Thursday, November 16, 2006

The Armageddon Inheritance

Book 17/20

David Weber's The Armageddon Inheritance

Okay, so this review is actually coming after my second reading of the book: my father bought me Empire from the Ashes which contains the entire trilogy, all with new material. *-* I had considered writing one review for the entire trilogy, as it is ONE book now, but I still need to hit that goal of 20, so I cheated and split it. ^-*

The timeline for this book is a little hard to accept: Earth is given just two years to prepare for the Achuualtani "Great Visit" and they not only manage to turn out thousands of battle stations and star ships, but a shield for the planet itself. Even taking into account the advanced technology of the Imperium, it's hard to believe. Sure, enhanced human beings can accomplish a lot, but...just two years? Give me a break. At least create a believable timeline - or cut the resulting battle a LITTLE bit closer (not that it would make Colin's arrival back at Earth any less of a deus ex machina).

The major bioweapon they find back in the Imperium (rather, the result of the bioweapon) was also a little far-fetched. Yes, microbes can be nasty, and pandemics are completely realistic, but a microbe that disrupts chemical reactions in any living creature it encounters? That's awfully convenient, as is the fact that it has a limited life span without a host. It's just too neat: there's no one left from the Imperium, so there's no need for Colin to deal with that potential conflict, and Birhat is just sitting there, ready to be repopulated with human beings - just in case Earth bites it. Dahak just gets to sweep in, nab some more planetoids without any problems, and then they're back in Sol and decimating the Achuultani. If all alien invasions went this smoothly, the movie industries would be out of business.

As much as I was pleased to see Dahak survive, the idea of a computer - even a self-aware computer - having a "soul" is a little hard to swallow. Then again, I know Mr. Weber's wife has a list of people in the Honor Harrington series that he isn't allowed to kill (for those who are interested, Honor isn't on the list), so she might have had a similar list for this trilogy, which is why Dahak had to pop up in the end. Kind of a little far-fetched, though, and venturing away from science fiction to fantasy.

For all of this, though, I loved the book. The base twelve the Achuultani use is a bit hard to decipher, and I still don't have a clear picture of what they look like, but they're worthwhile "adversaries." The concept of kinetic weapons was great, too - what better use for Iaepetus than as a projectile? *-* I think I preferred the kinetic route to all of the gravitonic warheads and energy beams (though, seriously, "Greater Thunder" and "Lesser Thunder"? Can we make the aliens look any stupider?); it was at least more original. There was a lot more focus on the Imperium (and Empire) technology, rather than the characters, but, considering what I observed at PhilCon last year, that fits with Mr. Weber's habits. Personally, I would like to have seen more on Jiltanith and Colin, especially as it is quite obvious that they have an amazing bond. Instead, I'll have to settle for Dahak gaining more personality - not necessarily a bad trade. *-*
Posted by Andria :: 8:41 AM :: 0 comments

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