saying that, I enjoyed the book but it felt like the later Honorverse offerings in terms of explanation and laying groundwork and fleshing out universes. HHNF combines the best of that sort of preparatory, universe-building yeoman's work, but it is very much in service of the characters and the story, rather than reading like an excerpt from an appendix.
And (hopefully that won't be a spoiler, anyone not knowing there'd be some fighting in this novel have clearly not read HG!), once you get to the actual battles -- oh my. I'll just say it was the most riveting Weber reading I've had since the tense fight at the conclusion of OBS.
What makes HHNF so potent is the genuine caring you have for the characters who inhabit it. These are not stock, cardboard placeholders, but arguably the most realistic, yet still noble, humans to populate any military sci-fi novel I've read in the past ten years. In coupling that with the truly exceptional battle writing that's rightfully made Weber so successful, you're left with a truly compelling novel.
If you read "Hell's Gate" and found yourself unsure whether to continue with the series, I cannot urge you strongly enough to purchase "Hell Hath No Fury" when it comes out. Or even better, pick up the eARC like I did. The only drawback is that you're going to have to wait that much longer between finishing it and impatiently awaiting the next installment, a stretch I am honestly dreading.Posted on
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